Crealis

Spain Joins ‘The Group Of Debt’

2012-06-11T18:15:00.003+02:00

(EurActiv) -- Madrid has secured €100 billion to rescue its banks in an attempt to pre-empt the threat of a bank run if the debt crisis in another troubled country, Greece, flares again. But angry Spaniards accused Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of ill-timed triumphalism and an inappropriate trip to Poland to watch Spain compete in the Euro 2012.

After weeks of insisting that Spain needed no assistance to recapitalise lenders crippled by bad debts from a burst real estate bubble, Rajoy was pushed into requesting the eurozone an aid package for fear of a worse disaster to come, European officials involved in the negotiations said.

The 17-nation currency area agreed on Saturday to lend Madrid up to €100 billion for its bank rescue fund, more than an initial audit suggests it is likely to need, in an attempt to reassure investors and erect a new firewall in the crisis.

Rajoy said his reforms had spared Spain a full rescue for its public debt. But confused and anxious Spaniards heaped scorn on the prime minister for portraying the European rescue as a triumph.

In blogs and forums, many Spaniards accused Rajoy of cowardice and expressed astonishment that he had gone off to watch Spain play in the European football championships against Italy. T

he match from the group C, nicknamed “Group of Debt”, ended yesterday (10 June) in a 1-1 draw. The group also comprises Croatia and Ireland. Croatia leads the group, having beaten Ireland 3-1.

Rajoy avoided calling the deal agreed by eurozone finance ministers a "rescue" - even though every leading Spanish newspaper called it just that - apparently because this would imply the kind of humiliating conditions and surveillance by European officials that Ireland, Greece and Portugal have endured under their bailouts.

Pessimism remains

But the eurozone's latest line in the sand, after the bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal since 2010, could be swept away as early as 17 June by angry Greek voters, rekindling market turmoil that would hit Spain and Italy first.

Unicredit chief economist Erik Nielsen said once the banks had been recapitalised, "they have basically addressed the three key weaknesses: banks, regions, and structural weaknesses".

"The burden of recapitalising insolvent banks or loss-making acquisitions of solvent banks will fall on Spanish citizens," said Karl Whelan, economist at University College, Dublin. "For this reason, this weekend's announcement may well end up shutting Spain out of the sovereign bond market."

Spain - the eurozone's fourth largest economy - is beset by recession and mass unemployment and still has a weight of national and regional debt to roll over later in the year, although it has got through 58% of its borrowing for 2012.

The government still needs to refinance €82.5 billion of debt maturing by the end of the year, with a big hump at the end of October, and Spain's overspending regions have a further €15.7 billion of debt maturing in the second half of 2012.

"We're very close to junk bonds and we'll end up in the junk," José Carlos Diez, chief economist at Intermoney in Madrid, said on Spanish television.

International pressure

Germany and France, Europe's two leading powers, as well as the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, leaned heavily on Madrid to request aid before the Greek general election.

A senior German official said Berlin had warned the Spanish government if it did not seek help for the banks now, it risked having to apply for a full-fledged country bailout later.

"Spain is better off in a safe shelter," the official said, adding that the timing before the Greek vote was vital. Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly praised Rajoy's fiscal and labour market reforms and said Spain did not need to implement any deeper austerity measures in return for help.

French President François Hollande, keen to avoid eurozone panic as he seeks a parliamentary majority, also applied pressure for a swift bailout. US President Barack Obama telephoned Merkel, Hollande and other senior European leaders last week to press for urgent action to stem the eurozone crisis, which poses a threat to the US recovery and hence to his re-election.

Japan, Britain, Canada and the IMF all weighed in.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called Saturday's decisions on Spain "concrete steps on the path to financial union, which is vital to the resilience of the euro area".

EU Leaders In Stark Warning Over Eurozone 'Survival'

2012-06-03T01:52:00.002+02:00

(EurActiv) -- In an unusual departure from traditional EU language, European Commission vice-president Olli Rehn and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti have issued dramatic warnings May 31 on the euro zone, while European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi openly admitted that the common currency was fighting for its survival.

Despite unprecedented steps to safeguard financial stability since the euro zone debt crisis erupted two and-a-half years ago, “we are still in troubled waters”, Commission Vice President Olli Rehn said, admitting that the Union had managed so far to “contain the crisis, not tame the crisis”.

Addressing the annual Brussels Economic Forum, Rehn went on to issue a stark warning: “We need both a genuine stability culture in the eurozone and its member states and a much upgraded common capacity to contain financial contagion and reduce the borrowing costs for its members. This is the case at least if we want to avoid a disintegration of the Eurozone”. Asked later on whether the statement amounted to official backing for jointly issued European debt – or so-called Eurobonds –, Rehn's spokesperson did not give a clear answer, saying that the sentence had been quoted out of context.

'Huge possibilities of contagion': Monti

After Rehn, it was the turn of Mario Monti, the Italian Prime Minister, to voice his frustration during a video-streamed speech at the Brussels Economic Forum.

Public opinion in Italy and in other peripheral countries in the euro zone is likely to turn against reforms, Professor Monti warned, as people see no market response to their hard efforts for fiscal consolidation.

The spread on Italian bonds remains high, even though everyone agrees that Monti’s government is pursuing the right reforms and is making serious efforts for fiscal consolidation. This lack of “appreciation” from the markets will likely trigger a social backlash, the Italian Prime Minister warned. That is why Europe should accelerate its efforts to limit contagion, by introducing instruments such as collective bank deposit guarantees, he argued.

"It is obviously a difficult place to be in, when you have a country displaying massive and concentrated efforts of consolidation and structural reforms, which are obviously politically and socially costly, and sees its position threatened by huge possibilities of contagion," Monti said.

Draghi: Deposit guarantee scheme 'will avoid bank runs'

Meanwhile, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi urged Europe's leaders to clarify their vision for the single currency quickly or risk disaster, warning the European Parliament that the ECB could not fill the policy vacuum: "We will avoid bank runs from solvent banks. Depositors' money will be protected if we build this European guaranteed deposit fund. This will assure that depositors will be protected," Draghi said, calling for an EU-wide banking supervision and resolution system. "The financial crisis has heightened risk aversion in a dramatic way," Draghi said.

"I urge all governments to keep this in mind, because it is better to err by too much in the very beginning rather than by too little," he added, citing the repeated failure of national regulators to correctly assess the needs of failed Franco-Belgian bank Dexia and Spain's Bankia.

Another ECB policymaker, Bank of Italy governor Ignazio Visco, went further, saying political inertia and bad economic decisions had put "the entire European edifice" at risk and only a clear path to political union could save the euro.

“There are now growing doubts among international investors about governments' cohesion in guiding the reform of European governance and even their ability to ensure the survival of the single currency," Visco told the Bank of Italy's annual meeting.

Total And SunPower Commission New Solar Panel Manufacturing Plant

2012-05-25T20:36:00.002+02:00

(Eurasia Review) -- Total and its affiliate SunPower, a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, announced Thursday the commissioning of a new photovoltaic solar panel manufacturing and assembly plant in the De Vernejoul industrial park in Porcelette, Eastern France.

The 3,300-square-meter plant is equipped with a 44 MWp2 production line and will roll out approximately 150,000 high efficiency solar panels annually. At this facility, SunPower’s Maxeon solar cells, the most efficient technology available today, will be integrated and assembled into SunPower solar panels that will deliver a median efficiency of 20 percent. These solar panels will service the European residential and commercial rooftop markets.

The new production facility, SunPower Manufacturing De Vernejoul, will employ approximately 80 workers, with preference given to local residents.

“We believe our new De Vernejoul manufacturing facility, located at the heart of major European solar markets, allows us to supply the world’s highest efficiency solar panels to our customers,” said Marty Neese, SunPower chief operating officer. “This physical proximity to our French, Italian, German and Belgian customers will enhance our flexibility and shorten our delivery lead times, ramping up our ability to compete in today’s highly competitive market.”

“SunPower is the linchpin of Total’s solar activities. We intend to build on the quality and performance of its products as well as on its technological innovation to further grow solar energy,” emphasized Arnaud Chaperon, vice president, Electricity & New Energies at Total. “The new solar panel manufacturing facility, SunPower’s second in France alongside the facility in Toulouse, is further proof of our commitment to pursue growth internationally and in France. The opening of this plant, also demonstrates our dedication to developing jobs in the Lorraine region of eastern France.”

Repsol Confirms Significant Potential Of Brazil’s BM-C-33 Presalt Block

2012-05-25T20:32:00.000+02:00

(Eurasia Review) -- Repsol Sinopec Brasil estimates that Block BM-C-33, in the deepwater Campos Basin, contains resources of more than 700 million barrels of light oil and 3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas.

The partners are working on an appraisal plan for the area, whose significant potential has become a reality.

Repsol Sinopec Brasil is the operator of the discovering consortium, holding 35%, partnered by Statoil (35%) and Petrobras (30%). Block BM-C-33, off the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro, is the site of the recent Seat, Gávea and Pão de Açúcar discoveries. The latter is one of the world’s top five discoveries in 2012.

The total estimated resources of these three accumulations represent at least 700 million barrels of light oil and 3 Tcf of gas (equivalent to 545 million barrels of oil).

The latest well, Pão de Açúcar, was drilled in approximately 2,800 meters of water depth and 195 km from the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and found a 500 meters-thick oil column.

Repsol Sinopec Brasil and its partners are preparing an appraisal plan to be submitted to the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). The Brazilian offshore is one of the areas with the highest hydrocarbon reserves growth in the world.

Repsol exploratory success

The exploratory activity carried out by Repsol in the last few years has resulted in worldwide top-five discoveries in five of the last six years.

As a result, Repsol’s Upstream reserve replacement ratio, the proportion of barrels found against barrels produced, was 131% in 2010 and 162% in 2011, an industry-leading performance.

Repsol has created an asset base whose development will allow the company to increase production over the coming years.

As well as the significant finds in Brazil, Repsol is also developing projects in the United States, Venezuela, Peru and the North of Africa, amongst others.

Repsol in Brazil

Repsol Sinopec Brasil is one of the leading independent energy companies in Brazil. It is strategically placed in the areas with most potential of the Brazilian presalt plays, and it leads exploratory activity in the Santos, Campos and Espírito Santo basins, which are amongst the world’s highest reserve-growth areas.

The company has a significant and diversified portfolio of projects in Brazil, including a producing field (Albacora Leste), two fields under development (Piracucá and Spainhoá – previously known as Guará), a block under appraisal (BM-S-9: Carioca) and 12 explorations blocks of high potential of which Repsol Sinopec Brasil operates five.

Repsol Sinopec Brasil was created at the end of 2010 to develop exploration and production projects in the country. Repsol has 60% stake and Sinopec owns the remaining 40%.

Lundin Spuds Clapton Exploration Well In Southern North Sea

2012-05-25T20:28:00.000+02:00

(Eurasia Review) -- Lundin Petroleum said Thursday that drilling of exploration well 2/8-18S in PL440S has commenced.

The well will target the Clapton prospect, which is situated 10 km north of the Valhall Field, offshore Norway.

The main objective of well 2/8-18S is to test the hydrocarbon potential in the Ekofisk, Tor and Hod formations.

Lundin Petroleum estimates the Clapton prospect to contain unrisked, gross, prospective resources of 65 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe).

The planned total depth is 2,718 meters below mean sea level and the well will be drilled using the jackup drilling rig Maersk Guardian.

Drilling is expected to take approximately 60 days. Lundin Petroleum is a partner in PL440S with 18 percent interest. The Operator is Faroe Petroleum with 40 percent.

The other partners are Dana (20%), Noreco (12%) and Det norske (10%).

World Largest Solar Parking Project In Saudi Arabia

2011-04-06T14:15:00.001+02:00

(Crealis) -- Belectric and Sun & Life are building the largest solar power plant of Saudi Arabia in Dhahran. The 10 Megawatts Photovoltaic Carport System is situated at the recently built North Park offices of Saudi Aramcoin Dhahran and will cover all of the 4,500 parking spaces.

Belectric, world market leader in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of solar power plants, executes the North Park Project in cooperation with Sun & Life, Regional Solar Pioneer in the Middle East, a subsidiary of Acwa Holding, Saudi Arabian Leader in developing private Power and Water generation projects infrastructure and utilities projects.

More than 120,000 CIS (Copper Indium Selenide) photovoltaic modules will be installed, supplied by the Japanese Thin Film Leader Solar Frontier (Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K.). Belectric was awarded the project by the Saudi Arabia based company Al Yamama, the project principal, building Saudi Aramco's Northpark complex including offices and the carpark. Belectric and Sun & Life intend to enhance their cooperation to a full scale joint venture in EPC contracting of solar power plants, and manufacturing of Balance of System components in Saudi Arabia.Belectric is known for its global track record and innovative design providing best system performance at a very competitive cost for solar power plants. "We are very proud to be awarded this project. The clear benefits of the thin-film photovoltaic modules combined with our enhanced plant technologies and project engineering are the contributing factors to drive a solar power plant reliable and efficient under hot climate conditions", says Bernhard Beck, CEO of Belectric. The large-scale power plant will produce electricity and feed it in to the public grid by the end of 2011.

"Sun & Life is looking forward to work with Belectric not only to deliver this Iconic project, but also to combine both Group's strengths and track records to develop the solar energy industry, and localize Technologies in the region. With the latest developments Solar and renewable resources become one of the best choices for energy" says Abdullah Taibah, CEO of Sun & Life

KSU Professor Noha Elnagdi named among Saudi representatives for International Year of Chemistry 2011

2011-04-06T14:11:00.000+02:00

(Crealis) -- Dr. Noha Elnagdi, a chemistry professor at King Saud University’s Female Center of Science and Medical Studies, has been named as a Saudi representative for what’s been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011), a year long program that focuses on the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind

IYC 2011, whose theme is “Chemistry – our life, our future,” aims to raise awareness of chemistry among the general public and attract young people into the field, as well as highlighting the role of chemistry in solving global problems.

In order to communicate the central importance of chemistry in every facet of modern life, IYC 2011 has organized a multitude of events to meet the program goals. Examples of these activities will be meeting with government leaders to educate them about the importance of chemistry education, publicizing the contributions that chemistry makes to every nation’s economy, holding chemistry career fairs around the world and organizing problem-solving projects through which students can use their knowledge of chemistry to develop solutions to local problems.

Female Center_Scientic_Medical KSUDr. Elnagdi is a strong advocate of creating “chemistry clubs“, and in her own experience, such club activities and coaching female students are being successfully spread throughout the female communities in Saudi Arabia.

She believes that chemistry educators possess ideas that can increase the public and students’ enthusiasm toward chemistry, as well as increasing awareness of safely dealing with everyday chemicals.

“On the occasion of being a representative of the Kingdom and KSU”, Dr. Elnagdi said, “I am pleased, but also apprehensive, of the considerable work I anticipate in the coming period, especially as a representative of King Saud University. I must prove to be an able ambassador of the University in my participation of activities being held by UNESCO and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

She also gave enthusiastic praise to the Dean of the Female Center of Science and Medical Studies, noting, “I thank Dr. Amal Fatani for her continued moral support and boundless spirit and enthusiasm, which continually motivates me, and may Allah reward her all the best,”

The International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) is a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind. Under the unifying theme “Chemistry—our life, our future,” IYC 2011 will offer a range of interactive, entertaining, and educational activities for all ages.

IYC 2011 is an initiative of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and UNESCO, and involves chemical societies, academies, and institutions worldwide.

Higher Oil Prices Boost GCC Govt's Revenues

2011-04-06T14:04:00.002+02:00

(Crealis) -- High oil prices would boost revenues and provide the GCC governments additional resources for its additional expenses aimed at enhancing the standard of living of citizens, without seeking sovereign wealth funds, reports KUNA news.

Citing a report released by the National Bank of Kuwai, KUNA said the increase of USD one for an oil barrel would add USD 4.5 billion per annum to the GCC governments' revenues.

In case of achieving an average price of USD 100 per barrel of oil this current year, GCC governments' revenues would exceed USD 100 billion in comparision to previous year, or 28 percent of expenditures set for this year, report added, according to KUNA.

KUNA noted that the report said that high oil prices in the past few months encouraged the GCC government for extra spending without recourse to sovereign wealth funds.

It said that the OPEC crude basket price increased from USD 75 pb in September 2010, to USD 115 in early March 2011, puming oil prices to more than 50 percent from their 2010 average and 22 percent of their 2008 average.

The report predicted no significant oil prices reduction in the short term, said KUNA

Source Energy and GASAN agreement

2011-04-05T14:18:00.001+02:00

(Crealis) -- In a major development, two Riyadh-based companies entered into a partnership agreement on Tuesday to develop a heat recovery program to produce electricity and desalinated water in the Eastern Province.

The accord was signed by Abdulrahman Al-Jomaih, chairman of Gasan Investment and Industrial Development Company, and Salah Al-AFaliq, chief executive officer (CEO) of the National TriGeneration CHP Company), in Riyadh on Tuesday.Speaking to newsmen following the signing ceremony,AFaliq said Source Energy, a subsidiary of NTCC, will handle the new project to turn waste heat into electricity. The power produced from this heat could also produce desalinated water in the industrial city of Jubail in the Eastern province, he added.

Al-Jomaih said that the plant will be built next to Gasan's facility and will begin operations in the third quarter of next year. It is expected to produce more than 24 megawatts of electricity, which will also be partly utilized to produce 83,000 cubic meters of desalinated water.

Gasan's Industrial Consultant Akram Madanat told Arab News that the new plant will utilize the heat produced from Gasan's facility in Jubail. The project is also expected to produce 500,000 tons of calcined petroleum coke (CPC) per year.

Madanat explained that the project is environmental friendly and would also serve the mining industry in the Kingdom. "Gasan Petroleum Coke Calciner will be a new addition to the petrochemical, chemical and mineral industry and it will be the Kingdom's first calciner that will provide a consistent high quality feedstock for the coming aluminum industry in the Kingdom and the Gulf region," he said.

CPC is produced from green petroleum coke that has been thermally treated to drive off water content and volatile organic matters (VCM) in kilns to produce a high-grade carbon product that is used mainly in the manufacture of carbon anodes for aluminum smelting cells and for steel making furnaces.

Kurt Reuman, NTCC's director of business development and finance, described it as a cost effective project. "It would eventually reduce the use of energy, electricity and water."

Total world demand for CPC in 2006 was 16.0 million metric tons, rising to approximately 23 million tons in 2012. The CPC demand sectors are aluminum, titanium dioxide, needle or graphitized electrodes coke, recarburizer, and other specialty markets.

CPC is used also as a carbon source in a variety of other specialty applications, including corrosion prevention of metallic structures, in silicon carbide manufacture, refractory furnace linings, refining, deoxidizing agent in the glass industry, filtration agent in water purification, and cored wire production.

Aluminum production is the primary driver for worldwide CPC production and the largest CPC demand sector, comprising approximately 85 percent of the world's CPC demand

Travelport Signs MoU with Al Yamamah University

2011-04-04T14:21:00.000+02:00

(Crealis) -- Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, announces that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Al Yamamah University to provide travel technology that will help prepare Saudi nationals for careers in the travel trade.

Recognizing the importance of education and skills development within Saudi Arabia's growing travel industry, Travelport is working with the institution to equip its students with global distribution system (GDS) technology, including the Galileo reservation system widely-used by travel agencies in the Kingdom.Learning important technology skills required for employment within the travel trade, students enrolled in the University's IT and travel programme will receive specialized instruction by a certified Galileo trainer, including hands-on training in the diverse functionality of the platform.

Through the development of these important technology skills, Travelport believes that the next generation of Saudi nationals can enhance their employability within the Kingdom's evolving travel industry, which is leveraging the latest GDS technologies to create operational efficiency and better serve customers.

"Travelport is committed to skills development and employment among Saudi nationals and is proud to be partnering with Al Yamamah to provide its students with the tools to succeed," said Faris Azzee, Travelport's general manager for Saudi Arabia. "GDS technology is vital to a travel agency's operations, therefore it is important that students are up-to-speed on the latest systems so that they can enter the industry seamlessly and excel in their new careers," he added.

With one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in the world, providing employment opportunities for youth has become a top priority within Saudi Arabia, with new initiatives being introduced by the government to help integrate the Kingdom's young citizens into the labour force.

"The travel industry is set to grow significantly over the next few years and requires qualified people to fuel its growth," said Mr. Abdulmalik Alesnani, vice-president for administrative affairs at Al Yamamah University. "Knowledge of global distribution systems is important for anyone interested in working in the travel industry today, therefore we are delighted to be joining forces with Travelport to offer our students such a valuable skill set."

One of the world's leading providers of global distribution systems (GDS), Travelport has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia that includes state-of-the art training centers in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam and a round-the-clock Galileo GDS service and support structure for KSA travel agents.

GE appoints Walid Abukhaled as President & CEO of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain

2011-04-02T14:23:00.000+02:00

(Crealis) -- GE has announced the appointment of Saudi Arabian national Walid Abukhaled as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Based in Riyadh, he will be responsible for leading the company's operations in the Kingdom and Bahrain, accelerating the growth and exploring further opportunities for broadening public private partnerships.

Nabil Habayeb, GE's President & CEO for the Middle East and Africa region, said: "Saudi Arabia is one of the key markets for GEGELoading... in the Middle East region, where our 'company to country' approach delivers tailored solutions that meet the Kingdom's requirements for long-term sustainability and economic competitiveness. A trusted partner in achieving the Kingdom's ambitious social and economic growth strategies, GE's appointment of Walid, who brings in-depth insights on the Saudi market, perfectly complements our development goals."Walid Abukhaled said: "Among the most competitive nations in the world today, Saudi Arabia offers an unmatched landscape of economic growth opportunities across diversified sectors. With energy resources as the backbone, the Kingdom is focused on infrastructure development that ensures all-round socio-economic welfare, as highlighted by the massive investment plans recently announced."

He added: "GE's strong competencies across energy, water, aviation and healthcare, make it an ideal partner for Saudi Arabia as it moves to the next realm of growth. My focus will be to establish stronger public private partnerships and Saudisation, while also working towards empowering the Saudi youth through education, knowledge transfer and engagement that bring tangible benefits for the Kingdom and GE."

Bringing more than 21 years of experience in the industry, Walid joins GE from BAE Systems where he was most recently the Director of Portfolio Management & Chairman of BAE Systems Saudi Arabia Operations Board. In that role Walid was appointed as Chairman of the Board for "Aircraft Accessories & Components Company" and Board Directors for "Advance Electronics Company", "International Systems Engineering" Company and "Saudi Development & Training Company", all of which carry the status of being Economic Offset Companies. He began his career in 1990 as a graduate engineer and has held a variety of technical support, field operations, Communications, Sales & Marketing, Strategy and various executive positions within the Middle East & Europe.

Walid is considered as one of the most respected new generation Saudi business leaders. He is well-known as a public speaker addressing the key issues effecting global companies operating in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

GE has invested heavily in Saudi Arabia, building local competencies in aviation, healthcare, oil & gas, water and transportation, among others. The company has its largest operation in the Middle East region in Saudi Arabia, where GE has over 800 employees and seven offices and facilities in key locations.

Some of GE's key initiatives in the Kingdom that also highlight the focus on local partnership include the GE Saudi Water & Process Technology Center with blending plant for water treatment chemicals; the 125,000 sq ft Power Technology Center in Dammam in partnership with Ali A Tamimi & Sons Co. for latest in repair technology for gas turbines; 'GET Water' fleet of mobile water treatment systems in partnership with Al Tamimi Group; a Sales, Service & Training Center in Al Khobar by Saudi Arabian Sensing Solutions Company, joint company formed by GE Sensing and the Tamimi Group and a Non-destructive testing application center in Dammam in partnership with Abdullah Fouad Holding Co and GE Measurement & Control Solutions. The revenues from Saudi Arabia were US$2.5 billion in 2009.

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2010-09-01T02:10:00.000+02:00

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Royal Holloway, University of London embraces open access policy for all research

2010-02-15T22:27:00.000+01:00

(Crealis) -- Royal Holloway, University of London has become the latest UK university to give formal approval to an open access publication policy requiring its researchers to deposit copies of their research in the Royal Holloway Research Online (RHRO) repository from 1 September 2010.

The open access research repository will act as an important medium for the dissemination of Royal Holloway’s research, which will be available for free to anyone, anywhere in the world, with an internet connection.

“I am delighted that Royal Holloway has formally approved an open access mandate,” says Professor Rob Kemp, Acting Principal at Royal Holloway. “This will enable us to maximise the benefit and extend the reach of the university’s research. It also coincides with the forthcoming implementation of a new state-of-the-art research information system at Royal Holloway which will provide the missing link between open access publications, research administration and management information across the College.”

Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Principal (Research, Enterprise and Communications), adds, “This mandate is a key component of our new research strategy and is essential for an international, research-intensive university. I am absolutely committed to the values of open-access; it opens up routes to knowledge and means that Royal Holloway can showcase the range and quality of its publicly-funded research to the widest possible audience.”

John Tuck, Director of Library Services, comments, “2010 is going to be an exciting time for Library Services at Royal Holloway. The mandate puts the Library firmly at the heart of the research agenda of the College as well as reflecting sector best-practice. It will significantly increase the number of full-text deposits in our RHRO repository and we hope it will be complemented by electronic thesis submission for the new 2010/11 research student intake.”

January 2010 Webometrics Ranking Released - Top 100 Arab Universities

2010-02-10T21:20:00.006+01:00

Spain's Cybermetrics Lab released its latest Webometrics Ranking of Higher Education Institutions late Wednesday.

The Cybermetrics Lab has been issuing the Webometrics Ranking of Higher Education since 2004. The ranking is published twice a year (January and July), and now covers more than 18,000 Higher Education Institutions worldwide. The ranking is based on the premise that web presence measures the activity and visibility of the institutions and it is a good indicator of impact and prestige of universities. The "Webometrics Ranking of World Universities" is an initiative of the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the largest public research body in Spain.

Following is the ranking of the Top 100 Universities in the Arab World:

Click on image to see the Top 25.

Click here to go to the entire list at the Webometrics website ...

Raqmiyat launches 'Campus to Corporate' campaign for UAE universities

2010-02-05T13:52:00.003+01:00

(Crealis) -- Raqmiyat, a leading UAE-based systems integrator, announced the launch of its new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative called 'Campus to Corporate', which aims to help new graduates from key colleges and universities in the UAE to better equip and prepare themselves for the country's highly competitive job market.

The well-attended kick off event was recently held at the University of Sharjah campus where consultants and experts from Raqmiyat guided graduates on the challenges and appropriate techniques to successfully navigate the recruitment process. The new CSR initiative is expected to complement Raqmiyat's planned internship program that aims to provide new graduates with the opportunity to train and gain experience from the corporate world.

The 'Campus to Corporate' CSR initiative relies on Raqmiyat's expansive knowledge of global industries and various regional industry segments and utilizes this as a platform to provide training and development for fresh graduates in the UAE. Further, the initiative at the University of Sharjah bore testament to the company's continued commitment to the development of talent within the region.

"Today's generation of students needs to be aware that the country's job market has become fierce and highly-competitive and one of the ways to keep them one step ahead is to be well-versed and knowledgeable on new trends and innovations, within their desired industries," said Mabel Kuri. "We believe that adequate knowledge, combined with proper motivation and exposure to real-life situations can help increase the chances of our local students to succeed in the competitive market here and abroad. The 'Campus to Corporate' CSR initiative demonstrates our interest in grooming UAE's next batch of professionals, and the successful response we have received from this initial launch has prompted us to further this initiative across the country's top colleges and universities."

Overwhelmed with the positive response to the 'Campus to Corporate' launch, Raqmiyat is now looking towards partnering with more UAE-based universities and colleges to help bolster the CSR initiative.

"We are highly appreciative of this initiative taken by Raqmiyat, as this will definitely help our students become more dynamic and performance-oriented members of the work force. Such programs are absolutely essential at a time like this, especially from a key market player who is strong in providing unique solutions to the various sectors in the UAE," concluded Rana Kabbani, Coordinator - Career Advising and Student Training Office, University of Sharjah.

Uncritical IT implementation in Swedish schools

2010-01-31T15:24:00.000+01:00

(Crealis) -- Thomas Karlsohn at the University of Gothenburg; Sweden, has explored the IT bubble in the Swedish school system and the rhetoric used in the education trade press, and his conclusion is clear: The introduction of IT in Swedish schools could have been scrutinised better.

The introduction of IT in Swedish schools in the 1990s yielded both success, though in a limited sense, and plain failures such as the Compis school computer flop.

General IT boom

Yet, in 1994, which marked the beginning of the IT bubble and the Internet explosion, a situation emerged where it became possible to let a transformed technology fully permeate the school system. As part of the general IT boom, politicians, the authorities and businesses alike considered schools to be an important arena.

This was made evident in what the first Swedish IT Commission in 1994 formulated regarding 'renewal of the school environment' at the same time as 'the pedagogy is developed and learning is improved' and creativity is released 'among both teachers and students'.

Mobilisation of teachers

'It was generally thought that the Swedish future would be determined in the schools,' says Thomas Karlsohn, PhD in History of Ideas and Learning and one of the editors of the Swedish writing series Lärande och IT, which reports the results of the major research project LearnIT.

Karlsohn has studied how Swedish teachers were mobilised to take on the new technology from the spring of 1994 to the spring of 2000. As part of the task, he analysed the education trade press.

Marginalised criticism

'There was a clear marginalisation of criticism during the period. It was never really questioned why the technology couldn't be used for everything it was supposed to be used for. And nobody seriously addressed the possibility of pedagogical and social losses associated with computers in the classroom. Neither did the debate address why the schools had to accept a technology that really wasn't designed to meet their needs,' says Karlsohn. The introduction of IT in schools did not result in the explosion of technology-driven curiosity, hunger for knowledge, creativity and joyful learning predicted by the Swedish IT Commission in the mid-1990s. 'The new technology seems to have been absorbed into the system, and is now an integrated and not very visible part of school activities. There is no doubt that the magic faded after the IT bubble burst,' says Karlsohn.

New toolbar to aid web accessibility

2010-01-18T15:11:00.000+01:00

(Crealis) -- A toolbar which will enhance accessibility of the World Wide Web has been developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.

Sebastian Skuse, Technical Project Assistant at the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science’s Learning Societies Lab, worked with Dr Mike Wald and E.A. Draffan to develop the new JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) TechDis Toolbar, which can be easily installed and is compatible on any platform.

A key feature of the toolbar is that it reads text aloud, spell checks, and offers a dictionary, text enlargement, colour and font changes. It can also be used with web services like wikis, blogs, social networks and Twitter, which has not been possible before without specially-installed (and often expensive) assistive technologies.

“The toolbar, which is quick and easy to install, will make websites a lot easier for people to use,” said Sebastian. “For example, a visually impaired user can switch any webpage into a high contrast mode, increase the text size, or have the page read to them.”

The toolbar is ready for further beta testing and is available to download free at: http://www.techdis.ac.uk/gettoolbar. It is also possible to add the toolbar as a ‘bookmark’ or ‘favourite’ and website owners may also embed the toolbar within their pages, so visitors can load the toolbar instantly.

The researchers are now considering the viability of making the facility available on mobile devices.

Artificial intelligence – child’s play!

2010-01-11T15:09:00.000+01:00

(Crealis) -- Intelligent robots come to life – a popular theme of science fiction movies. The creatures break away from their makers, develop feelings, become superior to humans, and ultimately attempt to conquer the world. The phenomen of artificial intelligence, AI for short, has fascinated mankind since before the time of Frankenstein.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Ilmenau now plan to teach even children what AI is all about. “To do this, we have developed a very simple computer game called ‘Gorge’,” says IDMT head of department Prof. Klaus Peter Jantke. “Gorge enables children to find out through play how AI works, because they can influence it themselves.” The rules of Gorge are simple: Teams of pieces have to move around a board and reach a destination, rather like in ‘Ludo’. The die decides where a piece has to move to. Jostling is allowed – so if a piece lands on a square already occupied by another piece, it is pushed onto the next unoccupied square. The paths are crisscrossed by gorges – hence the name of the game. A piece can only cross a gorge if helped by another piece. Then this piece can decide whether to help the other piece get out again or leave it to perish in the gorge – in other words, it can adopt the role of a hero or a villain.

“The great thing about this game is that not only people can play against each other. You can also play against the computer, or have one computer play against another,” says Jantke. “That’s even more exciting because the person can set how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ the machine is. “For example, the player can define a rule that says: “If you find someone in a gorge, you must always pull them out.” Or: “Never go into a gorge.” In this way, children can decide for themselves whether they prefer to play against a good or a bad opponent. And they can observe what sort of behavioral patterns the artificially intelligent machine develops, whether its actions are more aggressive or more defensive.

What happens when several “baddies” play against each other? Who wins if all the players are good? Do the “goodies” always beat the “baddies”? Children can make interesting observations about AI and thus learn a lot about it

UPC and ESADE succeed in bringing Europe’s largest network for sustainable energy innovation to Barcelona

2010-01-05T13:46:00.001+01:00

(Crealis) -- A candidature led by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and ESADE Business School has been selected following a European call for proposals to launch a major project aimed at stimulating innovation in the field of sustainable energy. The project, known as InnoEnergy, will entail an initial investment of €450 million over the next four years. The initiative is supported by the recently created European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The EIT was set up on the model of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, renowned as a world leader in innovation.

The EIT, whose aim is to achieve greater integration of universities, companies and research centers, issued a call for proposals to create three pan-European Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). InnoEnergy will be the sustainable energy KIC. The other two will focus on the information society and climate change.

Participating partners

The two lead institutions submitted their proposal in collaboration with the energy sector companies Gas Natural–Unión Fenosa, Iberdrola, EDF, Vatenfall, ABB and Total. Other partners involved in designing the candidature were the Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm (Sweden), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), the Energy, Environment and Technology Research Center (CIEMAT), and the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). A total of 35 universities, companies and research centers are partners in the InnoEnergy project.

The goal for the first four years is to train over 1500 students in specific international programs aimed at producing technology leaders with a strong entrepreneurial culture, create more than 60 new patents, and launch over 50 startups. It is also anticipated that 90 new products will be put on the market in the first four years that the project is underway. The project will run until 2017.

InnoEnergy will have six operational centers located in Barcelona, Stockholm, Karlsruhe, Grenoble, Eindhoven and Krakow. These centers will be responsible for coordinating various subthemes related to sustainable energy.

The Spanish center of operations, known as Co-Location Center Iberia, will be based in Barcelona. The Center will bring together Spanish and Portuguese partners and coordinate all the InnoEnergy projects that focus on renewable energies (wind, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, and marine energy). It will also coordinate a large-scale project on industrial energy efficiency.

In addition to the UPC and the ESADE Business School, the other main partners involved in the Barcelona center are FENOSA, IREC, CIEMAT and the Portuguese university IST. Associated partners who have joined the initial group are Tecnalia, Alstom-Ecotècnia, Galp Energía, EdP and Agbar. In the future it is expected that other key Spanish companies in the sector and SMEs specializing in the renewable energy field will also come on board.

From the Co-Location Center Iberia, located at the new Diagonal Besòs Campus in Barcelona, the UPC will coordinate renewable energy research projects with the support of the IREC. The role of the ESADE Business School will be to focus on turning innovation into business and entrepreneurial opportunities. The UPC and ESADE will work together to create a support infrastructure for the Spanish partners involved.

ESADE will be the benchmark business school for KIC InnoEnergy as a whole and home to the ESADE CREAPOLIS Innovation Park, which will foster excellence, networking, and collaborative innovation among the six European co-location centers.

The role of the KICs

Though they are distributed throughout Europe and act independently, the KICs will now become the operational part of the EIT. The KICs are the first and most critical step towards the full development of the recently created institute. With the establishment of the KICs, leading universities, companies and research centers will for the first time work together with the aim of generating the critical mass needed to achieve excellence in innovation.

“The UPC is proud to be coordinating the Co-Location Center Iberia as part of such a significant initiative as KIC InnoEnergy. With support from education and research, the project will have a major impact in the European energy sector and drive innovation,” says Josep Bordonau, professor of electronic engineering at the School of Industrial Engineering of Barcelona (ETSEIB) and the UPC’s InnoEnergy coordinator.

“Europe needs to demonstrate that it can excel in creating new knowledge,” says Elena Bou, a professor in ESADE’s Department of Operations Management and Innovation and one of the project researchers, together with Professor Bordonau. “Despite everything, Europe hasn’t yet been able to translate knowledge into tangible assets, that is to say, into innovation.”

UPC project chosen as Future Information and Communication Society KIC finalist

In this call for proposals, the EIT has chosen the project Climate-KIC as the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation KIC and the project EIT ICT Labs as the Future Information and Communication Society KIC. In the latter category, the UPC submitted the project TRANSFICS, which has been chosen as a finalist; it has therefore been designated a KIC in recognition of the quality of its research, although there is no financial award.

Knowledge Computing offers new perspectives in scientific computing

2009-12-18T15:14:00.000+01:00

(Crealis) -- Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI) and at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) of Forschungszentrum Jülich have used their substantial computing grid infrastructures for a new application in scientific computing: the large-scale annotation of biomedical and chemical texts and images in pharmaceutical patents.

This will allow patent searches of an unparalleled power. Now, queries provide interesting insights into intersections between biology and chemistry, and the analysis of chemistry is truly multi-modal in the sense that text- and image-based information can be analyzed simultaneously.

More than 50,000 patents describing inventions in pharmaceutical chemistry have been processed on the large-scale computing grid infrastructures at SCAI and JSC. Automated “named entity recognition” services have identified and annotated:

biological entities in text (e.g. protein names; gene names; gene polymorphisms; cell types),
medical entities in text (e.g. disease names; pathology terms; risk factor terminology) as well as
chemical information in text (e.g. drug names; expressions following the naming standards of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)) and
images (e.g. chemical structure depictions).

The grid middleware UNICORE (Uniform Interface to Computing Resources) was used to manage the annotation services in the grid infrastructure, to control the streams of input and output data from the patents database to the annotation services, and to monitor the overall progress.

“This large-scale experiment opens new perspectives in scientific computing,” says Prof. Dr. Martin Hofmann-Apitius, head of the Department of Bioinformatics at Fraunhofer SCAI. “This type of application goes way beyond the usual simulation applications that we are used to in the scientific computing community.”

So far, text mining applications have only been run on bibliographic databases of life sciences and biomedical information such as MEDLINE. But the extension towards a multimodal analysis including annotation of text- and image-based information in full text documents on grid infrastructures has never been done before.

“We are pleased to see that our institute, which has a strong record in numerical simulation, has contributed to a new field of applications for supercomputers: what we call knowledge computing is likely to become a new discipline on its own,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Ulrich Trottenberg, Director of Fraunhofer SCAI.

“UNICORE made it possible to run this experiment at such a large scale in computing grid infrastructures at SCAI and JSC,” says Dr. Achim Streit, head of Distributed Systems and Grid Computing at JSC. “The powerful workflow and data management capabilities of UNICORE allowed to annotate the patents in a seamless and automated way. A supercomputer connected by UNICORE to the infrastructure of the German Grid Initiative (D-Grid) was used to perform the knowledge extraction. This initial step of the experiment demonstrates what is possible today and shows the potential for more complex production runs in the future, using HPC systems connected in grid infrastructures”.

“This is a very good example of how powerful supercomputers at JSC equipped with world-class grid technologies like UNICORE can generate synergies to enable new fields of research. I am proud that JSC is a member of the international UNICORE open source community and leads its development,” explains Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Lippert, Director of JSC.

The team at SCAI, led by Dr. Marc Zimmermann for the image analysis annotators and by Dr. Juliane Fluck and Dr. Christoph Friedrich for the text analytics part, is currently working on the in-depth analysis of the meta-information generated in the course of this large-scale in silico-experiment. Their colleague on the side of JSC in Jülich, Mathilde Romberg, is happy that after weeks of intensive work the first “production runs” have been completed. However, the teams on both sides know that there are another 1.5 million patents waiting for them.

Computer identifies authentic Van Gogh

2009-12-17T15:16:00.000+01:00

(Crealis) -- Igor Berezhnoy of Tilburg University in the Netherlands has developed computer algorithms to support art historians and other art experts in their visual assessment of paintings. His digital technology is capable of distinguishing a forgery from an authentic Van Gogh based on the painter’s characteristic brush work and use of colour.

Though the use of artificial intelligence made a relatively late debut in the field of cultural heritage, computer algorithms are now steadily finding their way in this new domain. Igor Berezhnoy has examined the extent to which colour analysis computer programmes can contribute to analysing the authenticity of paintings. To aid his research, he developed computer algorithms, which he tested on digital reproductions of Van Gogh's paintings. Using digital processes, he also studied how trademark features of brush work can reveal the identity of a painter. The Van Gogh Museum and the Kröller-Müller Museum have been closely involved in this research project.

It is widely acknowledged that, during his French period, Vincent van Gogh began employing complementary colours to emphasize contours of objects or parts of scenes, for example blue next to yellow. With this in mind, Berezhnoy proposed a new method of digital analysis (the Method for the Extraction of Complementary Colours), which enabled him to identify general colour patterns in Van Gogh's work. This method provides an objective way to support art historians’ analysis of colours in a painting, thereby enabling them to determine its authenticity.

Berezhnoy has also developed a digital analysis technique to detect the orientation of brush strokes (the Prevailing Orientation Extraction Technique). His research demonstrated that this method was also effective in identifying the ‘fingerprint’ of a master and thereby revealing his identity.

Berezhnoy’s research shows that digital technology is just as effective in identifying the authenticity of paintings as the discerning eye of an art historian. The PhD student is, however, keen to point out that digital technology will never replace art historians.

Research empowers the Web of Data

2009-12-09T14:02:00.001+01:00

(Crealis) -- Using Grid specifications and technologies, the project provides a more robust access protocol for RDF(S) data resources.

Researchers at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's School of Computing have created an access protocol for data resources (or information sources) that are defined in RDF(S). RDF(S) is a set of web of data recommendations promoted by the W3C consortium for defining metadata (data about data) in the Web.

RDF(S), one of whose promoters is Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the Internet, is actually a combination of the RDF language, used to define metadata, and the RDF Schema, an extension of the RDF language used to define vocabularies, which then structure the metadata defined using RDF.

The use of RDF(S) has now gone beyond the Web and it has started to be used in other contexts. RDF(S) is being used to build ontologies for representing genetic information, for publishing some of the United States or United Kingdom Governments' economic recovery programme databases or even to represent information in the Wikipedia or the New York Times.

The key difference between RDF(S) and other computer languages is that it has been created specifically for the Internet environment and for machine consumption. This way, data accumulated on the network of networks defined in RDF(S) can be processed automatically by computer applications in conformity with user needs, ultimately improving the use of such a vast amount of information.

Grid with web of data

The access protocol to data resources defined using RDF(S), developed by the School of Computing together with teams from Japan (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, AIST) and the United Kingdom (National e-Science Centre), combines Grid technology, enabling the shared and coordinated use of geographically distributed computational resources, and the web of data, which is empowered through Grid specifications and technologies to exploit RDF(S) data resources.

The key advantage of this project is that it offers more robust access to systems making intensive use of this type of resources, as it abstracts the end user away from the technical details of the resource implementation, while providing a mechanism for fine-grained use of their contents.
The result of this research work is a much more powerful and securer tool for exploiting RDF(S) data resources. Systems developers using this type of resources will find this tool very useful, as it provides mechanisms not only for querying, but also for modifying the actual RDF(S) data resources.

The Open Grid Forum's Database Access and Integration Services Working Group started work on creating this protocol in 2006. Since then this working group has output a motivational document and two RDF(S) Grid access specifications, one using a declarative mechanism through the SPARQL query language and another using a conceptual programming mechanism. The first specification is led by AIST and the second by the UPM's School of Computing.

The protocol is now considered to be complete, although it is under ongoing review by a number of teams of experts. The protocol is already being used in several projects partnered by the UPM, like UPGrid or ADMIRE, where middleware technologies are being created to improve data mining and integration tasks from scientific and commercial sources.

Small companies add value by sharing commercial information

2009-12-06T15:18:00.000+01:00

(Crealis) -- Small companies prepared to share commercially sensitive information can add value and develop new services for their customers, using a distributed track-and-trace software solution.

Small companies will be able to track-and-trace the movement of their materials and products from their suppliers through to their final customers, using a new open source and free solution.

One of the characteristics that makes the TraSer track-and-trace solution different is that the product location information is not owned or controlled by a central authority. Instead, the companies along the supply chain share their data in the interests of all.

TraSer will adapt easily to larger customers’ supply chain management or enterprise planning systems. And it enables companies to make rapid changes to their supply networks while maintaining high security levels.

Most supply network systems designed to track products – such as the EPCGlobal ONS/EPCIS system being championed by major retailers and product manufacturers around the world – are centralised to some degree. ONS/EPCIS has a central lookup service that must be contacted by someone looking for information on a product with a unique identifier. The lookup service returns a service address for the unique identifier where further information on the product can be found.

There are advantages to the ONS/EPCIS approach. If the product changes ownership the details at the central lookup service can be changed to direct enquirers to the address of the new owner’s services for that product. But there are also major disadvantages. If the central lookup service can’t be accessed for whatever reason, services relating to the product can’t be accessed.

End of the line for central lookup services?

By combining a product ID with a company web address, TraSer creates a unique product identifier that does not depend on registration at a centralised supervisory authority. Each company remains responsible for the maintenance of their own product data and any links to product-related services. By dispensing with the need for a central lookup service, the network is less vulnerable to malfunction or abuse.

Services for any item must remain accessible at the same address for the entire life span of the identifier. Where there is a change of ownership, the new owner would usually issue a new identifier.

“TraSer is designed as an entry-level solution platform,” says Dr Elisabeth Ilie-Zudor, coordinator of the TraSer project, and a researcher at the Computer and Automation Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. TraSer involved researchers in Hungary, Romania, the Netherlands and Finland from both academia and business.

“We strove to keep it as simple as possible in operation. Still, it remains vital to understand what is actually done in a track-and-trace network to make it work.”

The owner of any TraSer server can set access rights to data on an item-by-item, partner-by-partner basis. The TraSer platform uses web services for server-to-server and client-to-server communication. A WS-Security standard communication channel is used to sign and encrypt the contents of the messages, using a public-key communication approach.

A TraSer network has a core of interconnected company servers, surrounded by an ‘envelope’ of clients. Those clients may gather information from bar codes, RFID tags or other carriers of a product’s unique identifier. Whatever client is used, the interface between client and server is uniform. Therefore, TraSer can adapt to a wide range of input types.

In the same way, TraSer can adapt to other IT components such as customers’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) or supply chain management systems. In TraSer pilots, client-adaptors were developed for some of the existing ERP and peripheral middleware systems.

“Developing adapters for all major ERP examples was not within the scope of the project,” according to Ilie-Zudor. “However, we have closely examined all issues of adapter design and implementation that may surface in a business application and we have provided guidelines that users can rely on for a systematic adaptation approach.”

“Once users attain an adequate ‘picture of the world’ and become able to relate their own business scenarios with the possibilities and principles of TraSer, implementing an initial solution is fairly easy,” says Ilie-Zudor.

Commercialisation potential

During the TraSer project, the consortium members led a number of pilots – ranging from a closed-circuit asset-tracking system to the flow of materials along a supply chain. They also ran a special pilot tracking the distribution of electronic documents for a collaborative design project.

“The TraSer platform remains in use at some of the piloting companies,” adds Ilie-Zudor. “One of the consortium members also offers TraSer as a tracking component in its enterprise IT solution.

“And one IT company outside the consortium has examined and tested the TraSer platform and explored how it can be coupled with its own tracking network solution.”

Few small companies have track-and-trace capabilities at the moment. There is growing pressure for transparency along supply chains because of the greater certainty that gives customers. However, widespread use of systems like TraSer will require a change in mindset among SMEs, according to Ilie-Zudor.

“There is a general wariness about sharing information related to production and delivery. But companies need to view shared data as an investment where the creation of a better picture for everyone leads to a payback in cost reductions, better working methods and greater coordination.”

The TraSer project received funding from the ICT strand of the Sixth Framework Programme for research.

Source: http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&BrowsingType=Features&ID=91034

New step for the future Web

2009-11-23T14:06:00.001+01:00

(Crealis) -- A new research infrastructure focused in the evaluation of semantic technologies will be developed inside the SEALS (Semantic Evaluation At Large Scale) project, with European funding. This infrastructure, developed jointly by the UPM's School of Computing and other nine European universities, will provide evaluation services for different types of semantic technologies.

Semantic technologies are at the heart of the future web and are a cornerstone in current computer science. These technologies support the construction of intelligent applications in different domains: business, education, e-government, tourism, healthcare, etc. More specifically, these technologies support information search, integration and interchange by enhancing the meaning of such information. However, semantic technologies must be efficient and robust to support their current and future use in a continuously changing environment where the information available in the Web is exponentially growing.

Semantic technology evaluation services and evaluation campaigns

The goal of the SEALS project is to develop an infrastructure (the SEALS Platform) that provides services for the evaluation of semantic technologies. Such platform will be available to anyone interested in evaluating semantic technologies or in knowing about the results of current tools, namely, researchers, developers and end users.

Besides, the SEALS project will organise a set of international evaluation campaigns over different types of semantic technologies with the goal of providing a discussion forum about semantic technology evaluation and objective evaluation results for the most relevant existing technologies.

From experimentation-based research to technology selection and improvement

Because of the evaluation services provided by the SEALS Platform, researchers will be able to ground their research on objective and replicable evaluation results and to share and discuss their results with others.

Furthermore, the consolidated results of the different semantic technologies obtained in the evaluation campaigns will support the nowadays difficult tasks of selecting the appropriate semantic technologies for different uses and of obtaining improvement recommendations that facilitate the use and development of such technologies.

SEALS: a project in the 7th Framework Programme

The SEALS project, funded in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) under the topic of e-Infrastructures, is coordinated by Ontology Engineering Group at the UPM's School of Computing and includes researchers from other nine European universities and research centres from Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The SEALS project started in 2009 and will end in 2012. It will be composed of two phases where different evaluations will be defined, implemented in the SEALS Platform, and used in evaluation campaigns. Currently it is in the middle of its first phase and the first evaluations over semantic technologies have been defined.

The long-term goal of the project is to have a research infrastructure sustained by a community around the evaluation of semantic technologies.

New Social Science degrees appeal to 'global' students in Dubai

2009-11-04T11:34:00.000+01:00

(Crealis) -- Middlesex University Dubai is delighted with the success of its new three year honours social science programmes which introduce a new dimension to university education in the UAE.

Dr Lois Smith, programme coordinator in Dubai, said "We have students from the UAE, Nigeria, Iran, Egypt and the UK, and they all have their own perceptions and ideas. They are a lively and enthusiastic group of young people with a genuine desire to understand the world they live in so that they can make an important contribution to its future improvement."

The first batch of students are full of enthusiasm about the opportunity to study these unique London based programmes which are now offered at the Dubai Campus of Middlesex University. Afra Lootah, a UAE national student, said she chose to study the BA (Honours) Development and International Studies because "it is the first time such an in-depth programme has been offered. It allows us to cover many important aspects right from the first year".

She, along with her fellow students, is particularly keen to explore the challenges which the developing world faces such as poverty, conflict, disasters and global warming. Another student, Lilias Mills, only arrived in the UAE a couple of months ago from the UK, but she was keen to study the BA (Honours) Development and International Studies in Dubai because she felt it would give her more of a world view than studying in the UK.

The BA (Honours) Development and International Studies provides students with a multi-disciplinary understanding of the changing trends in international political and developmental thinking with an in-depth knowledge of evolving theoretical, conceptual and policy debates. "The programme develops students' ability to apply knowledge gained from diverse situations in various parts of the world and to understand the pulse of multi-cultural settings. So it is ideal for Dubai," said Dr. Lois Smith.

The other social science programme newly offered by Middlesex University Dubai is the BSc (Honours) Global Social Science, which focuses on developing students' multi-disciplinary understanding of the changing trends and issues in social science with a global perspective. The new course integrates international aspects of sociology. Donya Saberi, a student on the BSc (Honours) Global Social Science, is delighted with the diverse viewpoints she has already encountered in the classroom. "It is amazing how much we are encouraged to discuss our opinions about world issues. This makes for lively debate!" she said. Both programmes prepare students for a wide variety of careers in social policy and research, media, academia, tourism and government and non-government organisations.

The Dubai campus of Middlesex University London, which opened in January 2005, has more than 1,300 students from over 60 nationalities and offers 25 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a wide variety of subject areas. The origins of Middlesex University in London date back to 1878 and it is one of only a handful UK universities to have been awarded three Queen's anniversary prizes. In 2007, Middlesex was ranked third in London for Teaching and Learning (HEFCE) and the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) rated research at Middlesex as 'Top 10 among new UK universities'. In 2009, the university received again the highest possible rating for its quality as assessed by the UK's Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). Furthermore, all programmes are approved by the Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority.