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HEELS ON WHEELS: 2015 LEXUS RX 450h REVIEW +VIDEO

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HEELS ON WHEELS By Katrina Ramser San Francisco Bureau The Auto Channel

INTRO TO THE LEXUS RX 450h VEHICLE The mid-size Lexus RX 450h crossover is the hybrid version of the 350, revolutionizing the segment with an eco-luxurious edge for soccer moms and the like. Loaded from head to taillights, everyday include a power liftgate, a sliding and reclining rear seat, and a dual-screen rear entertainment system and a real-life fuel economy tested to deliver 27.8 mile-per-gallon combined with all-wheel drive.

I drove a 2015 Lexus RX 450h with the standard Atkinson-cycle 3.5-liter V6 engine combined with a lighter electric motor for an output of 295 horsepower. Standard equipment on the RX 450h includes: wood interior trim; dual-zone climate control; ten-way power front seats; leather upholstery; 10-way power drivers seat; wood interior trim; power tilt-and-telescopic steering column; steering wheel with mounted controls; a 12-speaker premium audio system with iTunes Tagging and Internet Radio; Bluetooth; a cargo area tonneau cover; a rearview camera display; eighteen-inch wheels; and power tailgate. Total vehicle price without options came to $48,845.

Not much changes for the RX models there is some new Siri Eyes Free technology that lets you call contacts, select and play music from iTunes, and get turn-by-turn navigation. Main rivals to the Lexus RX 450h are the Audi Q5 Hybrid, Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, as well as the Volkswagen Touareg diesel and Mercedes-Benz GL-Class 350 Blue Tec, if youre open to expanding all alternative fuel options.

HEELS ON WHEELS REVIEW CRITERIA

Stylish But Comfortable Results: The RX 450h continues to possess a high-class look inside and out, with the center console layout streamlined and contoured but less impressive brands can compete and I can attest the RXs interior isnt as suave next to a top-of-the-line Nissan Murano with its NASA-inspired zero gravity seats when the two vehicles sat in my driveway between test drives. Optional equipment included a $1,915 navigation system, a $3,060 Premium Package (upgraded leather-trim and bamboo inlay interior, some safety technology, moonroof and roof rails), a $995 Mark Levinson audio system, $700 nineteen-inch wheels Ill stop there, but it added $10k to the price. There is a sportier gasoline version the RX 350 F Sport with a more aggressive grille, rear bumper, fenders and larger wheels, which makes the model versatile.

Reliability & Safety Factor: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the 2015 Lexus RX 450h ratings of Good in all categories. With all-wheel drive, the vehicle earns an overall 5-Star rating with The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Optional safety technology includes the Blind Spot Monitor System and adaptive cruise control with a pre-collision warning system.

Cost Issues: The 2015 Lexus RX 450h starts at $47,620 with my test drive priced at $57,405 with options. As I mentioned, I was pretty impressed with the interior of the redesigned Nissan Murano, which costs $43,070 fully loaded.

Activity & Performance Ability: Like its 100% gasoline sister, the Lexus RX 450h is an enjoyably smooth ride with commanding acceleration on any mountain grain or city incline matched with forceful brakes. The real performance highlight is that it retains said fuel economy (or close enough to it). But to really tap into the pleasure of this vehicle, be expected to cough up the dough for the many premium packages. There is plenty of cargo room to store all baby necessities and weekend luggage.

The Green Concern: EPA-estimated fuel economy results with the hybrid system are 30-city and 28-highway for a combined claim of 29 miles-per-gallon with the all-wheel drive. I was able to retain about 27.8 miles-per-gallon with heavy highway driving.

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HEELS ON WHEELS: 2015 LEXUS RX 450h REVIEW +VIDEO

We want to create an eco-system for student innovation

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Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE) will be working towards creating an eco-system for student innovation.

Our focus in the coming days will be on creating an eco-system for student innovation and applying for product patents, said Principal of SJCE Shakeeb Ur Rahman.

The alumni of the college, who are now representing different organisations worldwide, had interacted with the faculty and the students instilling in them the innovative urge meet current global demands. In a chat with The Hindu ahead of the valedictory of SJCEs golden jubilee scheduled for March 31, Mr. Rahman said the students will be encouraged to take up innovative projects and develop products for the benefit of society.

Also, a fruitful interaction between the college and the industry had seen 12 laboratories being set up by different industry giants like Motorola, IBM, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on the campus.

The autonomous status of the college has helped it to include subjects of the industrys choice into the curriculum, which is offered to the student as an elective and not as a compulsory subject.

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Government mulls new system for categorising industries by pollution parameters

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NEW DELHI: The environment ministry is considering revisiting the system of categorising industries that seek permission to set up and operate units. It has suggested giving higher consideration to air pollutants, effluents and the nature of waste hazardous or otherwise produced as part of an industrial unit's operations.

The proposed system, which will be discussed with the states, will be based on "scores" that industrial units will be given on the basis of these pollution-related parameters. The new classification is part of the ministry's effort to put in place a system that is responsive to environmental challenges while providing industries with a more conducive set up.

The proposed classification will be on the basis of a composite scorecomprising 40% weightage for air pollution, 40% for water quality and 20% for nature of waste. The parameters will include toxic pollutants, besides the standard basket of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, benzene, ammonia, the pH (to ascertain the level of acidity of water quality), total suspended solids and level of dissolved oxygen.

Industries that score more than 60 will be classified as red, those from 30 to 59 as orange, from 15 to 29 as green while units with less than 15 will be considered as non-polluting. Consent to operate will be specified for a time limit, after which there will be a reviewred category industries will be given consent for five years and orange for eight. Green categories will require a one-time consent for the life cycle of the unit, while non-polluting industries will not require any consent.

Industries are currently classified into three categories in decreasing order of severity of pollutionred, orange and green. Introduced in 1989, this system was geared to link the pollution potential of industries at a particular location to help people understand the severity of pollution from a specific industry.

Given the location-specific component, it is not possible to have a uniform classification throughout the country, although the Central Pollution Control Board has tried to harmonise the industries in the three categories.

The environment ministry is of the view that the present system does not take into account sector-specific plans for controlling pollution and instead classifies industries and industrial activities on the basis of size, manpower and consumption of resources. The view in the ministry is that pollution parameters and their impact on health are not considered primary criteria in this classification.

The ministry has proposed that no red-category industries will be permitted to set up units in urban, eco-sensitive and protected areas. The classification of industries will be undertaken by a team comprising officials for the central pollution board, state boards and the ministry.

Experts say a dynamic classification that takes into account the actual levels of pollution of an industrial unit and the carrying capacity of a particular area is preferable. However, the efficacy of the proposed system will depend on the manner in which it is implemented and monitored.

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Government mulls new system for categorising industries by pollution parameters

CardinalCommerce and The Fraud Practice Announce Results from 2nd Annual Survey on Consumer Authentication

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Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) March 26, 2015

CardinalCommerce and The Fraud Practice announce the results of the second annual survey on Consumer Authentication. This survey, which takes a 360 degree view of the payments eco-system, builds on the data collected last year and provides rich information on the attitudes about and adoption of Consumer Authentication today. The results were presented yesterday during the Merchant Risk Council event in Las Vegas.

Among the responses, it was discovered that the overwhelming impression of merchants currently using Consumer Authentication is positive. Other findings of note include:

David Montague, Founder of The Fraud Practice, says This years survey showed increased market awareness and education around Consumer Authentication programs, especially around how these techniques are applied. The share of merchants who selectively decide when to present Consumer Authentication increased from 60 to 70 percent, while merchants using selective presentment are more satisfied with Consumer Authentication overall. These programs have and are continuing to evolve, and the fact that more merchants understand how to best implement Consumer Authentication bodes well for the payments industry as a whole.

Mike Keresman, Chief Executive Officer at Cardinal, says For the second year, our colleagues in the payments industry have endorsed Consumer Authentication as an up and coming technology that helps the entire payments ecosystem combat card-not-present fraud and increase sales and margins. With this Second Annual Consumer Authentication Survey, we are seeing more acceptance and adoption of Consumer Authentication by merchants, issuers and consumers, in the US and all over the world. Theres proof that it works, and merchants and banks see the benefit.

Cardinal and The Fraud Practice will also present these survey results via a webinar, scheduled for Thursday, April 16 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. David Montague, Founder of The Fraud Practice, industry expert and survey author, will serve as moderator. To register for the webinar, visit: http://info.cardinalcommerce.com/2015CardinalSurveyResultsWebinar

In this Consumer Authentication Survey, more than 400 people responded, representing constituents across the payments industry: merchants, acquirers and payment solution providers (including gateways), card associations, issuers, and fraud/eCommerce providers.

The merchant respondents, 44% of the total, are split evenly between merchants using Consumer Authentication and those not using it. Company size of merchants was also diverse, with 64% of responses coming from companies with more than $50 million in revenue, 20% coming from companies with less than $5 million in revenue, and the remaining 16% falling between $5 and $50 million in revenue. The remaining respondents are as follows: 18.2% are acquirers and PSPs; 27.3% are fraud and eCommerce service providers; 4.4% are card associations; and 6% are issuers.

To download the complete report, visit http://hubs.ly/y0CD-00

About CardinalCommerce CardinalCommerce is the pioneer and global leader in enabling authenticated payment transactions in the card-not-present payments industry since 1999. Through One Connection to the proprietary Cardinal SafeCloudTM payment platform, CardinalCommerce enables friction-free, technology-neutral authentication and alternative payment services (including digital wallets and mobile commerce services). Cardinal services, partners with and complements most providers in the marketplace to deliver their one connection solution to secure transactions. In accommodating this growing number of payment brands and methods, Cardinal's platforms serve as universal switches, supporting virtually all merchant platforms, wallets, legacy processing systems and authentication methodologies.

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CardinalCommerce and The Fraud Practice Announce Results from 2nd Annual Survey on Consumer Authentication

StarTimes Deployed Conax Certified STB Chipset Solution from ALi Corporation, Driving DTV Expansion in Africa

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Taipei ALi Corporation, a leading Set-Top Box (STB) chipset solution provider, today announced StarTimes, a pioneering international digital TV service provider, has adopted full range Conax certified set-top boxes based on ALi chipset solutions to further expand their African markets.

StarTimes, with branches in 26 African countries and operations in 14 countries, has accumulated nearly 5 million subscribers across Africa and ranks among the top three DTV operators in the region. In addition to being a network operator, StarTimes is also a DTV system integrator, technology provider, as well as media content producer. Strong eco-system partners are very valuable to StarTimes operations, indicated XinXing Pang, Chairman, StarTimes. The collaboration with global leading partners, ALi and Conax, helps us deliver optimized total solutions in terms of performance, security, and costs that drive DTV expansion in Africa.

ALi is experienced and proficient at providing innovative STB technologies and solutions tailored to specific regions, said Tony Chang, General Manager of ALis Broadcast and Broadband Media Business Unit. To answer to Africas DTV needs, ALi offers a full spectrum of chipset solutions including standard definition and high definition DVB-T2 and S2 SoC solutions as well as S2+T2 combo platforms. With StarTimes vast operations throughout Africa and Conaxs forward-looking security technologies, our partnerships will bring high-quality, affordable STB solutions within reach for more people in the region.

Conax has long-term relations with both ALi and StarTimes, said Morten Solbakken, President CEO, Conax. Conax certified content security delivered on ALi STB chipsets enables robust protection of StarTimes extensive services. We look forward to further strengthening these strategic partnerships and continuing to deliver future-oriented solutions to capture the booming opportunities in African markets.

About ALi Corporation ALi Corporation is a leading innovator and developer in the set-top box (STB) system-on-chip (SoC) market. By fully leveraging its core expertise in the set-top box industry, ALi solutions are recognized for their high levels of integration, superior performance reliability, premier customer oriented service and compelling cost structure. Hundreds of Pay TV operators have adopted ALi's solutions worldwide. ALi Corporation was founded in 1987 with headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, RD centers as well as sales offices in Hsinchu, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Geneva, Tempe Arizona, and Seoul, and technical support teams throughout Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.alitech.com.

About StarTimes Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Beijing, StarTimes devotes itself to the RD of DTV total solution, value-added services and investment and operation of DTV networks. Remarkable breakthrough has been achieved in these fields. StarTimes has now become a media group specialized in system integration, technology provision, as well as network operation. StarTimes has registered branches in 26 African countries and carries out operation in 14 countries. With close to 5 million subscribers across Africa, StarTimes has now become the most fast-growing and influential Digital TV operator in the region. For more information, please visit http://en.startimes.com.cn/

About Conax A part of the Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD:S), Conax is a leading global specialist around the total service protection for digital TV services over broadcast, broadband and connected devices. Conax provides telcos, cable, satellite, IP, mobile and terrestrial and broadband operations with the innovative, flagship Conax Contego family of flexible and cost-efficient solutions to deliver premium content securely and position to capture new market segments and enable operators with easy access to the OTT multiscreen arena. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, ISO 9001 27001 certified Conax technology enables secure content revenues for 400 operators in 85 countries globally. For more information, please visit http://www.conax.com.

ALi media contacts Camila Hsu +(886) 2-8752-2000 Email: camila.hsu@alitech.com

Kenny Guan +(86 775) 2519-5788 Email: kenny.guan@alitech.com

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StarTimes Deployed Conax Certified STB Chipset Solution from ALi Corporation, Driving DTV Expansion in Africa

Survivalist and eco-friendly underground house in Maryland

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Worried about a cyberattack on the power grid? Fearful of a nuclear explosion? Anxious about a catastrophic terrorist event? Or maybe youre concerned about the environment and want to rely less on fossil fuels. Perhaps you are looking for a spacious house with low upkeep costs. Then this may be the home for you.

The underground house in Clinton, Md., offers everything a doomsday prepper, environmentalist or frugal home buyer desires.

The necessities are there to finish this house out if you really wanted to go net zero and live off the grid, said listing agent Jonathan Benya of Keller Williams Select Realtors. You could do that with this house very, very easily.

The original owners were from California and wanted an energy-efficient home. They had seen houses similar out West and turned to Formworks, a Colorado company that specializes in earth-sheltered homes. This house, the first of its kind on the East Coast, was designed by Dale Percy.

[A look at the Washington area's most expensive houses for sale]

Behind its brick facade, the house burrows into a mound of dirt, using the earth as insulation. It is essentially two domes connected by a tunnel. The front dome contains the bedrooms, the living room and kitchen. Two of the bedrooms are on the second floor, and the master suite is on the first floor. The family room is in the rear dome. The laundry room, which is in the tunnel, and the bathrooms are the only rooms that dont have windows and access to natural light.

Many people want that open floor plan where you have these two-story foyers, Benya said. This exceeds anything you could ever find like that. It feels very, very spacious. The family room in the back, which is the 40-foot dome, is large enough that you could park four cars in it.

Energy bills are never more than $200 a month, and if solar panels were installed, as the owners planned, that would reduce energy costs even more. The house has its own septic system so theres no water bill. The only utility bill left would be the gas for the fireplace.

Built with concrete and with a soil depth that runs between 21/2 to 24 feet, the house can withstand a hurricane or a tornado. As a bonus, you wouldnt have to worry about replacing the roof and youd rarely have to mow. Since the owners built it in 2006, the grass on the hill has been mowed only once.

Benya acknowledges that the home is not for everyone.

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Survivalist and eco-friendly underground house in Maryland

Eco Wave Power Establishes a Subsidiary in Suzhou, and Receives an Approval for a First Plant in Zhejiang Province

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TEL AVIV, Israel, March 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Eco Wave Power, a world leader in electricity from ocean waves, established a Subsidiary in Changshu under the name of"Suzhou Eco Wave Technology".The Company was established with investment from a Chinese Governmental fund that believes in EWP's innovative technology and provides funding for EWP's first 100KW grid connected plant, to be completed by the end of this year.

In a short time frame, Suzhou Eco WaveTechnology was able to secure consent to construct a pilot plant in Zoushan Island, and is in advanced negotiations regarding additional 50MW projects in Zhejiang.

EWP's commercial scale power plant will be the first of its kind.

Suzhou Eco Wave Technology is part of EWP's corporation, which was established in 2011 and became a significant player in the wave energy industry with a current pipe-line of 99MW, 50MW of which are planned to be in China.

EWP's technology won the frost & Sullivan Innovation Award, the Energy Globe Award and additional recognitions worldwide.

With over 18,000 km of coastline and approximately 6500 islands, China is believed to be one of the biggest markets for wave energy.

The theoretical mean power of wave energy resources along China's coasts reaches 12852.2 MW, with most massive resources in Taiwan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Fujian and Shandong.

Previous testing of Hydraulic systems in actual sea environment in China showed that conversion efciency of Hydraulic system is higher than 50% (as compared to 15% -20% of wind and solar), and the quality of the output power can be used directly.

According to Mr.David Leb, founder & CEO and Ms. Inna Braverman Co-Founder:

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Eco Wave Power Establishes a Subsidiary in Suzhou, and Receives an Approval for a First Plant in Zhejiang Province

Shimano Conquers e-bike Market With Smart and Light System

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NUNSPEET, The Netherlands, March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Shimano STEPS wins Bike Innovation Award and is installed in 23 brands

Shimano, known for bicycle components, has launched a new integrated system for e-bikes. At the end of February, the high tech lightweight Shimano STEPS system immediately won the Dutch Bike Innovation Award 2015 and since then has already been installed in23 bicycle brands, including well-known brands such as Trek, Cortine and Cannondale.

The Japanese manufacturer had not yet broken into the Dutch market for electric bicycles. In 2014 the sales of e-bikes increased by 16 percent. 223,000 of the 1.05 million bicycles sold in the Netherlands were e-bikes, as the RAI recently announced. In this growing e-bike market Shimano wants to help people get the most out of cycling. Where competing brands often only supply the battery or some parts for e-bikes, Shimano has a developed complete system with all parts. From the drive to the battery, from the gear system, bicycle computer to the chain.

Characteristic of Shimano is the investment the company makes in Research & Development and has released an intelligent, silent and light system with all kinds of high tech innovations such as electronic shifting (Di2). Weighing just 3.1 kilogrammes Shimano STEPS is one of the lightest drive systems on the market. This is not only important for the 50+ target group that want to minimise their pedalling weight. The compact and light design also improves the control of the cyclist and as a result is suitable for a wide target group.

Using sensor technology information about torque, speed, cadence and crank position is gathered. This ensures smooth and optimally aligned pedalling power. The e-bike system stops when the cyclist has achieved a speed of 25 kilometres per hr. The battery has a capacity of 418Wh, has to be recharged after four hrs and after 1,000 recharges still holds the same capacity.

With the eco mode on the bicycle computer, cyclists can cycle up to 120 kilometres. It even boasts a walking support function that helps push the bicycle up slopes up to 6 kilometres per hour.

In the future, the e-bike system will be further supplemented with innovative parts, recently additions include the Nexus-8 Di2 hub. This ensures that the electric bicycle shifts automatically, just like the automatic gear box of a car.

The jury of the RAI awarded the system the Bike Innovation Award because of its compact design, low weight and the total integration of components. According to the jury, this makes Shimano STEPS a true innovation. Dealers and bike manufacturers also respond enthusiastically to the new system. During training days Shimano STEPS got grade 9 and the bicycle brands Alba, Bonaventure, Cannondale, Cortina, Dutch ID, Evobike, Flanders, Granville, Hercules, Johnny Loco, KTM, Merida, Oxford, Pegagus, Puch, SCOTT, Spiked Cycles, Stella, Thompson, Trek, Velo de Ville, Venturelli and Vogue have bikes with the system in their product range.

http://www.shimano.com

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Shimano Conquers e-bike Market With Smart and Light System

Shepperton eco-park: New tree cover screening hailed as 'huge victory for residents'

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Eco-park campaigners say new tree cover screening at the site of the large incinerator will make it "slightly more bearable" - following a turbulent public meeting.

Details of the planting were debated at a special planning meeting on Friday March 13, along with three other items, including dust and odour control and water drainage.

Campaigners from Spelthorne Against the Eco Park (SATEP) spoke at the heated meeting and at one point, members of the public were told by chairman Keith Taylor the meeting would go into a closed session if people kept shouting and disrupting proceedings.

This is turning into a rabble, he said.

Although the condition was passed, residents were pleased when members agreed the screening trees to be planted around the incinerator should be mature, as had been previously stated in county council documents.

In more recent paperwork, officers stated 25, 14cm-16cm girth trees and 22 feathered trees would be planted as singles and in small groups along the railway line, to provide landscape mitigation measures.

The girth of a mature tree starts at 20cm.

Artist's impression of the planned eco-park in Shepperton

Planning officer Alan Stones said: The condition uses the word 'mature'. What I am saying is that [it is] a fair, reasonable and proportionate interpretation of that in terms of what the industry is able to provide.

But Councillor Ian Beardsmore argued: Theres been a very great material change to not having mature trees.

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Shepperton eco-park: New tree cover screening hailed as 'huge victory for residents'

Vegware improves efficiency with software from Cezanne HR

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Eco-friendly packaging specialist Vegware is streamlining its people processes with the help of an on-line HR software solution from Cezanne HR.

The Edinburgh-based company develops and manufactures an award-winning range of catering disposables and food packaging. All its products, which are sold globally, are made from renewable or recycled materials and are completely compostable.

Vegwares team grew rapidly from 2 in 2009 to over 50 in 2014, and the HR needs changed dramatically in this time. In particular the software managing annual leave was no longer fit for purpose, leading HR Co-ordinator Emma Young to look around for a replacement. However the search led to unimpressive results in terms of the cost and functionality of what was on the market, so Emma expanded her remit to systems that could manage a range of HR processes. A demo of Cezanne HRs Cloud-based system convinced her it would be the perfect fit for the business. The core HR and absence modules do everything I need for now and there is scope in the future to take up other modules as the company grows, rather than paying for things we are not immediately using, she says. I was also able to get a full HR system for the same price as other products that only covered annual leave.

A system that would link seamlessly with the Google calendars used across the business was essential to Vegware. The software developers at Cezanne HR were able to build in some additional functionality (which is now available to all users) so that annual leave booked via the HR system is automatically updated on Vegwares annual leave Google calendar.

We have a field based sales team so its vital to keep track of who is off when, and have this information feed into other systems that we use says Emma.

Emma did some initial training with Cezanne HR and then launched the system with a small test group. Staff found it intuitive and easy to use, and the system has now been rolled out across the business. Reaction from managers, who now have oversight of absence in their teams, has been positive and Emma has also found the system is helping her cut down on time-consuming admin.

It is helping us keep all the data in one central place and the ability for team members to self-manage makes it easier to ensure the information we have is up-to-date, she says.

Vegware is also beginning to see the benefits of improved management information. It is able to run off regular reports on headcount, for example, and can monitor sickness absence to see if any trends are emerging. Looking further ahead, Emma believes they will also find the training and development and performance management modules useful.

Its definitely a system for the long term as theres so much you can do with it. The support team have also been absolute stars and have been really thorough and quick to respond. I cant recommend it highly enough and in fact Ive already recommended it to an ex-colleague who is looking for a new HR system, she says.

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Vegware improves efficiency with software from Cezanne HR

ecosystem – giraffeology

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every ecosystem has carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores.Herbivores eat only plants these animals in the giraffes ecosystem are elephants, zebras, and gazelles. Carnivores eat meat only such as lions, leopards,spotted hyenas. The spotted hyena is also an omnivore which is an animal that eats both plants and meat. Also some decomposers (which break down remains of other organisms.) are in the giraffes ecosystem, they are in the ground because they are fungi, bacteria, and termites. Now if you have decomposers you got to have producers (which produce their own food.)like flowers, seeds, and wild apricot trees. Along with all these living or biotic things there are abiotic things like water, the sky, or even soil.

The main predator of giraffes is the lion. other predators include wild dogs, hyenas, leopards, and sadly humans who hunt them for their skin.

now the giraffe has no prey do to the fact that it's a herbivore which is an animal that only eats plants.

currently there are less than 80,000 giraffes left

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ecosystem - giraffeology

Schoolchildren bat for saving the sparrow

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Once an integral part of the urban eco-system and a morning alarm for many, sparrows today are dwindling in number.

On World Sparrow Day on Friday, schoolchildren took up their cause, holding banners and shouting slogans.

More than 100 schoolchildren held a rally beginning at City Centre mall in Banjara Hills to raise awareness on the issue. The students, from various schools and age-groups, then pledged to actively contribute to a sparrow database being initiated by green activists. As part of this exercise, the student will record the sparrows spotted in their neighbourhood and share details so as to get a fair idea of the prevalence of the bird in the city.

The event was organised by CALBAC (Citizens Action for Local Biodiversity Awareness and Conservation) and Saptaparni. Rajani Vakkalanka of CALBAC said sparrows were going extinct because of concretisation and the destruction of native species of trees.

Sparrows are also an important part of food production as they are known to feed on pests that destroy crops, she said.

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