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In this issue:

  * New Explorer Technology: Connected Homes
  * RFID for Consumer-Facing Applications
  * Electroactive Polymers in Medical Devices
  * Open-Source and Open-Access Learning
  * New Insights from GeoVALS[TM]
  * Micro Fuel Cells in Portable Applications
  * Signals of Change
  * Validation of MacroMonitor Data
  * Rapid eLearning
  * Updated VALS[TM] Handbook
  * Raytheon's Learning-Outsourcing Services


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---------------------
 Recent Publications
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New Explorer Technology: Connected Homes

Nick Evans, director of Explorer, has announced
publication of the Connected Homes Technology Map, now
available by subscription to Explorer clients. The
addition to Explorer's technology list is timely, given
that mass markets are finally developing for home-network
technology. Wireless technology and standards now help
users address some of the obstacles that once discouraged
adoption. Millions of households have already adopted
Wi-Fi, with PCs and PC peripherals dominating today's home
networks. Clearly, pent-up demand exists for housewide
access to entertainment as well, though demand is less
certain for networked appliances and climate controls. The
new Technology Map will follow the next stages of technical
and market development and look at all the ramifications of
home-network technology, including its effects on household
lifestyles and implications for industries that sell
related retail products and services and for suppliers to
these industries.
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/CH.shtml



RFID for Consumer-Facing Applications

Radio-frequency-identification (RFID) technology has found
rapid acceptance in the retail supply chain in the past
five years but needs to move into consumer-facing
applications to reach its full potential. Many such
applications require item-level tagging, which is still
several years away because of the current costs of RFID.
Ultimately, driving RFID technology into consumer-facing
applications will improve customer service, give consumers
more accurate information, and provide greater transparency
about a product's origin.
(RFID-Enabled Retail: Consumer-Facing Applications)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM041.shtml#D06-2532



Electroactive Polymers in Medical Devices

Novel biomaterials that support the development of
sophisticated devices will help address unmet medical
needs. Electroactive polymers (EAPs), which already have
application in a wide range of products, are now potential
biomaterials. For example, Artificial Muscle Inc. is
looking at medical applications for its EAP artificial
muscle, such as endoscopic-surgery actuators, infusion
pumps, surgery tools, and ventilator pumps and valves.
Other companies are looking at similar medical applications
in external devices, but EAPs also have potential to
function within the body.
(July 2006 Biomaterials Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/BM.shtml



Open-Source and Open-Access Learning

Open-source software and open-access content are finding
increasing interest in business as companies realize that
they must increase their use of external resources to
achieve sustainable success. Learning sectors of the
economy will feel the effects of this explosion of free
digital content and full access to products' source code
and will need to start planning to address these
developments, if they have not already done so.
(Open-Source and Open-Access Learning)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/summaries/2006-06OpenSrcOpenAccess.shtml



New Insights from GeoVALS[TM]

The latest GeoVALS[TM] data compare the distribution of
VALS[TM] types with common geographic data, such as U.S.
Census divisions, states, designated market areas, and
metropolitan statistical areas. These comparisons can help
marketers understand why one region of the country has a
different "flavor" than another or why some markets adopt
new products or services more readily than others.
Companies most often use GeoVALS data to determine high-
potential geographic areas for direct mail and retail-site
location, but the information is also helpful in
determining the market potential of new or existing
products or services.
(GeoVALS[TM]: Connecting Motivations with Geography)
http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/summaries/2006-07GeoVALS.shtml



Micro Fuel Cells in Portable Applications

As the current generation of advanced batteries struggles
to keep pace with the growing power and longer run-time
demands of mobile electronics products, many analysts tout
micro fuel cells as the natural replacement for batteries
in portable devices. However, despite years of research,
micro fuel cells' low performance and high costs have so
far kept the technology in the laboratory. Manufacturers
have demonstrated many fuel-cell prototypes for use in
portable products but have not yet met their promises to
bring the new technology to the market.
(July 2006 Portable Batteries Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/PB.shtml




Signals of Change

Television and radio have historically enjoyed the lion's
share of attention from the marketing community because of
their broad reach, but the proliferation of media outlets,
new media types, and technologies that allow effective
targeting of niche markets is causing many marketers to
shift priorities. The latest issue of Scan[TM] Monthly
explores this and other signals of change, such as women's
global economic power, changes in information flows in
health care, expansion of iPods into work and leisure, and
the dangers of oversimplification in the face of
complexity.
(Scan[TM] Monthly, July 2006)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM041.shtml#SoCs



Validation of MacroMonitor Data

The most recent bulletin from the 2004 Survey of Consumer
Finances cites results that back up MacroMonitor data on
changes in net worth in recent years. The bulletin cites
three major explanations for these shifts, all of which fit
with MacroMonitor's 2004 data: strong appreciation of house
values and a rising rate of home ownership, a decline in
direct and indirect ownership of stock, and a marked
increase in the ratio of debt to total assets, with most of
the increase attributable to debt secured by real estate.
(Comparing the MacroMonitor to the Survey of Consumer
Finances)
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/announcements.shtml



Rapid eLearning

Rapid eLearning is fast becoming a popular approach to
developing eLearning content in short time frames. With
easy-to-use authoring tools and templates, subject-matter
experts can quickly develop content on their own or in
concert with developers. The approach is more likely to be
appropriate for transferring information or knowledge than
for helping learners develop specific skills. Most rapid
eLearning today uses flash-based formats or live or
recorded Webcasts, but in the future, other easy-to-use
content-publishing formats, such as podcasts, are likely
to find greater use.
(July 2006 LoD Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/viewpoints.shtml



Updated VALS[TM] Handbook

The VALS[TM] program has updated its special handbook for
students, professors, and others interested in learning
about the psychological attributes and demographic
characteristics that underlie U.S. consumers' decision
making. The new version incorporates the latest information
about the eight VALS types and provides a concise overview
of the VALS framework. A hypothetical case study
illustrates the application of VALS at a company or
industry level and shows how marketers can use VALS to
develop successful communication.
(Understanding U.S. Consumers)
http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/bookstore.shtml



Raytheon's Learning-Outsourcing Services

eLearning is increasingly playing a role in channel-partner
and other partner arrangements. A recent Learning-on-Demand
program Travel Report highlights one such arrangement
between Raytheon's commercial training unit and a major
automaker. The automaker signed an extensive learning-
outsourcing contract with Raytheon to help it provide
technical training to its 90 000 service technicians in the
United States. Companies like Raytheon that already have a
foundation in technical services and training are finding
that learning outsourcing is an effective way to expand
their client rosters.
(Case Study: Raytheon Professional Services Brings Large-
Scale eLearning to the Retail Auto Industry)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/summaries/2006-07CaseStudyRaytheon.shtml



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