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In this issue:

  * New Virtual-Worlds Consortium
  * Biopolymers in Cancer Treatment
  * Implementation and Operation of Virtual Worlds for
      Learning
  * Developments in Videoconferencing Technology
  * First Peek at 2006 MacroMonitor Data
  * Commercialization of Ocean-Energy Technology
  * Tools and Techniques for Sustainability
  * Online Tutorial and Free Study from GeoVALS(TM)
  * Multicore Chips and Parallel Processing for High-End
      Learning
  * Signals of Change
  * Presentations on Renewable Energy

	
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New Virtual-Worlds Consortium

In recognition of organizations' mushrooming interest in
the potential of virtual worlds, SRIC-BI is launching a
new research consortium to monitor and examine virtual-
worlds developments and innovative business applications.
The new program addresses the challenges that
organizations now face to increase innovation, retain the
talent of Generation Y employees, and provide engaging
and attractive learning and social environments for
highly distributed workers. A growing number of
organizations, led by IBM, are already launching or
planning projects in three-dimensional, immersive,
avatar-mediated environments. The Virtual-World
Consortium--through meetings, in-depth research,
scanning and monitoring activities, Second Life sessions,
online and offline interactive discussions, and peer-to-
peer networking--will help participants evaluate
innovation, learning, and knowledge solutions that use
virtual worlds and decide how best to leverage virtual
worlds for effective learning and innovation. To read
more about the consortium, go to
http://www.sric-bi.com/VWC/.

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Biopolymers in Cancer Treatment

As researchers increase their understanding of the
molecular and cellular biology of cancers, the range and
mode of possible cancer treatments also increase.
Bioscience provides the ability to synthesize and
engineer biopolymers to create biotherapeutics and
biologics that attack cancerous cells directly or deliver
killer payloads to such cells without affecting healthy
tissue. The advantages of such targeted treatments over
traditional treatments suggest that biopolymer-based
approaches will become an increasingly important part of
the global market for cancer therapeutics.
(March 2007 Biopolymers Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/BP.shtml

(This publication is part of our Explorer service. To
learn more about Explorer, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer .)

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Implementation and Operation of Virtual Worlds for
Learning

Organizations that want to implement virtual worlds in
their learning and training operations face multiple
options, and deciding which ones to implement is
difficult as new platforms emerge and business models
proliferate. A recent SRIC-BI report looks at the
potential to use four existing platforms to create
virtual worlds for sales training: those from Linden Lab
(the developer of Second Life), those from Forterra
Systems, those from ProtonMedia, and those from Caspian
Learning. The report also examines the likely impacts of
virtual-worlds projects on an organization's information-
technology, research and development, and sales and
marketing functions, as well as on work processes.
(Implementation and Operating Perspectives on Virtual
Worlds for Learning)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/summaries/2007-03perspectivesvw.shtml

(This publication is part of our Learning-on-Demand [LoD]
program. To learn more about LoD, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/ .)

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Developments in Videoconferencing Technology

Videoconferencing that is realistic enough to win broad
acceptance by knowledge workers could reduce the need for
physical meetings while increasing the sense of
connection among distant collaborators. However, for now,
high-end videoconferencing requires expensive facilities
and bandwidth, which only the largest institutions can
afford. Technology that enables voice conversations in
virtual worlds, such as in Second Life, may provide an
alternative to high-end videoconferencing infrastructure
and technology.
(March 2007 Knowledge-Management Tools Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/KMT.shtml

(This publication is part of our Explorer service. To
learn more about Explorer, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer .)

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First Peek at 2006 MacroMonitor Data

Data from the 2006-07 MacroMonitor survey reveal a marked
improvement in U.S. households' financial profile in
2006. Despite a record 32% increase in average total
debt, households' average net worth still gained 39%
during the two-year period. Overall, households also
appear to be regaining their interest in investing, with
ownership in stocks, certificates of deposit, and money-
market accounts all on the upswing (though mutual-fund
investment has not yet shown recovery).
(First Peek at the 2006 Data)
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/MRsummaries/MR-VIII-01.shtml


(This publication is part of CFD's MacroMonitor program.
To learn more about CFD and the MacroMonitor, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD .)

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Commercialization of Ocean-Energy Technology

Ocean-tidal and ocean-wave technologies are huge but
untapped resources that could eventually dwarf today's
power production by hydroelectric dams. Many competing
small-scale designs are available now, and companies in
Europe and other locations will soon be putting in place
commercial-scale in-water demonstration projects with
grid connections. Whether current technologies will be
commercially viable on a large scale is not yet clear.
In any case, analysts do not expect ocean-energy
industries to take off until at least 2010.
(March 2007 Renewable Energy Technologies Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/RET.shtml

(This publication is part of our Explorer service. To
learn more about Explorer, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer .)

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Tools and Techniques for Sustainability

Sustainability is the measure of a process or product's
ability to meet people's current needs without
jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet
their needs. In the realm of public discourse, this term
now covers a wide range of resources and initiatives,
from natural resources to genetic diversity, from
recycling to architecture, and from cultural diversity to
personal health. In the past six months, SRIC-BI's
Scan(TM) process has uncovered a number of signals of
change in the tools and techniques for sustainability in
a variety of domains.
(Emerging Tools and Techniques for Sustainability)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM049.shtml#D07-2546

(This publication is part of our Scan[TM] program. To
learn more about Scan, see http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan .)

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Online Tutorial and Free Study from GeoVALS(TM)

GeoVALS(TM) estimates the proportions of the eight
VALS(TM) consumer groups for common geographic data, such
as U.S. Census divisions, states, designated market areas,
and metropolitan statistical areas. To assist marketers,
the redesigned GeoVALS Web site now offers both a free
report and a series of Flash presentations showing
various uses of GeoVALS. For example, marketers can
compare geographic areas to explore why one region of the
country has a different "flavor" than that of another or
why some markets adopt new products or services more
readily than others do. 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/featured/2006/2006-08-GeoVALS.shtml

(This publication is part of our VALS[TM] program. To
learn more about VALS, see http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS .)

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Multicore Chips and Parallel Processing for High-End
Learning

Computing power is a key enabler of high-end learning
environments, such as three-dimensional simulations,
games, and virtual worlds. The availability of
inexpensive, multicore, parallel computers may
revolutionize such environments if programmers can create
and convert software for new computer systems. A key
driver for parallelism is the market for computers with
high-end graphics processing units, in which competition
is now even more intense than that in the market for
central-processing units.
(March 2007 Learning-on-Demand Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/viewpoints.shtml

(This publication is part of our Learning-on-Demand [LoD]
program. To learn more about LoD, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/ .)

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Signals of Change

An increasing number of consumers are imposing their
personal values onto the supply-chain practices of
companies, not only making companies more accountable for
their business practices but, through their purchase
decisions, indicating that they are willing to pay a
premium for products that meet certain standards of
production. The latest issue of Scan(TM) Monthly explores
this and other signals of change, including insights into
the relationship between attitude and behavior, growth
in the market for upscale foods, the potential for the
personal factory, neuroengineering breakthroughs, and
nanoscale self-assembly.
(Scan Monthly, March 2007)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM049.shtml#SoCs

(These publications are part of our Scan[TM] program. To
learn more about Scan, see http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan .)

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Presentations on Renewable Energy

Susan Leiby, senior consultant and analyst in SRIC-BI's
Explorer service, will speak on commercial opportunities
in renewable energy technologies on 24 April at the 2007
meeting of the National Institute for Standards and
Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) in
Orlando, Florida. The MEP program supports growth and
innovation in the manufacturing sector. Leiby will also
speak at the Council for Community and Economic Research
on 7 June in Denver, Colorado.



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