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Assunta Krehl

Toronto's place in the "creative economy" - Excalibur - 0 views

www.excal.on.ca/...index.php

Creativity Clients_Tenants Martin Prosperity Institute

shared by Assunta Krehl on 25 Sep 09 - Cached
  • What is this creative economy? It is an economic system that relies most on ideas to serve as its major capital, instead of services or physical capital. Take Google for example. In an economy based on ideas, the potentialfor breakaway successes like Google is far greater.
  • According to Richard Florida’s The Rise of the Creative Class: And How it’s Transforming Work, Leisure,Community and Everyday Life, members of the creative class are very different from those who are employed in the manufacturing, service or agriculture industries. They contribute to our economy primarily by producing the new forms and ideas exploited by our various industries and decision-makers.   What Florida terms the “super creative core” of this new class includes “scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designersand architects, as well as the ‘thought leadership’ of modern society: non-fiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank researchers, analysts and other opinion-makers.”
  • What sets a creative city apart from a non-creative city? Florida proposes that it is the “three Ts of economic development”: technology, talent and tolerance.
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  • Florida promote a drawback on new capital investments in such traditional creative staples as ballet, opera, symphony and museums. Although these are necessary public entertainment options to maintain, studies show the majority of university students and young to middle-aged professionals who make up the bulk of the emerging creative class, in fact, prefer more accessible venues.
  • Florida is not saying the city should fund the construction of all these venues, but should support them with entrepreneurial assistance, specified tax-cuts and governmenttools to ease operation, like streamlining the bureaucracy behind applying for liquor licences and permits for musical events and public attractions.
  • The MaRS centre, located at College St. and University Ave. in downtown Toronto, is a fantastic first step in better integrating the city’s creative talents in the technology and science fields. But more buildings and communities like this need to be developed to take advantage of all of Toronto’s creative economic potential.
  • Assunta Krehl on 25 Sep 09
     
    David Tal contributer to Excalibur exams what is the creative economy. Mention of MaRS being a fantastic first step in integrating the city's creative talents in technology and science.
  • Assunta Krehl on 25 Sep 09
     
    David Tal contributer to Excalibur exams what is the creative economy. Mention of MaRS being a fantastic first step in integrating the city's creative talents in technology and science. Sept 23, 2009
Sarah Hickman

The Long Tail: Amazon.ca: Chris Anderson: Books - 0 views

www.amazon.ca/...1401384145

marketing operations manufacturing production supply*chain

shared by Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09
     
    The Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance. New efficiencies in distribution, manufacturing, and marketing are essentially resetting the definition of what's commercially viable across the board. If the 20th century was about hits, the 21st will be equally about niches.
Sarah Hickman

The Business of Healthcare Innovation: Amazon.ca: Lawton Robert Burns: Books - 0 views

www.amazon.ca/...ref=sr_1_0_1

health*care*&*life*sciences biotechnology drug*development genetics medical*devices medical*equipment ICT operations manufacturing production

shared by Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09
     
    Robert Lawton Burns focuses on the key role of the 'producers' as the main source of innovation in this wide-ranging analysis of business trends in the manufacturing branch of the health care industry. Written by industry academics and executives, the book provides a detailed overview of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, genomics/proteomics, medical device and information technology sectors. Most importantly, it describes the growing convergence between these sectors and the need for executives in one sector to increasingly draw upon trends in the others.
Assunta Krehl

MaRS Innovation appoints president and CEO - University of Toronto -- News@UofT - 0 views

www.news.utoronto.ca/...oints-president-and-ceo-1.html

MaRS Innovation Toronto Discovery District Rafi Hofstein Tim McTiernan The Innovations Group

shared by Assunta Krehl on 15 Jun 09 - Cached
  • MaRS Innovation appoints president and CEO
  • A research commercialization leader from Israel, Dr. Raphael Hofstein, has been named president and CEO of the new MaRS Innovation initiative.
  • MI was created as a single, market-facing commercialization storefront for Toronto's university and health research institutions. Located in the MaRS Discovery District complex, with business development and administrative support from MaRS, MI will advance commercialization through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation. MaRS Innovation (MI) was founded in 2008 with $14.95 million in funding from the Government of Canada's Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) Programme, matched by $10 million from the research partners. The MI partnership includes U of T, the 10 partner hospitals and health research institutes affiliated with the university, Ryerson University, the Ontario College of Art & Design, BioDisocovery Toronto, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and MaRS. Hofstein joins MaRS Innovation from his previous position as president and CEO of Hadasit Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • "MaRS Innovation is a unique global initiative, and I must commend the institutional leaders in Toronto for pulling this innovation powerhouse together to strengthen commercialization output. In my experience, good science is the single most important ingredient for success in this business. Toronto is already known as one of the strongest science cities in the world, and it continues to grow. Leading MaRS Innovation is a wonderful opportunity to do something remarkable."
  • Dr. Tim McTiernan, assistant vice-president (research) and executive director of The Innovations Group (TIG), U of T's research commercialization operation, said Mars Innovation will provide significant benefits to U of T.
  • And he said that MI's role as a resource "is like putting a turbo charger on an engine. Having MI working with us and the other member organizations is a huge step in taking advantage of the enormous potential in the Toronto research community. Commercialization offices acting independently will not be able to manage in nearly as effective a manner as will be possible with the expertise of MaRS Innovation."
  • Assunta Krehl on 15 Jun 09
     
    Dr. Raphael Hofstein named president and CEO of the new MaRS Innovation initiative.
Cathy Bogaart

Plucking 'low hanging fruit' on energy tree - with MaRS Advisor, Tom Rand - 0 views

www.thestar.com/629285

cleantech mars energy geothermal Toronto

shared by Cathy Bogaart on 08 May 09 - Cached
  • The groundswell of geothermal interest among builders, developers and individual homeowners all over the GTA is mainly because it's what "green" venture capitalist Tom Rand calls "low hanging fruit" on the energy tree – easy to pluck and very cheap in the long run.
  • It has special appeal in large-scale operations, something Rand covers in a book he is working on. "I didn't think it was possible to go 100 per cent renewable but the studies support it.''
  • He claims that "if you drill 10 kilometres down to the really high temperatures, you can make enough energy to supply the whole U.S. with between three and 30,000 times more energy than it needs."
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  • It might be said that the Planet Traveler hotel in Kensington Market, in which Rand is a partner, is a bit of a test case. Although it appeared initially that geothermal wouldn't be possible on such a tight city lot, Rand approached the city about using the lane behind the hotel to sink his geothermal pipes.
  • Cathy Bogaart on 08 May 09
     
    The groundswell of geothermal interest among builders, developers and individual homeowners all over the GTA is mainly because it's what "green" venture capitalist and MaRS Advisor Tom Rand calls "low hanging fruit" on the energy tree - easy to pluck and very cheap in the long run. Tom talks about the opportunities available to enterprising, innovative businesses.
Assunta Krehl

reportonbusiness.com: THE COMPANY: INFONAUT INC.: Charting the right course through an ... - 0 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...Business

Infonaut software

shared by Assunta Krehl on 04 May 09 - Cached
  • Toronto, where a small firm is using 21st-century software to create maps with similar goals - the containment of disease - by showing infection patterns that can be understood at a glance.
  • Toronto, where a small firm is using 21st-century software to create maps with similar goals - the containment of disease - by showing infection patterns that can be understood at a glance.
  • There's nothing wrong with Infonaut using the H1N1 flu outbreak to gain exposure, as long as the company is careful in the tone it takes, said John Lute, president of Toronto communications firm Lute and Co.
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  • Infonaut Inc. chief executive officer Niall Wallace and his partner, chief operating officer Matt McPherson, both former IT consultants for the Ontario government, created the company after helping to craft some of the recommendations that resulted from the SARS outbreak of 2003. They understood the value of visually represented, real-time infection data, and left government to set up Infonaut to develop that technology.
  • Infonaut has created three software products that turn infection information into maps. All are being tested in pilot projects and will soon be marketed commercially.
  • One, called Infection Watch Live, is now taking data gathered at 14 hospital emergency rooms in eastern Ontario and using it to create publicly accessible maps that show exactly where in the region cases of influenza and gastrointestinal diseases are active.
  • This complex mapping can help monitor and stop the spread of C. difficile and other superbugs.
  • The third product, called Regional Watch Live, generates maps and reports for regional health professionals by merging lab test results with a range of other information.
  • INFONAUT INC
  • Make sure to present straightforward information about how the company's products might help mitigate an outbreak in the future, but do not exaggerate promises. Be upfront about the state of pilot tests, the timelines to get the software to market, and how much funding will be needed to go to full commercialization. Use respected third-party partners to endorse the products, a move that will give the company more credibility. If there are privacy concerns, spell them out and detail how they are being addressed.
  • Infonaut should ensure that its message is understated and that the company is not an "ambulance chaser," Mr. Lute said
  • But the company does need to give straightforward information about how its products might help mitigate an outbreak in the future, and not exaggerate its promises, she said. In particular, it needs to be upfront about the state of its pilot tests and include details of when full versions of its products will be available. It also must explain how much funding they will need to get there, Ms. Wilcox said.
  • With Infonaut, there seems to be no question that there is a public gain, he said. "If it is just an opportunistic attempt to cash in on the misfortune of others, that tends to play badly. Where a company has something that can be tied to the public interest, such as in this case ... it is very low-risk."
  • He suggests that Infonaut make good use of its pilot test partners, such as the counties in eastern Ontario that are testing the Infection Watch Live system.
  • the company should forestall any concerns over privacy issues by spelling out how it ensures data on individuals are kept confidential.
  • There's nothing wrong with using the current concerns over H1N1 flu to gain exposure, as long as Infonaut is careful about taking a calm and respectful tone to its marketing and publicity.
  • On the other hand, it will clearly create an opportunity if Infonaut can increase its profile, "which helps it to get its story out, which helps it to get investors, which helps it to grow.
  • The problem Build a market for a unique infection mapping system without appearing to exploit the flu outbreak The plan: Use a subtle approach and be upfront with the state of development of the software products The payoff: Higher awareness among potential customers and an expanded market
  • Assunta Krehl on 04 May 09
     
    Using 21st-century Infonaut is using software to create maps - the containment of disease - by showing infection patterns that can be understood at a glance.
Assunta Krehl

Federal Commission's support for pay-as-you-drive to renew aging infrastructure poses..... - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...206545+26-Feb-2009+PRN20090226

Skymeter ICT wireless communications

shared by Assunta Krehl on 14 Aug 09 - Cached
  • U.S. commission report released today underscores the need for a nationwide pay-as-you-drive system - a system akin to one refined and tested worldwide by upstart tech firm Skymeter Corp.
  • Skymeter as its technical solution partner of choice for 'Smart Transportation Pricing' technology in the city of Seoul under the Connected Urban Development program.
  • Skymeter solution solves severe GPS signal problems among numerous intersecting and parallel side-roads and offers a high degree of billing accuracy, critical to system acceptance. Skymeter is currently being tested in San Francisco against what are considered to be the best GPS receivers in North America. The results of these tests to date mirror successful European and Asian trials of Skymeter's system.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • "The Commission has hit the bull's eye with its recommendations", says Skymeter CEO Kamal Hassan. "Recognizing and recommending sensible policy using reliable and cost-effective technology addresses the three evils plaguing surface transportation: under-funding, CO(2) emissions, and traffic jams." Hassan says that by opting for a sensibly-designed GPS-driven user fee system America's total CO(2) emissions will be reduced by 5% or 350 million metric tonnes, the same reduction as if one out of every four cars on the road were replaced by electric cars. It will also make the average commute around 10% faster. "Those are pretty good side effects for a system that returns the nation's road financing system to health" says Hassan.
  • Skymeter Corporation is a Toronto, Canada-based data services operator that enables location-based payments using financial-grade GPS telematics. Its billing-delivery services include Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) metering for road use, parking and PAYD insurance. These services incorporate methodologies for both privacy and anonymity to ensure motorists enjoy complete privacy while traveling and absolute confidentiality of their trips. Skymeter is equivalent to an anonymous, in-car cell-phone that automatically pays for all transport services based on actual usage. Skymeter enables every form of road-use charging from small city areas such as London and Stockholm's cordon charges up to metering every vehicle in a state, province or country in order to replace fuel taxes.
  • Assunta Krehl on 14 Aug 09
     
    U.S. commission report released states that there is a need\nfor a nationwide pay-as-you-drive system - a system that is similar to Skymeter Corp which is an upstart tech firm and a MaRS Tenant. Skymeter technicial solution solves the severe GPS signal problems as is currently being tested in North America. Feb 26, 2009
  • Assunta Krehl on 14 Aug 09
     
    U.S. commission report released states that there is a need for a nationwide pay-as-you-drive system - a system that is similar to Skymeter Corp which is an upstart tech firm and a MaRS Tenant. Skymeter technicial solution solves the severe GPS signal problems as is currently being tested in North America.
Assunta Krehl

globeadvisor.com: HOW A GOOD PLAN WENT BAD - 0 views

secure.globeadvisor.com/...RUTAM07ART1939

University of Toronto Asset Management assets

shared by Assunta Krehl on 10 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • University of Toronto Asset Management
  • Canada's sharpest financial minds
  • runs $2.8-billion of staff pensions and $1.5-billion of endowments, which traditionally produces tens of millions of dollars annually for student aid and faculty posts.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • But this year the money has stopped flowing after investment losses reached $1.5-billion for 2008 and the university was forced to cancel a planned $62-million endowment payout, representing about 5 per cent of its operating budget.
  • Canada's most innovative investment funds is in question by the university that is bearing the brunt of its losses.
  • Settling into a boardroom chair in the restored heritage building of Toronto's MaRS research centre, Mr. Moriarty remains unshaken by the crisis. He stands committed to UTAM's sophisticated investing approach, reciting phrases like "portable alpha" and "risk budgets" to explain portfolio decisions.
  • Assunta Krehl on 10 Aug 09
     
    University of Toronto remodelled its pension and endowment fund - and then lost $1.5-billion last year. University of Toronto Asset Management runs $2.8-billion of staff pensions and $1.5-billion of endowments, which traditionally produces tens of millions of dollars annually for student aid and faculty posts.runs $2.8-billion of staff pensions and $1.5-billion of endowments, which traditionally produces tens of millions of dollars annually for student aid and faculty posts. Small mention of UTAM at MaRS.
Tim T

Distimo Blog - 0 views

blog.distimo.com

Apple App Store

shared by Tim T on 20 Dec 09 - Cached
  • Monthly app store report
  • T-Mobile announced it will enable customers on post-paid accounts with devices running Android 1.6 to pay using their T-mobile account
  • Beginning December 9th, customers will receive an update to Android Market that enables them to choose between paying using their Credit card or T-mobile account
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • customers will only be able to pay for applications using operator billing when the application developer has set the price in USD
  • Motorola will launch its own app store for its Android based phones
  • Shop4Apps
  • This is not the first store that will offer Android applications outside Google’s Android Market
  • Already several independent stores for Android are available, but Motorola is the first big handset vendor to launch one.
  • MotoAppstore
  • Since Android is an open platform, it is possible to install stores besides Google’s Android Market
  • The problem however is that most of the new independent Android stores are not pre-installed on the device
  • The Orange Application Shop was launched this week during the Le Web conference in Paris
  • Samsung Bada applications are coming in the first half of 2010 and will very likely be distributed via the Samsung Application Store
  • The Nokia Ovi Store is reaching close to 1 million downloads per day
  • Apple promoted a set of applications in the App Store during Black Friday. This promotion greatly influenced rankings and downloads of the featured applications
  • Samsung is holding a launch event in London next week December 8, to kick-off Samsung Bada
  • Tim T on 20 Dec 09
     
    Apple App Store
Tim T

iPhone Dev Center: iPhone Human Interface Guidelines: Human Interface Principles: Creat... - 0 views

developer.apple.com/...nciplesAndCharacteristics.html

iphone ICT

shared by Tim T on 28 Mar 10 - Cached
  • A great user interface follows human interface design principles that are based on the way people—users—think and work, not on the capabilities of the device
  • a beautiful, intuitive, compelling user interface enhances an application’s functionality and inspires a positive emotional attachment in users.
  • model your application’s objects and actions on objects and actions in the real world.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • This technique especially helps novice users quickly grasp how your application works. Folders are a classic software metaphor. People file things in folders in the real world, so they immediately understand the idea of putting data into folders on a computer.
  • iPhone OS users enjoy a heightened sense of direct manipulation because of the Multi-Touch interface. Using gestures, people feel a greater affinity for, and sense of control over, the objects they see on screen, because they do not use any intermediate device (such as a mouse) to manipulate them.
  • An iPhone application is better than a person at remembering lists of options, commands, data, and so on. Take advantage of this by presenting choices or options in list form, so users can easily scan them and make a choice. Keeping text input to a minimum frees users from having to spend a lot of time typing and frees your application from having to perform a lot of error checking. Presenting choices to the user, instead of asking for more open-ended input, also allows them to concentrate on accomplishing tasks with your application, instead of remembering how to operate it.
  • Your application should respond to every user action with some visible change.
  • Keep actions simple and straightforward so users can easily understand and remember them
  • Whenever possible, use standard controls and behaviors that users are already familiar with.
  • appearance has a strong impact on functionality: An application that appears cluttered or illogical is hard to understand and use.
  • Aesthetic integrity is not a measure of how beautiful your application is. It’s a measure of how well the appearance of your application integrates with its function. For example, a productivity application should keep decorative elements subtle and in the background, while giving prominence to the task by providing standard controls and behaviors.
  • An immersive application is at the other end of the spectrum, and users expect a beautiful appearance that promises fun and encourages discovery.
  • appearance still needs to integrate with the task.
Miri Katz

How The Private Sector Can Drive Social Innovation - CIO Central - CIO Network - Forbes - 0 views

blogs.forbes.com/...or-can-drive-social-innovation

social innovation social collaboration CSR corporate citizenship

shared by Miri Katz on 29 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • How The Private Sector Can Drive Social Innovation
  • Out of the 100 largest economies in the world, about half are multinational corporations. Given their impact on global communities, it is becoming increasingly essential that these large corporations execute responsibility to society, rather than rely on governments and non-profits to address difficult social issues alone.
  • oday, the world’s largest companies are in a unique position to play a much greater role in driving social change than ever before.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Aside from pure monetary donations, however, is a new model that is transforming corporate philanthropy.
  • Increasingly, corporations are turning to a shared value model, in which companies work in alignment with society rather than against it, producing mutual benefits to both the community and the corporation
  • It evolves the traditional model of financial and material goods donations, to one in which corporations leverage a range of corporate assets including employee skills, business acumen and partner networks, to drive social change.
  • Here’s the shift: Instead of viewing it as our responsibility to drive business and social value, view it also a valuable opportunity to rethink existing practices.
  • The business case for social innovation
  • there are a variety of benefits for an organization, from brand building, to staff retention, and even improved client stickiness. Shareholders and the investment community are also increasingly considering corporate responsibility when making investment decisions.
  • collaborations can drive innovation through necessity. Non-profits work in extreme environments, faced with limited infrastructure, connectivity and staff. Operating in these situations exposes corporate staff to new sets of customer challenges, which can often deliver innovations in product design or services into the business.
  • by working with a non-profit organization, a corporation can demonstrate its expertise to a new audience, expanding its business network.
  • Increasingly, investors weigh environmental, social and governance  data when making investment decisions. While such data has been a benchmark for European-based companies for some time, we are now seeing a more global adoption and interest in this, which should be another forcing function for more corporations to act as good corporate citizens.
  • Applying social innovation in practic
  • A good starting point is to assess the company’s available skills, expertise, partnerships against the touch-points the company currently has within a given community. From there, establish specific goals to achieve and a strategic plan to meet those goals.
  • Companies that have an expertise in technology, for example, can collaborate with non-profits or social entrepreneurs to provide the infrastructure backbone that turn their ideas into reality. With the social enterprise mPedigree Network, HP leveraged its technology expertise in cloud-based services to design and build an anti-drug counterfeiting service in Africa. Counterfeit medicine is a significant problem in developing countries, causing more than 700,000 deaths each year. The new service helps save lives by enabling patients to validate the integrity of their medicine by sending a free text message.
  • Gabi Zedlmayer is Vice President of Hewlett-Packard’s Office of Global Social Innovation.
  • Miri Katz on 29 Jun 11
     
    Out of the 100 largest economies in the world, about half are multinational corporations. Given their impact on global communities, it is increasingly essential that these large corporations execute responsibility to society, rather than rely on governments and non-profits to address difficult social issues alone
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