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In this issue:

  * Convergence of Fixed and Mobile Technologies
  * Biocatalysis and Biodiesel
  * Financial Consumers' Changing Use of Transaction Products
  * Sensors in Mobile-Data Applications
  * Technology and Learning Styles
  * Outlook for Bioanalytical Devices
  * New On-Site Topics for MacroMonitor Subscribers
  * Signals of Change
  * Increased Use of Wind Energy
  * Presentations by SRIC-BI Staff

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(Full text of SRIC-BI publications is available to
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---------------------
 Recent Publications
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Convergence of Fixed and Mobile Technologies

Wireless communications will increasingly be part of a
larger bundle of services for homes and mobile environments,
with the likely providers being leading phone companies,
pay-TV services, and wireless-only operators. Ideally,
bundled services will offer every combination of voice,
broadband Internet, and video entertainment. In reality,
service providers that are strong in one of these areas
will need to shore up weaknesses in others, and a race to
invade each others' territories is likely.  (Business
Opportunities: Fixed-Mobile Convergence and the Battle of
the Bundles)
http://www.sric-bi.com/WF/summaries/BO/2005-04fmconvergence.shtml


Biocatalysis and Biodiesel

Fuel ethanol in gasoline blends is an important high-growth
market for biocatalysts, but biodiesel is even more popular
than ethanol in some regions, such as Europe. Although
producers usually make biodiesel via a chemical process,
some researchers are developing new biocatalyst-based
technology. In addition, future integrated biorefineries
may produce both biodiesel and bioethanol from renewable
plant-based feedstocks. (June 2005 Biocatalysis Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/BC.shtml


Financial Consumers' Changing Use of Transaction Products

An interim report from the 2004-05 MacroMonitor reveals
that though checking accounts remain a key focal point of
consumers' financial transactions, the balance is shifting
to favor electronic payments. More households are enrolling
in automatic-payment services, and use of debit cards is
expanding. Moreover, although market penetration of credit
cards shows initial signs of decline, credit-card owners
are using their cards more frequently.
(2004-05 MacroMonitor Interim Report: Transaction Products)
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/TOCs/2004StdPSinterim02sum.shtml


Sensors in Mobile-Data Applications

Capturing additional data and using devices to transmit
data will be increasingly important in mobile-data
applications. Sensors can add functionality to and extend
the reach of such applications. Real-time information is
the holy grail for many business processes, and many
services, such as travel and auction sites, use instant
information to provide faster and better services to
customers. (June 2005 Mobile Data Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/MD.shtml


Technology and Learning Styles

Learning theorists have long understood that different
people learn in different ways. Technology has the potential
to personalize learning experiences to fit users' learning
styles and to maximize learning effectiveness for all. So
far, companies have tended to use eLearning more to
standardize courses than to personalize them. However, the
next generation of learning-technology implementations
promises to increase personalization and to benefit from
users' growing sophistication. (May 2005 LoD Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/viewpoints.shtml


Outlook for Bioanalytical Devices

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are rapidly finding
applications in the life sciences. These so-called bioMEMS
are inexpensive to produce, are small and light, and
feature low power consumption, which is necessary for
portable and implantable devices. As a result, they are
finding use in medical devices, such as implantable devices
to monitor cardiac rhythm, and in lab-on-a-chip/
microfluidics devices for high-throughput screening,
microreactors, and other uses. (Bioanalytical Devices:
Research Developments and Trends)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM027.shtml#D05-2506


New On-Site Topics for MacroMonitor Subscribers

Subscribers to the 2004-05 MacroMonitor receive a free
on-site presentation as part of their subscription.
Companies can select two topics from a menu that includes
revolving retirement, consumer disengagement with financial
services, trust of financial institutions and intermediaries,
cross-selling, new life stages, and types of financial
consumers. Discussion of such topics can help organizations
prepare for the challenges ahead as the financial-services
industry evolves.
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/TOCs/2004StdPresTopics.shtml


Signals of Change

A full-service infrastructure is emerging to enable small,
independent digital-content producers to create and
distribute their own content. The latest issue of Scan(TM)
Monthly discusses this and other signals of change, such as
innovations in sound, consumerism by pet owners, the instant
economy, and the new field of metagenomics, which studies
the genetic makeup of mini ecosystems in the human body.
(Scan[TM] Monthly, June 2005)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM028.shtml#SoCs


Increased Use of Wind Energy

In 2004, the world's installed wind-power capacity
increased more than 20%, and total installed capacity is
now more than 47 000 megawatts. Government incentives and
mandates continue to be the major drivers of growth,
although the economics of wind energy are becoming
increasingly attractive as the price of natural gas
continues to rise. Technology advances include new
materials for rotor blades and new designs for blades,
turbines, and towers. (Wind Energy: Entering the Mainstream)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM027.shtml#D05-2507



--------------------------------
 Presentations by SRIC-BI Staff
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LoD Meeting in Finland

Although Nordic countries are small economies, they are
often early adopters of technology, and the Nordic region
has played an important role in the European learning-
technology market since its early days. A recent Learning-
on-Demand (LoD) program meeting in Helsinki, Finland,
brought together LoD clients to discuss innovations in
learning and learning technology in the region. A highlight
was an interactive workshop by SRIC-BI's Rob Edmonds to
explore the potential for a Nordic-Baltic eLearning and
business network.



SRIC-BI at the World Futures Conference

Three SRIC-BI staff members will speak at the World Futures
Conference in Chicago, 29 to 31 July. Tom McKenna, senior
consultant, will discuss how companies can scan for early
signals of change; Larry Cohen, vice president of SRIC-BI
and director of Consumer Financial Decisions, will discuss
the need for financial-services companies to understand
changing definitions of retirement for the twenty-first
century; and Alex Ledin, consultant, will speak about new
ideas, realities, and consequences of distributed
infrastructure.



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