Saturday, June 20, 2009

The importance of bottom of the pyramid. It's not feel good. It's about innovation.

from HarvardBusiness.org
R&D 2.0: Fewer Engineers, More Anthropologists -
byNavi Radjou : "But this 1.0 model will no longer be appropriate if MNCs like GE wish to cater their offerings to the 5 billion people who form the middle and the bottom of the economic pyramid in places like India, Brazil, and South Africa. Indeed, to effectively identify and address the explicit and unmet needs of the broader consumer base in emerging markets, I believe MNCs must adopt a new global innovation model. Let's call it global R&D 2.0."
Every country, every city has it's own bottom of the pyramid. And that's the good news.

Compassionate Respect for Beliefs Key to Peace

Compassionate Respect for Beliefs Key to Peace Miller-McCune Online Magazine: "
. . . new research conducted in both the U.S. and Iran suggests religious hard-liners can be softened — if one’s appeal is couched in the compassionate beliefs of their faiths.

In “Does Peace Have a Prayer?”, soon to be published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Zachary Rothschild of the University of Kansas, Tom Pyszcznski of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Abdolhossein Adbollahi of Iran's Azad University — Zarand Branch address the essential paradox of fundamentalism, which Pyszcznski defines as “the disconnect between the peaceful teachings of virtually all major world religions and the attitude and violent actions of fundamentalists. . . .

Participants rated as strong fundamentalists “responded to the compassionate Biblical values with reduced support for violence, but did not respond this way to (the neutral quotes or to) the same compassionate values presented in secular form,” the researchers conclude. “It appears that it is the combination of a compassionate message with religious authority that leads fundamentalists to respond to existential threat with less-hostile attitudes toward out-groups or perceived enemies.”

Growth is ok. Sustainable profits are better.

Fast growth is a nice story. The business press likes growth. Growth is about "the next big thing." Growth is about game changing. Adolescents are completely consumed by the excitement of growth.

The next big thing in advertising is probably going to be mobile marketing to cell phones. The blablabla is starting to gather steam. from the snippet below:
mobile ad market is growing 99.2% year on year, a report from Juniper Research released this month indicates that by 2014, mobile advertising would still only account for up to 1.5% of total global adspend.
There are many printers who will do quite well getting a piece of the "1.5% of total global adspend." But compared to the use of Print in education, health and government it's a drop in the bucket.

Mobile Marketing Magazine:
Targeting Key to Mobile Advertising's Future, says Xtract:
"Leading research organisations including the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) and Juniper Research have recently released reports on the current mobile advertising market and its future.
This year represents the first time truly quantitative research has become available on mobile advertising, but the numbers indicate conflicting trends in this nascent market, according to Jouko Ahvenainen, Co-founder and VP at Xtract, which provides social intelligence software for mobile operators.

Ahvenainen notes that while the first expenditure study on mobile advertising in the UK, carried out by the IAB and PWC, showed that the mobile ad market is growing 99.2% year on year, a report from Juniper Research released this month indicates that by 2014, mobile advertising would still only account for up to 1.5% of total global adspend, despite mobile advertising offering “substantially higher” response rates than advertising in other media."

Friday, June 19, 2009

Data Point: The Developing Cloud: BuzzCity Launches Community Translation Service

from Mobile Marketing Magazine:

BuzzCity, which provides of global wireless communities and consumer services, has launched a community translation service across its mobile social network, myGamma. The new feature enables myGamma users to help expand the network’s reach to include smaller language communities and speakers of regional dialects. In addition, these new audiences create unique marketing opportunities for businesses through BuzzCity’s advertising network.

The peer-reviewed service encourages existing multi-lingual members to create a comprehensive list of myGamma navigational terms and instructional messages. Once developed, a team of volunteer translators will maintain and update the list based on popular consensus, incorporating feedback from users. The entire collaborative translation process takes place over mobile Internet wiki-style pages hosted on myGamma."

About Buzz City:
BuzzCity is a developer of global wireless communities and consumer services. Established in 1999 in Singapore, BuzzCity today operates the world's leading wireless community - mygamma.com - for two distinct audiences: the newly connected emerging middle class in developing markets and the blue collar sector in developed regions. These "unwired" consumers are accessing the mobile Internet on their phones due to widespread and affordable wireless access.

QR Use Case: Pathe Uses QR Codes to Promote Vampire Movie

From Mobile Marketing Magazine:
"Arena BLM, the Havas-owned “performance media agency”, is to run a QR (Quick Response) code campaign to support the launch of Path�s ‘Blood: The Last Vampire’, which opens in UK cinemas on 26 June.

The movie is an adaptation of the 2000 animated Manga film of the same title. It tells the story of Saya, a 17-year old girl who harbours the tormented soul of a 400-year old ‘halfling’ (half vampire, half human). In her quest to destroy the evil matriarch of all vampires she forms a friendship with the young daughter of an American army general.
Path�will use QR codes on outdoor and print advertising, where the user can scan the code through a mobile phone. If the phone has a QR Code reader installed, it will recognize a URL embedded in the QR code, which links directly to a dedicated mobile Internet site.

The site allows movie fans to watch the trailer directly on their handsets and download themed wallpapers. There is also a link to a ‘Create your own comic strip’ viral, which allows users to ‘mash up’ individual scenes from the first five minutes of the film and the original Manga version. Users can create their own adaptation by dragging and dropping the scenes into their own storyboard."

Thursday, June 18, 2009

IBM Unveils Smart Wimbledon Apps

Mobile Marketing Magazine:
IBM Unveils Smart Wimbledon Apps:
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and IBM have unveiled two smart mobile applications developed by IBM to transform how fans access information and keep up with the action at Wimbledon 2009. Since 1990, IBM has worked with the Wimbledon team to send the captured score and statistical data around the world in an instant, keeping on-site broadcasters, media and tennis fans up to date with all the latest scores and statistics.
The Seer Android beta application features location-aware visualisation technology developed for the T-Mobile G1 Android phone. The augmented reality application acts as a real-time guide and interactive map of the 2009 tournament, allowing selected users to see what others can’t, as well as providing up-to-the-second scores."

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

GM Reinvention Postcard Number 2

Front of Card

It's not about going out of business.
It's about getting down to business.

Back of Card:
http://tinyurl.com/ouwjbo
qrcode
created at QR code generator

The Video:


Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Going Forward Value of Clickable Print

Which do you access SNS from more, mobile phone or PC? graph of japanese statistics
I haven’t seen anything on SNS for a while, so I was pleased to see japan.internet.com report on a survey conducted by Point On Research into mobile Social Networking Services.

Educating Printers and Designers

The Front of the Card

There will be many – many – blog posts written on Google Wave, and there already have been so many created, that I’m sure this one will be lost in the void, but for whomever keeps ‘The Record,’ add me to it saying: “Google Wave will revolutionize communication.” http://tinyurl.com/l8cuod

The Back of the Card
http://tinyurl.com/ntbk4r
qrcode
created at QR code generator

Your company name HERE:

The Video

Basic Facts Can Change Opinions

In the noisy, real policy world, where media coverage is not that attentive and people are not exposed to the same sources of information, you can't replicate a survey like this that has an introduction of a single, clean fact," Farkas said.
A postcard can introduce "a single, clean fact."

A Little Information Goes Long Way In Influencing Education Policy Opinions
from Miller-McCune Online Magazine:

Giving people basic facts changes their opinions on major schools issues — which may dismay those seeking more school funding.. . .

For several years, William Howell, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, and Martin West, an education professor at Brown University, have overseen an annual survey sponsored by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University and Education Next, a journal from the conservative Hoover Institution, where West is an executive editor.
. . .
"If you can change 10 percent of the public's view on a particular issue by giving them a single fact, that's pretty striking," Howell said.

Monday, June 15, 2009

News: Protester killed, others hurt at Tehran rally :Clickable Postcard

The Front of the Card
updated 37 minutes ago

TEHRAN, Iran - Gunfire from a compound used by pro-government militia killed one demonstrator Monday after hundreds of thousands of opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad massed in central Tehran to cheer their pro-reform leader in his first public appearance since he lost elections that he alleges were marred by fraud.

The Back of the Card:
To read the full story:
http://tinyurl.com/mxjhea
qrcode

To watch the video
http://tinyurl.com/nhvz2


qrcode


The Video



Thinking Point: President Obama At the AMA.:Clickable A4,A3

With a robust printernet a two sided color A4 or A3 could be in the hands of every high school kid in the United States on Thursday June 18, 2009, with a minimal carbon footprint. It could be printed at the school on their local MFP or at the local commercial printer for larger quantities.

Clickable Print New York is output node number 1.

NOTE: this has not been copyright cleared with USA Today. Not for reproduction in print, until permission has been granted.

Compare and Contrast Copy A to Copy B.

The Copy A:

President Obama delivered a 50-minute address to the American Medical Association about the need for health care reform at a convention of the big doctors' group in Chicago. USA TODAY's Judy Keen is in Chicago at the convention and we'll be covering reaction in our blog. Below is our live blog of the president's address. All times are ET

read all at http://tinyurl.com/ml5ywy

Excerpts Follow:

1:07: Obama says his proposals will save about $950 billion, extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by seven years and reduce Medicare premiums by about $43 billion over the next decade.

1:06: Obama says he can get another $313 billion in Medicare and Medicaid spending by making the programs more efficient; save $106 billion by lowering the number of uninsured patients on hospital rolls and $75 billion by doing a better job of purchasing drugs.

1:05: Obama wants to speed to market generic biologic drugs, used to treat diseases like anemia. He says the government can get save $30 billion by getting a better deal for poorer seniors while "asking our well-off seniors to pay a little more for drugs."

1:03: The president wants to change Medicare reimbursements to prevent patients from being released from hospitals before they are ready. Right now, almost 20% of Medicare patients are readmitted within a month after being released from hospitals because they aren't getting the care they need, Obama says.

1:01: Obama says he'll pay the bill for health care by ending overpayments to Medicare Advantage. He says that cutting this "subsidy to insurance companies" will save $177 billion over the next decade.

1:00: "Making health care affordable for all Americans will cost somewhere on the order of $1 trillion over the next 10 years," Obama says. While that's "real money -- even in Washington," he quips, it's "less than we are projected to spend on the war in Iraq"

12:56: Big cheers for this: "We need to end the practice of denying coverage on the basis of preexisting conditions," the president says. "The days of cherry-picking who to cover and who to deny -- those days are over,"
. . .

12:51 p.m. The president directly confronts an issue on which the AMA has opposed him. Health care reform must include a government-run insurance option to "force waste out of the system and keep the insurance companies honest," he says. Evidently not all members of the doctors' group agrees with the AMA official position against the so-called public option, because the president is getting some applause.

12:50 p.m. Beyond economic arguments, there's a moral imperative for achieving health care reform, the president argues: "We are a nation that cares for its citizens. We are a people who look out for one another. That is what makes this the United States of America. We need to get this done."

12:48 p.m. Extending health insurance to all Americans is "in all of our economic interests," the president says, because each time an uninsured patient shows up at an emergency room "it's reflected in higher taxes, higher premiums and higher health care costs."

12:43: Obama is trying again to reassure doctors he's not going to impose a government bureaucracy on them. "I will listen to you and work with you to pursue reform that works for you," the president says, getting his longest ovation so far.

12:42: Obama moves to preempt arguments that his plan will put the government between doctors and their patients. "Let me be clear," he says. "Identifying what works is not about dictating what kind of care should be provided."

12:41: Less than 1% of the nation's health care spending goes to determining which treatments are most effective., the president says: "As a result, too many doctors and patients are making decisions without the benefit of the latest research."

12:40: "We need to rethink the cost of a medical education and do more to reward medical students who choose a career as primary care physicians and who choose to work in underserved areas instead of a more lucrative path," the president says, prompting another ovation.

12:39: "You didn't enter this profession to be beancounters and paper-pushers. You entered this profession to be healers - and that's what this health care system should let you be," the president tells the doctors, triggering some of the most enthusiastic applause so far.

12:37: Obama says the health insurance system "rewards the quantity of care rather than the quality of care" by pushing doctors "to see more and more patients even if you can't spend much time with each." The audience is listening very quietly. No applause.

12:36: The existing health care system "spends vast amounts of money on things that aren't making our people any healtier," Obama says.

12:35: Efforts to streamline recordkeeping and improve Americans' health habits "will only make a dent in the epidemic of rising costs" in the health care system, the president concedes.

12:34: Obama praises a program available to employees of the supermarket chain Safeway. It provides lower insurance premiums for employees who get regular medical screenings to prevent disease.

12:33: Americans need to "take more responsibility for our health," says the president. "That means quitting smoking," says the commander-in-chief, who is struggling with that himself. Obama also is promoting more exercise and less junk food. He touts the White House vegetable garden while conceding "Michelle has done most of the work."

12:31: The president says the medical system should computerize Americans' health records. As Newt Gingrich has rightly pointed out -- and I do not quote Newt Gingrich that often," says the president, prompting a big guffaw from the audience, "we do a better job tracking a FedEX package in this country that we do tracking a patient's health records."

12:29: Obama says health care reform will enable the nation to "stop spending tax dollars to prop up an unsustainable system and start investing those dollars in innovations and advances that will make our health care system and our economy stronger."

12:28: "No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period."

12:27: "The moment is right for health care reform," the president says, "this is an historic opportunity we've never seen before and may not see again."

12:25 p.m. "What makes this moment different," Obama says, is that more interest groups are openly acknowledging the need for reform. "Ultimately, everyone will benefit," he says.

12:24 p.m. Obama accuses some opponents of using "fear tactics" that portary any effort to reform the health care system "as an attempt to, yes, socialize medicine."

12:23 p.m.: Obama acknowledges some doctors in the audience might be skeptical of his plan. "There's a fear of change -- a worry that we may lose what works about our health care system while trying to fix what doesn't," he says.

12:22 p.m. "Health care is the single most important thing we can do for America's long-term fiscal health," Obama says.

12:20 p.m. The president is defending his effort to enact sweeping health care reform in the midst of a recession. "I'd love to be able to defer these issues, but we can't," Obama says. "Let there be no doubt: The cost of inaction is greater." Failure to act will mean "a lower standard of living for all Americans," he adds.

12:19 p.m.: Obama says one-third of small businesses have dropped health insurance coverage for workers since the early 1990s, and says health costs helped drive big companies into bankruptcy too. "If we do not fix our health care system, America may go the way of GM," he says.

12:18 p.m.: "Our costly health care system is unsustainable for doctors," adds Obama. He quotes Michael Kahn, a New Hampshire physician, saying he spends 20% of his time on insurance paperwork.

12:16: Rising cost of health care is "unsustainable for the United States of America," Obama says. He calls it "a threat to our economy."

12:15 p.m.:The president says that in the effort to pull the nation out of the recession, "one essential step in our journey is to control the spiraling cost of health care in America."

(Posted by Kathy Kiely)

Copy B

WSJ's blog on health and the business of health

http://tinyurl.com/ltgzp5

Nancy Nielsen, the AMA’s outgoing president, and J. James Rohack, who will become the group’s president tomorrow, are holding a press conference to respond to the speech. Here’s what they’re saying.

1:43 Nielsen speaks. She says the AMA was delighted that the president came to address the group. “Like the president, the American Medical Association is committed to covering all Americans.” Everybody deserves affordable, high-quality coverage. The AMA has been working on this issue.

1:45 “The president was very warmly received,” she adds, and starts to take questions. (The audio is difficult to hear, but we’ll do the best we can.)

1:46 The group was “thrilled” that this was the first Democratic president to talk about liability reform.

1:47 Over the next days, the AMA will figure out the way it can best help the president reach the goals they share, which is affordable health insurance for all Americans.

1:48 Rohack speaks. Both the president and the AMA share the goal of all Americans having affordable health coverage and to not have the emergency room be the access point for health care. The AMA is also excited about the president’s emphasis on prevention.

1:49 Nielsen speaks. On malpractice-liability reform, the AMA knew Obama was opposed to a cap on damages. “But what we were very pleased about was that he is open to considering options that would lower the cost of defensive medicine.” He acknowledged the issue, which pleased the AMA.

1:50 Rohack speaks. Because of the advances of medical science, life expectancy is 10 years longer than when Medicare was first started. There’s improved technology, improved ways to take care of patients. But 50 million people don’t have affordable health insurance. We’re committed to trying to reform the system.

1:52 “We are at a watershed moment in our country,” Rohack says. He echoes the president’s emphasis on the importance of health care to the economy and again talks about preventive care.

1:55 Nielsen speaks. The AMA is committed to Americans having choice, and the president talked about that today as well. Choice of coverage, choice of doctors.

1:56 On the public plan, Nielsen says the group has tried to be “open to whatever possibilities are actually in play, being considered in Congress, rather than reacting to a label.”

1:58 On the idea of a health-insurance exchange, Rohack says the principle of “choice” is very important. Right now, Americans have a hard time finding different options. It is cumbersome to search for a plan. Rohack talks in a positive light about the choices that federal employees have. “It was clear that the president was also signaling his awareness that the patient-physician relationship is very important,” while at the same time having options for insurance is important. The exchange is a model.

2:00 Nielsen speaks. On comparative effectiveness, the president said that people think this means dictating what people have to do. He said that wouldn’t be the case. Getting good information that doctors and patients need — that’s what everybody agrees on.

2:03 Rohack says the president’s coming there today recognizes the important role that doctors play in health care. The AMA represents all doctors in the U.S. His coming recognizes that doctors are there for their patients, and if doctors don’t believe reform will be good for their patients, we’ll let our patients know.

2:05 Nielsen says the president indicated that putting a label on something before knowing what it is, is not the best way to handle this debate. Don’t look at labels, don’t let fear-mongering or rhetoric get in the way of plans we haven’t yet seen. We have to get to the goal of health care for all Americans. “It is the best chance and maybe the last chance in a decade.” We also want to get rid of the labels and wait until you hear what people are talking about.

2:07 Asked what would make any plan unpalatable to the AMA, Nielsen says it would be taking away decisions from the patients and their doctors.

2:08 Rohack says the president signaled a recognition of a crisis and a need to solve it. He echoes the president’s point about the difficulty that patients with pre-existing conditions have getting health insurance. Doctors reacted enthusiastically to the president when he said that problem needed to be solved.

2:09 On primary care, Rohack says that systems that seem to control health-care costs the best, nationwide and internationally, they have a place where a patient has a “home” and can get coordinated care. Primary care is extremely important, but there are also specialties, such as general surgery, that are also in short supply. We have an opportunity to “deal with this burden of debt that the average student comes out with.” They’re choosing specialties based on their ability to pay off that debt. We want to work with the president to achieve a common goal of affordable health insurance and a work force that can provide them with care.

2:13 Nielsen says that the reality is that doctors make a good living, by and large. But they’ve also had difficulty keeping offices open. They have difficulty paying rent and paying their employees. Students come out of medical school and residency with $140,000 in debt. We have to get back to doing what we do best: caring for patients.

2:14 Rohack talks about the administrative burden of dealing with a lot of different insurance companies.

2:15 Rohack talks about Obama’s mention of hospital readmissions. Some of this has to do with a law that prevents doctors from providing IT services for hospitals. Patients go home and they don’t have their records. “The reality is we don’t talk to each other, still,” he says, referring to hospitals and doctors. Different organizations have electronic systems, but those systems don’t talk to each other, and that contributes to readmissions. The AMA is committed to working on this, and is doing so right now. Interoperability standards are key.

2:18 On malpractice reform, Rohack says the president showed he knows that part of the health-care cost problem is due to defensive medicine. We are willing to have best practices, but unless we have protection in a court room for not ordering a test, we are going to order the tests. Doctors need a “safe harbor.” That will help cut unnecessary costs, including defensive medicine.

2:19 The press conference is over.

The Video @http://tinyurl.com/nbg28m qrcode
QR code generator


Dynamic QR codes + Clickable Print = Easier Admin

Step 1
Every week the student is asked to fill in a online questionaire or stop by any computer at school to fill out a questionaire.

Step 2
A CodeZ QR is returned to the desktop and printed on an MFP or at home.

Step 3
As students come to school the clickable paper is seen by a PC camera or a smart phone.

Then you do it every computer lab.
Then you do it in every class as the student arrives.
Then you do it in Clickable Print teaching materials.

Meanwhile, the Cloud knows who went where and who did what and when they did it.

Getting the Meeting for MPS in a School District

Let's say you are in Los Angeles.

1. Click on http://www.edweek.org/apps/gmap/
2. Click on any of the Google tags.
3. Get something like the following:
BALDWIN PARK UNIFIED
BALDWIN PARK, CA
Demographic Profile

BALDWIN PARK UNIFIEDNational Average
SCHOOL SYSTEM — VITAL STATS
Students19,6842,970
Schools2265
Localesuburban45% of students attend suburban schools
STUDENT POPULATION
Race/Ethnicity
American Indian/Alaska Native0.2%1.2%
Asian/Pacific Islander6.1%4.6%
Hispanic86.1%19.8%
Black (not Hispanic)2.9%17.2%
White (not Hispanic)4.8%57.1%

Poverty (Free or Reduced Lunch Eligibility)69.9%41.8%
English-Language Learners34.3%9.7%
Special Education8.9%13.6%
Graduation Analysis

BALDWIN PARK UNIFIEDNational Average

Graduation Rate for All Students,
Class of 2006
55.1%69.2%

District Performance Score
Captures the district's graduation performance relative to other school systems with similar characteristics. A score of 100 point indicates that the district's graduation rate is exactly as would be expected, based on its size, student composition, and other characteristics. Districts with scores greater than 100 points are outperforming expectations
91.6
points
100 points
Ten-Year Trend
200655.1%69.2%
200570.6%
200469.5%70.0%
200358.9%69.7%
200281.9%69.3%
200159.2%68.0%
200060.3%66.8%
199958.8%66.0%
199855.1%65.6%
199759.3%65.7%
199665.6%66.4%

Change over time, 1996 to 2006 (percentage points)-10.5+2.8
Graduation Pipeline, Class of 2006
Where are students lost?Percent of student lost by grade
Details may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
9th grade0%31.3%
10th grade28.5%26.1%
11th grade20.8%18.9%
12th grade50.8%23.6%


The email
Given that they are graduating 55.1% of their seniors, I bet someone would respond.

Subject Line
May I show you a new way to lower overall expenses and improve the graduation rate?

Body of email:
Dear abc,

It will only take about 15 minutes. Please get in touch when you think you might have a little free time.

Yours truly,
xyz

At the meeting:
1. Give them a list with links of all the people you've saved a lot of money for.
2. Show them some clickable print that keeps the teachers and students busy learning about current events.
3. Explain how dynamic QR code could solve their attendance, homework compliance and staying in touch with their parents problems.

Then wait for questions.


Thinking Point: United States Health Care

With a robust printernet a two sided color A4 or A3 could be in the hands of every high school kid in the United States on Wednesday June 17, 2009, with a minimal carbon footprint. It could be printed at the school on their local MFP or at the local commercial printer for larger quantities.

Clickable Print New York is output node number 1.


The Event:
The health care debate begins. The mystery to be solved is how to get to a health care system that does ALL three of the following:
* Reduce Costs
Rising health care costs are crushing the budgets of governments, businesses, individuals and families and they must be brought under control
* Guarantee Choice —
Americans must have the freedom to keep whatever doctor and health care plan they have, or to select a new doctor or health care plan if they choose
* Ensure Affordable Care for All —
All Americans must have quality and affordable health care

The Background
qrcode
Created at QR code generator

http://tinyurl.com/cq8737

Wikipedia

Health care systems are designed to meet the health care needs of target populations. There are a wide variety of health care systems around the world. In some countries, the health care system has evolved and has not been planned, whereas in others a concerted effort has been made by governments, trade unions, charities, religious, or other co-ordinated bodies to deliver planned health care services targeted to the populations they serve. However, health care planning has often been evolutionary rather than revolutionary.[1]


To Consider
Clive Crook At the Financial Times
http://tinyurl.com/naxbmg
Shutting it down ( the health insurance industry) is not the purpose of the public plan, say its Democratic supporters: the public plan is just one more choice. This is disingenuous. If the public plan had to compete on truly level terms with private plans, how would it be able “to keep them honest”?

from Bloomberg
http://tinyurl.com/mydn8f
June 15 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama will try to convince the nation’s largest group of doctors today that his plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system will lead to more efficient care and enhance the country’s fiscal health.

In a speech to the American Medical Association, Obama will endorse the creation of a government-sponsored insurance plan operating alongside private coverage while maintaining existing relationships between doctors and patients, according to an administration official who released background on the address on the condition of anonymity.

Tell your best ideas to your congress person.

http://tinyurl.com/5nexf4

qrcode
created at QR code generator

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Clickable Print can save millions of hours in High Schools

Reposted from Tough Love For Xerox.

CodeZ is being used by the Canadian government to deliver dynamic QR codes on Canadian passport applications. The citizen fills out a form on a website. The CodeX software creates a QR that has tha appropriate contact information, name, address, etc.

If every student in a high school had a dynamic QR code on their ID card, it could be scanned as they enter the building. If the contact information is part of the code, it means mom could get a phone call, email, SMS at 10:00 AM in the morning. Not two weeks later. Once the kids know this is going to happen, they're going to show up everyday.

The principals will love it because all they have to do is ok a budget item and get the attendance stats up. Every principal in the United States cares about the attendance stats. So does every school board, because that's one of the ways they get paid back. In New York City alone, the amount of effort getting the attendance stats to Tweed is amazing.

The teachers will love it because they correctly hate to take attendance. Of course the Union will love it because it gives the teachers more time to teach and less time to be clerical staff.

People, why wouldn't any school district in the United States buy this?

Then imagine if dynamic QR codes or pURLs appeared on Clickable Print A4s. Every admin and teacher would know which student did what and when they did it. Then every parent would have a record of what junior really did. Not what junior says he did. When everyone knows what a student did and when they did it, high school gets mostly fixed at all levels of the pyramid.

Clickable A4: Economics: The Strength of the US Dollar

The Event

From Seeking Apha

The tide has turned against the U.S. Dollar. The dollar rose during the crisis as it became a refuge for investors seeking safety. Now, investors are worried that their life raft is springing leaks. And rightly so, for in Thursday’s article titled “Is the Almighty Dollar Dead?” Columnist Dan Burrows says:

It's an axiom of economics that debtors love inflation. The flip side, or course, is that creditors despise it. Why lend money today only to get paid back in devalued bucks tomorrow? That spells trouble for the almighty dollar -- and puts pressure on investors to hedge against it’s almost certain further decline, market professionals say.



The Background
From Wikipedia
The United States dollar (sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of currency of the United States and is defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains (27.0 g) of silver (depending on purity). The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents (200 half-cents prior to 1857).

The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions.[2] Although U.S. dollar is a fiat currency, several countries use it as their official currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency.[3]


Choose your Video




Or

Or


OR

Clickable Postcard: Fighting Stupid: GOP Activist Makes Controversial Remark

The Front of the Postcard:
GOP Activist Makes Controversial Remarks:
Written by Robin Hinson
Saturday, 13 June 2009 22:48

Friday's gorilla escape at Riverbanks Zoo prompted a prominent Republican to make some controversial remarks about First Lady Michelle Obama.

In an article posted on the website, www.fitsnews.com, Rusty Depass, a former chair of the State Election Commission, commented on the gorilla escape on www.facebook.com.

The post says quote, "I'm sure it (referring to the ape), is just one of Michelle's ancestors...probably harmless."

ABC Columbia News attempted to contact Depass, but he did not return our phone calls.


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Clickable A4: Science : Laptops Linked to Male Infertility

If the printernet were in existence, a two sided color A4 could be in the hands of every high school kid in the United States on Monday June 15, 2009, with no shipping and a minimal carbon footprint. It could be printed by the teacher on the local MFP.

The event:
ScienceDaily (June 13, 2009) — While fatherhood might be far from the minds of most young men, behavior patterns they establish early on may impact their ability to become a dad later in life. Excessive laptop use tops this list of liabilities, according to one reproductive specialist at Loyola University Health System (LUHS).

"Laptops are becoming increasingly common among young men wired into to the latest technology," said Suzanne Kavic, MD, director of the division of reproductive endocrinology at LUHS and associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and department of medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "However, the heat generated from laptops can impact sperm production and development making it difficult to conceive down the road."
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The Background:
wikipedia
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term. There are many biological causes of infertility, some which may be bypassed with medical intervention.[1]

Women who are fertile experience a natural period of fertility before and during ovulation, and they are naturally infertile during the rest of the menstrual cycle. Fertility awareness methods are used to discern when these changes occur by tracking changes in cervical mucus or basal body temperature.

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Clickable A4: News: Congress Passes Measure on Tobacco Regulation

If the printernet were in existence, a two sided color A4 could be in the hands of every high school kid in the United States on Monday June 15, 2009, with no shipping and a minimal carbon footprint. It could be printed by the teacher on the local MFP.

The Event
The New York Time
By DUFF WILSON
Published: June 12, 2009

The House moved quickly Friday to pass the Senate’s tobacco bill and send it to the White House, where President Obama promised to sign it.

The Background:
Wikipedia

Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the vapors either tasted or inhaled. The practice began as early as 5000-3000 BC.[1] Many civilizations burnt incense during religious rituals, which was later adopted for pleasure or as a social tool.[2] Tobacco was introduced to the old world in the late 1500s where it followed common trade routes. The substance was met with frequent criticism, but became popular nonetheless.[3] German scientists formally identified the link between smoking and lung cancer in the late 1920s leading the first anti-smoking campaign in modern history. The movement, however, failed to reach across enemy lines during the Second World War.[4] It was not until the late 1950s that health authorities once again began to strongly suggest that there was a relationship between smoking and cancer.[5] These suggestions were confirmed in the 1980s, which prompted political action against the practice. Rates of consumption from 1965 onward in the developed world have either peaked or declined.[6] They however continue to climb in the developing world.[7]



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