May 21, 2013
Today is World Day for Cultural Diversity
Photo: An indigenous delegate in the General Assembly Hall at the opening of the twelfth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. 20 May 2013. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas.
Photo: Indigenous delegates in the General Assembly Hall at the opening of the twelfth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. 20 May 2013. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas.
Photo: An indigenous delegate in the General Assembly Hall at the opening of the twelfth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. 20 May 2013. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas.
Photo: Inaugural concert of the UN Orchestra in the Assembly Hall of the United Nations Office at Geneva on 14th of December 2011. UN Photo/Fabrice Arlot.
• Diversity Day, officially known as “The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development”, is an opportunity to help communities understand the value of cultural diversity and learn how to live together in harmony.
In 2001, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and in December 2002, the UN General Assembly declared May 21 to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
The day provides an opportunity to deepen the understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn to live together better.
In 2011, a grassroots campaign ‘Do One Thing For Diversity and Inclusion’, celebrating the annual World Day for Cultural Diversity was launched by UNESCO and the UN Alliance of Civilizations.
The 2013 campaign, by encouraging people and organizations from around the world to take concrete action to support diversity, aims:
• To raise awareness worldwide about the importance of intercultural dialogue, diversity and inclusion.
• To build a world community of individuals committed to support diversity with real and every day-life gestures.
• To combat polarization and stereotypes to improve understanding and cooperation among people from different cultures.
According to UNESCO, “The day provides an opportunity for mobilization on the part of all actors (governments, policy makers, civil society organizations, communities, cultural professionals) to promote culture in its diversity and in all its forms: tangible and intangible heritage, creative industries, goods and services.”
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“No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.”
— Mahatma Gandhi.
Posted by Editors at 5:08 AM | Link to this Post
May 16, 2013
Cannes Film Festival 2013 Kicks Off
Photo: Model Cara Delevingne attends Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio attends Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Model Cindy Crawford attends Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Sonam Kapoor attends Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Zhang Ziyi attends Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Georgia May Jagger attends Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Fan Bingbing attends Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Actress Isla Fisher attends Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Steven Spielberg and actress Nicole Kidman attend Electrolux at Opening Night of The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Theatre Lumiere on May 15, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Sonam Kapoor attends “Jeune & Jolie” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 16, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Vidya Balan attends the “Inside Llewyn Davis” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 19, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Aishwarya Rai attends the “Inside Llewyn Davis” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 19, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Jury President and Director Steven Speilberg attends the “Inside Llewyn Davis” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 19, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Model Alessandra Ambrosio attends the ‘De Grisogono’ Party during The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Hotel Du Cap Eden Roc on May 21, 2013 in Antibes, France. (Photo © Samir Hussein/French Select via Getty Images).
Photo: Cannes Film Festival May 22. Anais Monory wearing Montblanc Princess Grace de Monaco red gold and diamonds bracelet. Photo © OLIVIER BORDE.
Photo: Cannes Film Festival May 22. Beatrice Rosen wearing Montblanc earrings in red gold with diamonds. Photo © OLIVIER BORDE.
Photo: (L-R) Producers Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb, Mary Cameron Goodyear, director J. C. Chandor, Sibylle Szaggars, Chairman of the Cannes Film Festival Gilles Jacob, Robert Redford and Cannes Film Festival artistic director Thierry Fremaux attend the “All Is Lost” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 22, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Puja Gupta attends the “All Is Lost” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 22, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Ameesha Patel attends the “All Is Lost” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 22, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Barbara Palvin attends the “All Is Lost” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 22, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
Photo: Araya A. Hargate attends the “All Is Lost” Premiere during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Grand Theatre Lumiere on May 22, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/WireImage for Electrolux. © 2013 WireImage.)
The 66th annual Cannes Film Festival is currently taking place in Cannes, France, from 15 to 26 May 2013.
The festival opened with The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann and will close with Zulu, directed by Jerome Salle.
THE COMPETITION JURY 2013
• Steven SPIELBERG, President - Director, Producer, Writer / United States
• Vidya BALAN Actress / India
• Naomi KAWASE Director / Japan
• Nicole KIDMAN Actress, Producer / Australia
• Lynne RAMSAY Writer, Director, Producer / United Kingdom
• Daniel AUTEUIL Actor, Director / France
• Ang LEE Director, Producer, Writer / Taïwan
• Cristian MUNGIU Writer, Director, Producer / Romania
• Christoph WALTZ Actor / Austria
THE CINEFONDATION AND SHORT FILM JURY 2013
• Jane CAMPION, President - Film director/New Zealand
• Maji-da ABDI Actress, director, producer/Ethiopia
• Nicoletta BRASCHI Actress, producer/Italy
• Nandita DAS Actress, director/India
• Semih KAPLANOGLU Director, writer, producer/Turkey
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Posted by Editors at 2:54 PM | Link to this Post
May 13, 2013
Airbus Fly Your Ideas Challenge 2013 — Five Teams Reach the Finals
Photo: Partnering for Airbus Fly Your Ideas Challenge 2013. Dr. Lidia Brito, Director of the Division of Science Policy and Capacity Building for UNESCO and Charles Champion, Airbus’ Executive Vice-President Engineering and Fly Your Ideas Patron. © Airbus S.A.S 2012. Photo by P. Masclet.
Photo: Team CLiMA, from Royal Melbourne institute of Technology, Australia, has been shortlisted for Airbus’ Fly Your Ideas 2013 challenge final. Left to right : Mark Spiteri, Katherine Grigoriou, Luke Spiteri, Martin Burston, James Herringer.
• Fly Your Ideas is a biennial international student competition held by Airbus, the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer. The first competition was launched in October 2008 challenging teams of students from around the world to develop innovative ideas to shape the future of aviation. Since its launch, the challenge has been a vast success, drawing together thousands of students from around the world.
This year, the teams were asked to submit ideas to address one of the following challenges: “Energy”; “Efficiency”; “Affordable Growth”; “Traffic Growth”; “Passenger Experience”; and “Community Friendliness”.
Five teams have been shortlisted for Airbus’ Fly Your Ideas Challenge 2013 Final — they are from Australia, Brazil, India, Italy and Malaysia —
• Australia - Team CLiMA, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, for the development of aircraft fuelled by a blend of sustainably produced liquefied biomethane and liquefied natural gas (Bio-LNG).
• Brazil - Team Levar, University of Sao Paulo, for a luggage loading and unloading system for airplane cargo compartments to reduce the workload of airport baggage handlers with an air cushion solution inspired by air hockey tables.
• India - Team AVAS, SRM University, Tamil Nadu, for reduced propulsion noise, thanks to jet exhaust shape modification using intelligent materials (shape memory alloys). These alloys are energized by harvested electricity generated by advanced thermoelectric materials using engine heat source.
• Italy - Team Flybrid, Technical University of Milan, for an electric/turboprop combination for hybrid propulsion in regional aircraft. This system uses batteries pre-charged on ground and not in-flight.
• Malaysia - Team Embarker, Universiti Putra Malaysia, for a self-sustaining aircraft cabin concept in which the excess body heat from seated passengers is used as an alternative source of energy to power small electronics in the cabin.
Photo: Fly Your Ideas Infographic.
Photo: Future of Flight in 2050 Infographic.
The five finalists will present their ideas to a jury of Airbus and industry experts at Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France, on 12th June 2013. The winning team will receive a prize of €30,000, while the runners up will receive €15,000.
The winners will be announced at an exclusive ceremony at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris on 14th June 2013.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
• Our previous related post is listed at Airbus Fly Your Ideas - Who’s Talking About Us. (It appears as “Global Giants” under “United States”).
Posted by Editors at 6:18 AM | Link to this Post
May 11, 2013
American Moms Prefer Daily Help over Grand Gestures for Mother’s Day
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, children often struggle to come up with the perfect gift to show Moms that they are loved. But in a survey conducted by P&G, moms indicated that every day gestures are more meaningful than annual fancy gifts. Eighty-seven percent of those surveyed would prefer to have a little more time to themselves, a family day out, or a little more unprompted help around the house. Eighty-three percent said this would make them feel more appreciated and loved, even if it is just a simple ‘Thank you’ for all the things she does for the family.
In honor of Mother’s Day, P&G (the company behind brands like Ariel, Tide, Bounty and Olay) has invited everyone to thank their Mom, and share a story of how Mom’s everyday acts of kindness help you. Some of these stories will used in P&G’s first ever piece of consumer created ads to be showcased in July 2013.
P&G (Procter & Gamble) serves approximately 4.6 billion people around the world with its diverse brands and has operations in approximately 75 countries worldwide.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Posted by Editors at 11:50 AM | Link to this Post
May 5, 2013
Jaguar F-TYPE at the Shanghai Auto Show 2013
Photo: Jaguar F-TYPE at the Shanghai Auto Show 2013. Jaguar F-TYPE is a two-seater sports car and is Jaguar’s new ‘icon’.
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Posted by Editors at 2:12 PM | Link to this Post
May 4, 2013
Nokia and Microsoft sharpen focus on Business Customers
Photo: Nokia at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: Nokia Press Conference, Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: Nokia Press Conference, Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: Nokia Lumia 520 - Yellow, Cyan, White, Red.
Photo: Nokia Lumia 520 at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: Nokia Lumia 520 at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: Nokia Lumia 720, Red Front.
Photo: Nokia HERE, City Lens Viewfinder.
Photo: Lumia 820 with Nokia Maps Walk Navigation.
Photo: Lumia 820 with Nokia Drive.
Photo: Nokia Booth at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain.
• At recently concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Nokia announced plans to extend high-end innovations to more people in more markets.
Four new devices bring innovation to new price points, while Nokia’s HERE location suite becomes available for non-Nokia phones in the Windows Phone ecosystem. And Nokia and Microsoft are combining their strength in the enterprise sector to bring more business customers to Windows Phone.
• “The momentum behind Nokia is gathering pace. The launches today reflect our commitment to broadening our devices and services portfolio to meet the demands of people and businesses around the globe,” said Stephen Elop, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia. “By offering better experiences at a more affordable price, we are reinventing the battle for affordable mobile devices.”
Nokia Lumia 720 and Nokia Lumia 520 have expanded Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 portfolio —
The Nokia Lumia 720 delivers a high-end camera performance at a mid-range price point. According to Nokia, “A large f/1.9 aperture and exclusive Carl Zeiss optics are designed to deliver bright, clear pictures day and night, while the HD-quality, wide-angle front-facing camera makes taking pictures with friends and video calling more enjoyable. The sleek and stylish smartphone comes with the latest high-end Nokia Lumia experiences, including Nokia Music, the HERE location suite, and the option to add wireless charging with a snap-on wireless charging cover.”
The Nokia Lumia 720 comes in five colors. Rollout is planned to start in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore in Q1 2013, before continuing into broader markets in Q2, including China as well as key markets in Europe, Asia, Africa and India.
The Nokia Lumia 520 is Nokia’s most affordable Windows Phone 8 smartphone, delivering experiences normally only found in high-end smartphones, such as the digital camera lenses found on the flagship Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Music, and the HERE location suite.
The Nokia Lumia 520 comes in five colors. Roll-out is planned to begin in Q1 2013 in Hong Kong and Vietnam, before expanding broadly in Q2 to markets in Europe, Asia - including China and India - Latin America and Africa. The Nokia Lumia 520 is also planned to roll out in the United States with T-Mobile.
Nokia also unveiled the Nokia 105, its most affordable phone to date, and the Nokia 301, for more affordable Internet access and camera experiences.
• Nokia also announced that while HERE, its new brand for location experiences, will continue to offer first and best experiences on Lumia, HERE Maps, HERE Drive and HERE Transit would become available for non-Nokia Windows Phone smartphones in selected markets.
“The new HERE Maps come with LiveSight(TM), Nokia’s set of augmented-reality technologies. LiveSight(TM) uses “sight” as a fundamentally new way to discover and navigate the world, recognizing what people see through their phone’s camera and layering that view with relevant, place-based information. LiveSight(TM) also powers Place Tag, a new digital lens introduced for Lumia. Combining Nokia’s unique capabilities in location and imaging, Place Tag adds location stamps to photos with relevant information about pictured places,” the company explained.
• Meanwhile, using the combined strength of Windows Phone 8 and the popular appeal of Nokia Lumia smartphones, Nokia and Microsoft are sharpening their focus on bringing business customers from competitor platforms to Windows Phone. Nokia confirmed that leading operators, such as Everything Everywhere, Elisa, Orange, Telstra and Vodafone, are classifying Nokia Lumia smartphones as their “business hero devices”.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Posted by Editors at 8:48 AM | Link to this Post
May 2, 2013
International Jazz Day 2013: Artists From Across The Globe Grace The Stage In Istanbul, Turkey
Photo: A concert on the theme, “Jazz: A Language for Peace”, featuring the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet, was held at UN Headquarters in connection with the International Jazz Day (30 April). Shown here: A stack of program notes for the performance. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas.
Photo: Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp Honors America’s Gift to Music. Photo Credit: U.S. Postal Service.
• In an unprecedented series of events worldwide, UNESCO and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz joined together to celebrate jazz as a universal language of freedom on April 30th. With events taking place in 196 countries, International Jazz Day 2013 culminated in an evening concert at Istanbul’s Hagia Irene that was viewed live by millions around the world. Dating back to the 4th century, the Hagia Irene, located in the outer courtyard of the Topkapi Palace - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - is regarded as an international treasure for music lovers because of its brilliant atmosphere and enchanting acoustics.
Those who participated in the Istanbul event included pianists Herbie Hancock, John Beasley (Musical Director), George Duke, Robert Glasper, Ramsey Lewis, Keiko Matsui and Eddie Palmieri; vocalists Ruben Blades, Al Jarreau, Milton Nascimento, Dianne Reeves, Esperanza Spalding (who also played bass) and Joss Stone; trumpeters Terence Blanchard, Hugh Masekela and Imer Demirer; bassists James Genus, Marcus Miller and Ben Williams; drummers Terri Lyne Carrington and Vinnie Colaiuta; guitarists Bilal Karaman, John McLaughlin, Lee Ritenour and Joe Louis Walker; saxophonists Dale Barlow, Igor Butman , Branford Marsalis, Wayne Shorter and Liu Yuan; clarinetists Anat Cohen and Husnu Senlendirici; violinist Jean-Luc Ponty; Pedrito Martinez on percussion; tabla master Zakir Hussain; trombonist Alevtina Polyakova; and special guest Martin Luther King III.
On this occasion, noted pianist Herbie Hancock remarked, “Using jazz as a tool, I have faith that the music - either through playing an instrument, learning about its rich cultural history, or listening to the millions of recordings made over the past century - will demonstrate that barriers can be broken, unity can be achieved, new forms of expression can be created, and a dialogue between cultures can begin. From my decades long career as a jazz musician, I know first hand that inventive ideas can achieve the impossible, transform humanity, and make productive changes at the grass roots level.”
International Jazz Day was adopted by UNESCO Member States on the initiative of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock in order to encourage and highlight jazz’s unique power for advancing intercultural dialogue and understanding across the world.
International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools and groups from across the globe to celebrate jazz, learn about its roots and highlight its important role as a form of communication that transcends differences.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Posted by Editors at 4:26 AM | Link to this Post
May 1, 2013
Touch The Moon
Photo: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft onboard, is seen as it launches from Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Friday, March 1, 2013. The launch marked the second SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
Photo: The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train on Monday, December 17, 2012, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket sent Expedition 34/35 Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn of NASA, Soyuz Commander Roman Romanenko, and Expedition 35 Commander Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi.
Photo: The flags representing Kazakhstan and the nations of the three crew members who were launched in the Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft are shown at the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. From left to right are the flags of Russia, the United States, Canada and Kazakhstan. Launched on December 19 were Expedition 34/35 Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn of NASA, Soyuz Commander Roman Romanenko, and Expedition 35 Commander Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi.
Photo: An Orthodox priest blesses members of the media shortly after blessing the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket sent Expedition 35 Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov, Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA, and Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin of Russia on a five and a half-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi.
Photo: Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford of NASA poses for a photograph with women in ceremonial Kazakh dress at the Kustanay Airport in Kazakhstan a few hours after he, along with Expedition 34 Russian Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy, and Russian Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin, landed their Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft near the town of Arkalyk on Saturday, March 16, 2013. Ford, Novitskiy, and, Tarelkin returned from 142 days onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 33 and 34 crews. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
Photo: Todd Toth, Science Educator at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, conducts an experiment with students to create a cloud in a bottle, Monday, April 22, 2013 at Union Station in Washington. The NASA Science Gallery exhibits are being sponsored by NASA in honor of Earth Day. Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi.
Photo: A NASA Social participant asks a question to the astronauts onboard the International Space Station in a live downlink from the ISS at a NASA Social exploring science on the ISS at NASA Headquarters, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 in Washington. Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi.
• Folks in Lawton, Oklahoma, will have the rare chance to touch a nearly 4-billion-year-old piece of moon rock at NASA’s Driven to Explore traveling exhibit, a multimedia experience that immerses visitors in the story of NASA. The exhibit will be at Great Plains Science Day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 2, 2013.
• The centerpiece of Driven to Explore is the opportunity to touch a lunar rock sample brought to Earth by the astronauts of Apollo 17 in 1972, America’s last human mission to the moon. The rock is one of only eight lunar samples made available for the public to touch.
Driven to Explore allows visitors to learn why we explore, discover the challenges of human space exploration and how NASA provides critical technological advances to improve life on Earth. The exhibit also details the accomplishments of the space shuttle and the International Space Station.
NASA is investing in the building blocks of a more capable approach to space exploration, including research and development to increase space travel capabilities. In support of these efforts, NASA is performing field tests, designing surface systems and conducting advanced human research to ensure that future missions are safe, sustainable and affordable.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Posted by Editors at 4:48 AM | Link to this Post
April 29, 2013
DOCUMENTA MADRID: MAY 5 - May 12, 2013
Photos: WINTER NOMADS. Director: Manuel von Sturler. 90 Minutes / 2012 / Switzerland.
Winter Nomads is an adventure film, a contemporary road movie. Pascal and Carole are shepherds. In the month of November 2010, they embark on their long winter transhumance: four months during which they will have to cover 600 km in the Swiss-French region, accompanied by three donkeys, four dogs and eight hundred sheep. An exceptional adventure is about to begin: they brave the cold and the bad weather day in day out, with a canvas cover and animal skins as their only shelter at night. This saga reveals a tough and exacting profession requiring constant improvisation and unflinching attention to nature, the animals and the cosmos.
Photo: Irish Folk Furniture. Director: Tony Donoghue. 8 Minutes / 2012 / Ireland.
This is an animated documentary film about repair and recycling. In rural Ireland old hand-painted furniture is often associated with hard times. Because of this association much of the country’s furniture heritage lies rotting in barns and sheds. In the making of this film 16 pieces of abandoned folk furniture were restored and returned back into daily use. This film was shot in a green and environmentally-friendly way using local craftspeople, local narrators, and inexpensive equipment. Only natural light was used to shoot this film.
Photos: Kyrkogardso. Director: Joakim Chardonnens. 23 Minutes / 2012 / Switzerland.
Kyrkogardso is a small island in the middle of the Baltic Sea. It is an Island of 8 habitants and has been owned by the Nordberg Family for 16 generations. Every morning, Ida Nordberg, 5 years old, crosses an icy sea to go to school. Kyrkogardso is a movie which questions the relation of a child with the immensity and the power of the Landscape.
Photo: Flo. Director: Riley Hooper. 10 Minutes / 2012 / United States of America.
With gritty style and a witty sense of humor, New York photographer Flo Fox has been documenting the streets of New York City since the 1970s. Now, not being fit, and no longer able to even hold a camera, she instructs her attendants to take photos for her and continues to pursue photography and maintain her adventurous, feisty spirit.
Photo: Dime quien era Sanchicorrota. Director: Jorge Tur Molto. 63 Minutes / 2012 / Spain.
The story revolves around exploration of the legend of Sanchicorrota, a 15th century outlaw, who, just like Robin Hood, became known for “robbing from the rich and giving to the poor”. But the search only reveals some interesting things about shepherds, sheep, hunters, and film settings.
• The 10th Edition of the International Documentary Cinema Festival of Madrid, DOCUMENTA MADRID, is taking place from 5th to 12th of May, 2013.
DOCUMENTA MADRID will open a wide window enabling the Madrid audience to see the world around them. They would enjoy 75 chosen films selected from more than 1,100 applications from 84 different countries from all continents.
Two different International Juries, composed of professionals with a long career in the documentary cinema field, will decide the Awards for the three best films in each category.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Posted by Editors at 5:57 AM | Link to this Post
April 25, 2013
Traffic Congestion Rising in USA, Declining in Europe
INRIX, a leading international provider of traffic information and driver services, today released its sixth Traffic Scorecard Annual Report, which revealed that traffic congestion in the USA is back on the rise in 2013 after two consecutive years of declines. In the first three months of this year, traffic congestion is up 4 percent compared to 2012. The uptick in traffic congestion in 2013 follows a 22 percent decrease in 2012.
U.S. Traffic Patterns & Worst Traffic Corridors
By analyzing traffic in USA’s 100 largest metropolitan areas in 2012, INRIX revealed that drivers wasted an average of 42 hours in America’s Top 10 Worst Traffic Cities - the equivalent to one week of vacation.
Top 10 Worst Cities for Traffic in America in 2012
RANK — CITY — HOURS LOST IN 2012
1 — Los Angeles — 59
2 — Honolulu — 50
3 — San Francisco — 49
4 — Austin, TX — 38
5 — New York — 50
6 — Bridgeport, CT — 39
7 — San Jose, CA — 31
8 — Seattle — 35
9 — Washington, D.C. — 41
10 — Boston — 31
Findings also exposed that drivers wasted an average of 62 hours last year on America’s most congested roads. The Top 10 Worst Roads for Traffic in 2012 were:
The Cross Bronx Expy (New York: I-95 SB) - Drivers on New York’s worst highway waste over six days each year in traffic.
The San Diego Fwy (L.A.: I-405 SB) - Consistently jammed in both directions, the 405 is LA’s worst freeway; the 8.1-mile stretch leading to Mullholland Dr. takes drivers over 50 minutes on Tuesday mornings - the worst day and time of the week.
The Van Wyck Expy (New York: I-678 SB) - On Thursdays between 4-5 p.m., drivers crawl at 10 mph, and it takes nearly 40 minutes to travel 6 miles.
The Santa Monica Fwy (L.A.: I-10 EB) - It can take drivers up to over an hour (63 min) to navigate the 15-mile stretch from Lincoln Blvd. to Alameda.
The Riverside Fwy (L.A.: CA-91 EB) - Drivers waste approximately six days per year in gridlock on this road.
The Long Island Expy (New York: I-495 EB) - New Yorkers waste more than a half hour per day on the evening commute in traffic on the L.I.E.
Brooklyn Queens Expy (New York: I-278 WB) - It takes approximately an hour to go 10 miles on this highway during the Tuesday evening commute.
San Diego Fwy (L.A.: I-405 NB) -A 13-mile stretch up to Getty Center Drive takes 40 minutes at a crawl of 20 mph.
The Dan Ryan/Kennedy Expy (Chicago: I-90/I-94 WB) - Chicago commuters waste approximately one work week (5 days) every year in traffic on this popular road to O’Hare Airport.
The Santa Ana/Golden St. Fwy (L.A. I-5 SB) - An 18-minute trip on this 17-mile stretch takes almost 50 minutes on weekday afternoons
Additionally, the Scorecard uncovered several other interesting trends regarding U.S. commute times during rush hour. According to INRIX, the worst times to be on the roads in terms of delay are weekday mornings between 7-8 a.m. and weekday evenings between 4-5 p.m. The busiest morning commute hour is Tuesday from 8-9 a.m., and the busiest evening commute takes place on Friday from 5-6 p.m.
Global Traffic Trends
While the Scorecard tells the story of rising traffic congestion indicative of a recovering economy, the report shows that, unlike the U.S., Europe traffic congestion is decreasing as the Eurozone continues to struggle through its debt crisis. Traffic congestion fell 18 percent across Europe in 2012 and continues to spiral downward in 2013 with a further 23 percent decline in the first quarter.
Aside from Luxembourg, the remaining 11 European countries analyzed in the report continue to show steep declines. Even Germany, the long-considered economic stalwart of the EU, showed declines in 2012.
COUNTRY — HOURS LOST IN 2012
Portugal — 11
Italy — 22
Luxembourg — 29
Spain — 25
Hungary — 16
United Kingdom — 29
Austria — 25
Netherlands — 52
Germany — 37
France — 37
Luxembourg has the largest increases in traffic with congestion up by 38 percent in 2013. Ireland is up 10 percent in the same period. Traffic congestion in Europe’s financial capital of London is up 23 percent in the first three months of 2013.
According to INRIX, after leveraging trillions of data points collected and archived by its Traffic Intelligence platform, the Scorecard publishes the most up-to-date information regarding overall congestion and the worst roads for traffic across America. By analyzing hundreds of thousands of road segments totaling nearly 2 million miles of major highways, arterials and city streets nationwide - with a special focus on the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas - the Scorecard informs the ongoing debate of one of the USA’s most frustrating and intractable issues — Traffic Congestion.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Posted by Editors at 11:33 AM | Link to this Post
April 21, 2013
Regatta: America’s Cup World Series 2013 Races begin in Naples, Italy
Photos: America’s Cup World Series Regatta 2013, Naples, Italy. April 18, 2013. © Gilles Martin Raget for America’s Cup.
• The best sailors in the world have come to Naples, Italy, for the first America’s Cup World Series event of 2013 (April 16-21).
Oracle Team USA, the home team in the United States, charged with defending the America’s Cup in 2013, is currently leading the 2012-13 series.
America’s Cup World Series Naples Championship Standings
(Provisional, after 4 of 7 scheduled races)
- Oracle Team USA (Golden Gate Yacht Club, San Francisco, USA)
- Energy Team (Yacht Club de France, Paris, France)
- Emirates Team New Zealand (Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Auckland, New Zealand)
- J.P. Morgan BAR (Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, Falmouth, England)
- Luna Rossa Piranha (Circolo della Vela Sicilia, Palermo, Italy)
- Luna Rossa Swordfish Circolo della Vela Sicilia, Palermo, Italy)
- Artemis Racing White (Royal Swedish Yacht Club, Stockholm, Sweden)
- HS Racing (Golden Gate Yacht Club, San Francisco, USA)
- China Team (Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Mei Fan Yacht Club, China)
• The America’s Cup World Series features up to 11 of the top sailing teams in the world. The America’s Cup World Series has been staged in America and Europe since 2011. High-tech catamarans with wingsails, which demand every ounce of energy from their crews, face off at dazzling speeds down narrow courses in regattas staged right off the coast, creating a breathtaking experience for fans.
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America’s Cup match races between two sailing yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America’s Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. The America’s Cup is the oldest active trophy in international sport.
One of the most fiercely competitive and sought after trophies in all of sport, the America’s Cup was first raced in 1851, 45 years before the modern Olympics. The U.S. yacht America won, giving the international sailing competition its name. It consists of 3 different stages — the America’s Cup World Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup (used as the selection series to determine who will race the Defender), and the America’s Cup Finals.
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Posted by Editors at 12:06 AM | Link to this Post
April 15, 2013
Italian Fashion House FENDI To Restore Rome’s Iconic Trevi Fountain
Photo: Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain), Rome, Italy.
Photos: FENDI Women Spring Summer 2013.
FENDI Chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari together with Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi and the representatives of the City of Rome have announced FENDI’s sponsorship of the restoration of one of Rome’s most precious monuments - the Trevi Fountain. Trevi Fountain is one of the most cherished symbols of Rome and is a part of world’s cultural heritage.
The restoration of the Trevi Fountain is the first of a series of conservation interventions which FENDI intends to support through “FENDI for FOUNTAINS” - a project conceived to restore and safeguard historical fountains in the city of Rome including the four late Renaissance Fountains of Piazza Quattro Fontane.
According to the Italian fashion house FENDI, it boasts deep historical ties with the city of Rome, and has always looked to the city for endless inspiration and cultural stimuli for its runway collections.
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Posted by Editors at 12:29 PM | Link to this Post
April 13, 2013
Honeywell Brings Nobel Laureate David Gross and Its Science and Engineering Initiative to India
Photos: Honeywell Aerospace Engine Testing. © Honeywell Aerospace.
• Honeywell yesterday introduced Professor David Gross, Nobel laureate in Physics, to the students and faculty of College of Engineering, Pune, India, as part of its global Honeywell Initiative for Science & Engineering.
• Professor Gross is among 22 Nobel laureates that Honeywell has sponsored at universities worldwide since 2006. The event marks the tenth time a Honeywell program has been delivered to a university in India, and the third time the program has taken place at the College of Engineering, Pune. Over the years the program has benefitted thousands of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students and teachers across the country.
Gross was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of ‘asymptotic freedom’ in nuclear interactions in 1973, which proved that as particles move closer to other particles, the nuclear force between them becomes so weak that they behave almost as free particles. This discovery established quantum chromodynamics (QCD) as the correct theory of the strong nuclear force, one of the four fundamental forces in Nature. The other forces are gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak nuclear force.
With more than 1,500 students in attendance, Gross delivered a lecture on quantum mechanics, a theory that describes the behavior of matter and energy at subatomic and atomic scales, and quantum field theory, which is an extension of quantum mechanics.
“Quantum field theory has proven to be the most successful theoretical framework in the history of physics,” Gross told the students and faculty during his lecture. “It can be used to calculate the mass of any particle in nature, regardless of its size, including your body weight.”
Afterwards, students engaged in a lively discussion with the laureate, asking many questions and interacting directly with him throughout his visit.
• The Honeywell Initiative for Science & Engineering program is part of Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company’s corporate citizenship initiative, which focuses on five areas of vital importance: Science & Math Education, Family Safety & Security, Housing & Shelter, Habitat & Conservation, and Humanitarian Relief.
Honeywell is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials. Honeywell is based in Morris Township, N.J., USA.
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Posted by Editors at 6:45 AM | Link to this Post
April 7, 2013
Developing Smarter Drivers: Shell Launches "Target One Million" Program
As part of its “Smarter Driving” program, Shell Oil Company today announced the US launch of “Target One Million”. The goal of this initiative is to show one million people worldwide how easy it is to become more fuel efficient.
Shell Oil Company also announced its new study that provides insight into current US driver attitudes on fuel efficiency and compares them to those of drivers in other countries.
According to Shell, while, for years, American car culture has influenced US motorist behavior, affecting everything from what they drive to how they drive and maintain their vehicles, this new study counters some common myths and reveals that Americans care about using energy resources wisely, understand the importance of fuel efficiency and want to learn more about how to save fuel.
The study shows:
• Americans are more concerned about energy waste compared to other countries surveyed, with half of US drivers bothered by people wasting energy and 54 percent seeing it as a waste of resources beyond just money.
• US drivers recognize the positive impact of fuel efficiency both financially and out of respect for the planet’s resources. Seventy-seven percent see being fuel efficient as an important way for them to personally use resources in a more sustainable way, while 86 percent also see it as important for saving money.
• 63 percent of drivers indicate a willingness to change their driving behaviors to be more fuel efficient, nearly one in three US drivers also indicated they don’t know how to drive more efficiently.
“Shell has more than 100 years of experience showing the world’s drivers how to get more out of their fuel,” said Elen Phillips, vice president, Shell Fuels Sales & Marketing Americas. “From this new research, it’s clear that Americans want to know more. Programs like Smarter Driving and Target One Million are extremely important in demonstrating simple changes motorists can make to their driving habits to become more fuel efficient and to save at the pump.”
Shell has developed a Smarter Driving program for motorists to help them go further on less fuel by helping them “M.A.P.” their own journey to Smarter Driving. M.A.P. stands for:
• Maintenance : Perform smart maintenance before you drive;
• Actions : Practice smart behaviors while you’re behind the wheel; and
• Products : Purchase smart products and services without sacrificing price or quality.
Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with 93,000 employees in more than 90 countries.
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Posted by Editors at 5:34 AM | Link to this Post
April 4, 2013
L'OREAL-UNESCO Awards For Women in Science 2013
Photo: For Women in Science - La Sorbonne. Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO, L’Oréal, delivers opening remarks. © For Women in Science 2013.
Photo: Professor Deborah S. Jin, University of Colorado, USA, L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards 2013 Laureate for North America “For having been the first to cool down molecules so much that she can observe chemical reactions in slow motion which may help further understanding of molecular processes which are important for medicine and new energy sources”. With Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO, L’Oréal, and Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO. © For Women in Science 2013.
Photo: 2013 L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards ceremony. © For Women in Science 2013.
Photo: Grand Salon, La Sorbonne, Paris, France. 2013 L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards ceremony. © For Women in Science 2013.
Photo: Photo Exhibition “Femmes de Science” - Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Paris. Photo Credit: Micheline Pelletie. © For Women in Science 2013.
• The L’OREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science program awarded five exceptional women scientists from around the world with the 2013 L’OREAL-UNESCO Awards in the Physical Sciences. The award ceremony took place on March 28 at Sorbonne University in Paris, France.
Since its inception, L’OREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science has honored 77 Laureates, including two who subsequently were awarded the Nobel Prize. The program has also supported more than 1,652 Fellows who have made contributions in every field of scientific research. By the end of 2013, a total of 1,729 women scientists from over 100 countries will have benefited from the program.
An international network of nearly 1,000 scientists nominates the candidates for each year’s Awards. The five Laureates are then selected by an independent, international jury. Each Laureate receives $100,000 in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of science.
Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO remarked, “This program embodies UNESCO’s founding principles. It is based on the idea that science has no gender and no frontiers; that scientific knowledge must be shared; that the curiosity of all girls and boys must be nurtured and encouraged as much as possible for the benefit of all.”
The five Laureates recognized for their scientific achievements are:
NORTH AMERICA
Professor Deborah S. Jin, University of Colorado (USA)
AFRICA and ARAB STATES
Professor Francisca Nneka OKEKE, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Nigeria)
ASIA / PACIFIC
Professor Reiko Kuroda, Tokyo University of Science (Japan)
EUROPE
Professor Pratibha Gai, University of York (United Kingdom)
SOUTH AMERICA
Professor Marcia Barbosa, Federak University if Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre (Brazil)
The 2013 L’OREAL-UNESCO Awards Jury is made up of 13 eminent members of the international scientific community. The President of the jury is Professor Ahmed Zewail, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1999. Professor Christian de Duve, Nobel Prize in Medicine 1974, is the Founding President of the Awards, while Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO, is Honorary President.
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Posted by Editors at 3:27 AM | Link to this Post
March 24, 2013
Hallmark Group Launches "Divine India" Collection
Photo: Shiva rhythmically synthesizes the principles of both destruction and creation. Hence in Shiva, meaning “the auspicious one”, the finite and infinite meet and all opposites are reconciled. Shiva has many forms through which His different aspects and attributes are worshipped and brought into our lives. This engraved ingot captures one of His most popular manifestations.
Photo: Krishna played a leading role in the epic Mahabharata. As the author of the Bhagvad Gita, He rallied Arjun to take up the battle between the forces of good and evil. In a more romantic vein, the relationship between Krishna and His adored Radha has become immortalized as the ultimate expression of love and devotion. Their passion, recorded in many sagas, symbolizes the soul’s intense longing for unification with God. The intricate details of this celebrated deity are transformed into a 3-dimensional sculpture and engraved onto a solid gold-layered ingot.
• In a first-of-its-kind in the world, Hallmark India, part of London-based Hallmark Group, has launched the ‘Divine India’ collection of 15 pure silver ingots (.999) layered in 24-carat gold of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. To preserve the value for the collectors, the ‘Premium Edition’ with 15 ingots has only 7,500 complete sets each.
The limited ‘Divine India’ collection is inspired by the finest paintings from Yogendra Rastogi, V.V. Sapar and Nirmala, who are considered among India’s leading artists of divine art.
“The ‘Divine India’ Collection is unquestionably one of the finest collections of engraved silver ingots that has ever been produced, unrivaled anywhere in the world. It has taken more than two years of intensive artistic endeavor, fine sculpture and skilled engraving to create the 15 Master Dies ready for minting,” said Mr. R.A. Wainwright, Chairman, Hallmark Group Limited.
The collection spans the diversity of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses in India - Ganesha, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Balaji, Sai Baba, Murugun, Kali, Durga, Hanuman, Saraswati, Ram Durbar, Radha & Krishna, Lakshmi and the Supreme Consciousness represented by Om.
“Honoring India’s most revered deities, the Hallmark team of artists, sculptors and engravers have created the ‘Divine India’ collection. Placed in a handmade, lacquered wood box, each set has a complete 15 fact cards and an album, a jeweler’s cloth, cotton gloves and a mother of pearl tool to lift the ingots and it comes with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity,” the company stated.
Hallmark has operating divisions throughout Europe, America, Asia and the Pacific.
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Posted by Editors at 4:57 AM | Link to this Post
March 22, 2013
IBM's Social Sentiment Index for India Cricket
Photo: IBM CEO Addresses the Council on Foreign Relations. In a speech to senior business leaders at the Council on Foreign Relations on March 7, 2013 in New York City, IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty outlined a new model for corporate leadership in which data would become the basis for competitive advantage. For public and private sector organizations to thrive, she said, they will need to harness technologies such as big data, social networks and mobile computing to change how they develop and market products and services. (© Jon Simon/Feature Photo Service for IBM.)
Sachin Tendulkar continues to rule the game of cricket even across social networks, followed by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and opening batsman Murali Vijay. This is as per IBM’s Social Sentiment Index announced on the eve of the last test match in the the ongoing cricket series between India and Australia.
A real time analysis on social sentiment of cricket fans and alike conducted by IBM during the first three matches shows that cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar consistently leads the overall conversation in this period. 50% of the public sentiment revolved around his batting performance followed by his past records, his stature and retirement plans.
For the first time, IBM applied advanced analytics software and natural language processing to cricket to build a social score board for the Indian Players based on the intensity of the sentiment and volume of online conversations. Over 1.2 lakh posts across a variety of platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the blogging community were analysed during the first three matches in the current series.
Speaking about IBM’s Social Sentiment Index, Virginia Sharma, Vice President, Marketing & Communication, IBM India & South Asia, said: “Today, IBM is changing the game - both in business and in sports. By applying the social sentiment lens to cricket that has a multi-screen experience, we demonstrated how analytics can provide real time exciting insights into public preferences. This can be leveraged by organizations across the media, entertainment and sports industries to better understand their audience, determine endorsement values, and deliver effective marketing campaigns for their businesses.”
The IBM Social Sentiment Index uses advanced analytics and natural language processing technologies to analyze large volumes of social media data in order to assess public opinions.
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Posted by Editors at 5:46 AM | Link to this Post
March 18, 2013
Delhi-Born Vijay Sethi Wins $100,000 Business Professor of the Year Award
Delhi-Born Vijay Sethi has been announced as the world’s best business professor and awarded with a USD 100,000 prize - the highest distinction for business teaching.
The EIU Business Professor of the Year Award aims to recognize and reward the professors that have challenged, influenced, and inspired students in business education.
Over 30,000 students and alumni nominated and voted for 222 professors from 31 countries. An expert panel of judges from around the world selected a shortlist of four professors to compete in a live teach-off event in London. Undergraduate and postgraduate international students from over 16 different business schools, studying business related subjects then voted to determine the winner.
For the title, the four finalists had 35 minutes each to deliver a lecture to a live classroom audience of undergraduate and graduate business students. Based on votes by the classroom audience, as well those by an online audience, Sethi emerged the winner.
Professors were judged on their ability to motivate their students, the use of innovative teaching methods and problem solving techniques, and how they engage with a diverse set of students.
The four finalists — Johanne Brunet from HEC Montreal, Darren Dahl from University of British Columbia, Kevin Kaiser from Insead, and Sethi — were picked by a panel comprising William Ridgers, Business Education Editor of The Economist; Peter Felix, President of The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC); Astrid Tuminez, former Vice-Dean of Executive Education of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore; John Beck, Professor of Strategy and Managing Director of Hult Labs, Hult International Business School; and Adrian Wooldridge, Management Editor of The Economist.
Vijay Sethi has won the title of the world’s best business professor and will also be awarded the USD 100,000 prize for this prestigious award.
Vijay Sethi is Professor in the Department of Information Technology (IT) and Operations Management at Nanyang Business School, NTU, Singapore.
Nominations were received from leading institutions such as Wharton School, Harvard Business School and London Business School.
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the world’s foremost provider of country, industry and management analysis and the EIU award is the only global contest to recognise and reward excellence in business teaching.
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Posted by Editors at 4:44 AM | Link to this Post
March 8, 2013
Top Universities By Reputation 2013
The Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings employ the world’s largest invitation-only academic opinion survey to provide the definitive list of the top 100 most powerful global university brands. A spin-off of the annual World University Rankings, the reputation league table is based on nothing more than subjective judgement - but it is the considered expert judgement of senior, published academics - the people best placed to know the most about excellence in universities.
India’s Top 10 Higher Education Institutions
The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc) has taken the number one position in a new ranking of the top 10 Indian higher education institutions based on their global academic prestige.
Specialist institutes occupy the top five places in the Times Higher Education India Reputation Rankings, published for the first time this year alongside the full Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings.
IISc - which was conceived by the Indian industrialist J. N. Tata and founded in 1909 - takes first position. Just below it are the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in second, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in third, the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in fourth and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in fifth.
The University of Delhi takes sixth place - the first fully fledged comprehensive university on the list.
India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, told a conference in February: “Too many of our higher education institutions are simply not up to the mark. Too many of them have simply not kept abreast with changes that have taken place in the world around us…[and are] still producing graduates in subjects that the job market no longer requires…”
Referring to global university rankings that use a range of indicators beyond reputation alone, he said: “It is a sobering thought that not one Indian university today figures in the top 200 universities of the world today.”
Philip Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College in the US, said: “The IITs and IIMs are the only Indian ‘name brand’ in higher education. For almost half a century, they have maintained high standards of quality and have produced bright graduates who have made their marks worldwide. Their faculty members have produced some excellent research. But these institutions are not really universities - they are small, quite specialised institutions that provide mainly undergraduate education.”
The Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings list the world’s top 100 universities based purely on their academic prestige. The 2013 edition, published on 4 March 2013, is based on the results of a survey of more than 16,600 experienced academics from all over the world who were asked to name a small number of the “best” institutions in their field for both teaching and research.
Of the so-called “Bric” countries with rapidly expanding economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China), India is the only nation lacking a single representative in the overall world top 100.
Phil Baty, rankings editor for Times Higher Education, said: “As a country with a rapidly growing economy and a fine tradition of scholarship, it is a cause for concern that India does not have any institutions that are sufficiently highly regarded by international scholars that they feature among the global top 100 of our World Reputation Rankings.
“But it is clear that there is a need to benchmark the country’s performance using recognised global performance indicators such as those employed by Times Higher Education, especially as the country’s higher education system is going through such dramatic development and expansion. So we are glad to release this inaugural India Reputation Ranking, which not only gives a sense of the pecking order within India but also shows how far its top institutions must travel to join the elite top 100.”
“Reputation is subjective, but it does matters and it has material effects - it can help to attract student and academic talent to India, as well as investment and philanthropic donations. It helps institutions stay competitive,” Mr. Baty elaborated.”
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Posted by Editors at 10:45 AM | Link to this Post
February 25, 2013
Oscar 2013 Winners Announced
Photo: Daniel Day-Lewis, Oscar winner for performance by an actor in a leading role for his role in “Lincoln”; Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar winner for performance by an actress in a leading role for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook”; Anne Hathaway, Oscar winner for performance by an actress in a supporting role for her role in “Les Misérables”; and Christoph Waltz, Oscar winner for performance by an actor in a supporting role for his role in “Django Unchained” pose backstage with their Oscars during the live telecast on the ABC Television network from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, February 24, 2013. Credit: Matt Petit. © Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Photo: After winning the category of achievement in production design for work done on “Lincoln”, Rick Carter poses backstage in the press room during the live ABC telecast of The Oscars from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, February 24, 2013. Credit: Heather Ikei. © Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Photo: Winning the category best documentary short subject for “Inocente”, documentarians Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine pose backstage for the press with the Oscar during the live ABC Telecast of The Oscars from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, February 24, 2013. Credit: Todd Wawrychuk. © Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Photo: Oscar nominees (from left to right): Jennifer Lawrence and Hugh Jackman at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills Monday, February 4, 2013. The 85th Academy Awards were presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. Credit: Todd Wawrychuk. © Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Photo: Oscar nominees Jessica Chastain and Steven Spielberg at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills Monday, February 4, 2013. The 85th Academy Awards were presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. Credit: Michael Yada. © Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Here is the list of the 85th annual Academy Award winners announced in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, February 24, 2013:
1. Best Picture: “Argo.”
2. Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln.”
3. Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook.”
4. Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained.”
5. Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables.”
6. Directing: Ang Lee, “Life of Pi.”
7. Foreign Language Film: “Amour.”
8. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, “Argo.”
9. Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained.”
10. Animated Feature Film: “Brave.”
11. Production Design: “Lincoln.”
12. Cinematography: “Life of Pi.”
13. Sound Mixing: “Les Miserables.”
14. Sound Editing (tie): “Skyfall,” ”Zero Dark Thirty.”
15. Original Score: “Life of Pi,” Mychael Danna.
16. Original Song: “Skyfall” from “Skyfall,” Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth.
17. Costume: “Anna Karenina.”
18. Documentary Feature: “Searching for Sugar Man.”
19. Documentary (short subject): “Inocente.”
20. Film Editing: “Argo.”
21. Makeup and Hairstyling: “Les Miserables.”
22. Animated Short Film: “Paperman.”
23. Live Action Short Film: “Curfew.”
24. Visual Effects: “Life of Pi.”
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 were presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation was also televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
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Posted by Editors at 11:10 AM | Link to this Post
