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In this issue:

  * Community Wireless Networks
  * Personal-Knowledge Management
  * Toward a Hydrogen Economy
  * Nanoimprint Lithography   
  * Partner Learning for Business Performance
  * The Quest for Inexpensive Electronics
  * Signals of Change
  * Pre-WiMax Deployments
  * Survey: Use of Technology in Executive Development
  * New View of Retirement 


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(Full text of SRIC-BI publications is available to
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---------------------
 Recent Publications
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Community Wireless Networks

Worldwide, more than 100 local governments, nonprofit
organizations, and cooperatives are deploying wireless
broadband technology in their communities, and more
organizations are likely to follow. In many cases,
governments enter into partnerships with private
companies to provide coverage where incumbents have
not done so--to encourage downtown visitors, to
connect public-safety agencies to the Internet, and
more. No one knows whether these markets will
constitute a niche or a mass market in five years.
Clearly, however, pent-up demand exists for broadband
service in underserved regions around the world.
(Business Opportunities: Community Wireless Networks)
http://www.sric-bi.com/WF/summaries/BO/2005-07commwrlssntwrks.shtml



Personal-Knowledge Management

Personal-knowledge management (PKM), a relatively new
concept that combines knowledge management and personal-
information management, is somewhat controversial among
organizational leaders who would prefer to optimize
group capabilities rather than individuals'. Proponents
of the concept believe that PKM and knowledge management
need not be at odds and that providing tools to help
workers meet their personal and business objectives can
benefit organizations.
(July 2005 Knowledge-Management Tools Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/KMT.shtml



Toward a Hydrogen Economy

Many world leaders believe that hydrogen and fuel
cells will be key players in helping nations achieve
energy independence and reduce pollution while
maintaining economic growth. However, questions about
what form a "hydrogen economy" would take, whether such
an economy is practical, and what steps are actually
supporting a transition to a hydrogen economy linger
amid the hype about fuel cells. Large research efforts
are under way in Western Europe, North America, and
Japan to develop fuel cells and hydrogen for energy
applications. Countries in other regions have also
initiated roadmaps and programs in hydrogen and fuel
cells.
(Progress in Transitioning to a Hydrogen Economy)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM029.shtml#D05-2510



Nanoimprint Lithography

Semiconductor companies and research institutions
increasingly see nanoimprint lithography (NIL) as a
contender for some mainstream integrated-circuit (IC)
production processes as well as for the production of
other passive nanostructures in biomedical, optical,
and memory-storage applications. However, for NIL to
make an impact in IC fabrication, a full infrastructure
of tools, materials, and yield and diagnostic capabilities
will be necessary. This kind of supply-chain development
will require commitment from a wide range of expert
players, from material suppliers to end users.
(August 2005 Nanoelectronics Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/NE.shtml



Partner Learning for Business Performance

Organizations increasingly realize that learning and
knowledge have important roles to play in their
business partnerships. Moreover, they understand that
they must retool learning systems and knowledge
support to focus more on business impacts. This shift
partly reflects the growing importance of recruiting
top partners and of improving the effectiveness of
partnerships. Also, new learning solutions and
technologies are available to make learning more
effective and more affordable.
(Improving Business Performance through Partner Learning)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/summaries/2005-08ImprvBusPerf.shtml



The Quest for Inexpensive Electronics

Reducing the cost of electronic parts can open many
new avenues for use of information technology. For
example, once components for radio-frequency-
identification tags become sufficiently cheap,
manufacturers will be able to deploy them widely,
not only on products but also on the packaging of
individual items. Work is under way to develop
printable and inexpensive electronic components,
including non-silicon-based tags, printed antennas,
computer memory, and batteries.
(The Quest for Inexpensive Electronics)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM029.shtml#D05-2511



Signals of Change

An increasing number of people are accessing video
content on the Web instead of on TV, leading to some
interesting hybrid approaches and prompting advertisers
to put more of their dollars into advertising on sites
like Yahoo, Google, and AOL. The latest issue of
Scan(TM) Monthly discusses this and other signals of
change, such as emerging theories about how to halt the
aging process, improving prospects for biodiesel as an
alternative to oil-based fuels, new approaches to
innovation, and the next generation gap.
(Scan[TM] Monthly, August 2005)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM030.shtml#SoCs



Pre-WiMax Deployments

Unlike the capital-intensive wired-broadband
infrastructure, wireless broadband networks that rely
on technologies such as 802.16-2004 have only modest
capital requirements, and deployment is within the
reach of small to medium-size Internet-service
providers (ISPs). Many smaller ISPs have already started
to build pre-WiMax networks (in which the equipment has
not yet passed WiMax-certification tests). In some parts
of the world, these ISPs will make broadband Internet
available for the first time. In others, wireless
broadband will intensify price and service competition
for both Internet and telephone services.
(Overview of Selected Global Pre-WiMax Service Deployments and Trials)
http://www.sric-bi.com/WF/summaries/SCP/2005-06prewimaxsvc.shtml



--------------------------------
 SRIC-BI News and Presentations
--------------------------------

Survey: Use of Technology in Executive Development

By providing easy access to rich media content and
more satisfying online experiences, the global
proliferation of high-speed networks is changing
enterprise work and learning practices. To understand
the implications of such changes, SRIC-BI is cooperating
with the AFF Leadership Development Institute (Bergen,
Norway) and The Institute of Executive Development
(Menlo Park, California) in a survey to explore the
current and likely future use of technology by corporate
leaders and executives in leading enterprises. The
survey will look at how executives use technology in
their own activities and how they plan to use technology
to accelerate employees' learning and to create true
learning organizations. To participate in the survey,
go to http://www.execsight.org/resources/Survey_TechInExecDev_200501.php.



New View of Retirement

More than a century ago, retirement was the purview of
the prosperous, and people were lucky to live past age
50. Today retirement is an entitlement, and people
regularly live past age 80 with the potential to live
past 100. How will people spend the years they live past
65? In a recent presentation at the World Futures Conference,
Larry Cohen, vice president of SRIC-BI and director of the
Consumer Financial Decisions Program, suggested that
retirement may be an artifact of the twentieth century.
Businesses and organizations that seek to serve age 65-plus
markets may need to prepare for life stages such as
revolving retirement, semiretirement, and postretirement.
(Redefining Retirement for the 21st Century)
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/presentationsPublic/
RedefiningRetirement2005-07.pps


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