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One place to access all learning – helping learners to see what is available to them, whatever they do and wherever they work.
Create a great learning experience, not just a training database.
Hosting and tracking of all types of learning activities.
Automation of classroom course booking process.
Tracking of costs associated with classroom bookings.
System that supports a learner’s personal development.
Allowing managers to get involved in the learning of their direct reports and view their progress.
Tracking and reporting at various levels, summary and detail.
These are probably the standard requirements of any learning management system and could certainly be met by the open source tools that we looked at. In fact the "learner experience" that we could create was far better using open source than with any of the proprietary solutions we saw. We wanted the flexibility to deliver an experience that really worked for everyone in our business; from store staff through to CEO.
The real effort proved to be in making it work with the sheer scale and complexity of a large corporate.
So why is it a challenge with open source? It’s because most open-source resources start life as a fix for a particular need in a specific sector and the difficulty is making that that package fit an entirely different environment.
There is also a double-edged sword in that it is entirely flexible and can be made to do almost anything you want it to, but that brings the question of knowing where to start. Also, once you have started, how do you make sure that you are continuing to build a sustainable, simple and a sensible system?
So by now you’re probably asking, “does it work?” Well, I have been working with this for three years now and we are making it work for our business, across multiple countries.
Has open source been the easiest option? No, if we were simply looking for ease then it would have been far easier to pay a supplier a large amount of money for their system and they would have done much of the work for us. But this option would have left us with an inflexible system and high yearly cost.
To make open source deliver we needed a great development company working alongside us every step of the way, dealing with the support, maintenance and "system ownership" side of things. In-house we have a small and now highly skilled team with a vision of how this works across our global business. We’ve had to come up with workarounds when the package was clearly built to manage education and not business needs, but the beauty of the open-source approach is that we have been able to influence the core code in these areas and we now have a product that is fit for purpose.
In Tesco's experience, open-source resource can meet the demands of a corporate world, as long as everyone involved is prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in.
Jane Williams (pictured) is head of e-learning at Tesco. She will deliver a seminar on Harnessing open resource with Steve Rayson, managing director of Kineo, at the forthcoming World of Learning Conference, taking place at NEC Birmingham on 2-3 October 2012. For more details about the event, visit www.learnevents.com.
There are a lot of misconceptions about racing. Driving fast and turning left is not as simple as it looks. So, what does it really take to be a race car driver?
This past Saturday, One on One was live at Pocono Raceway with some special coverage centered around Fordham student Chase Mattioli, a business major in the class of 2012.
Four-time Oscar®-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, True Grit, Fargo) write and direct Hail, Caesar!, an all-star comedy set during the latter years of Hollywood's Golden Age. Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Channing Tatum, Hail, Caesar! follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix.
The comedy is produced by the Coen brothers under their Mike Zoss Productions banner alongside Working Title Films’ Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
The year 2016 saw no shortage of tremendous movies arriving on the big screen -- and a great deal of credit for many of them belongs to the screenwriters.
The National Board Of Review have revealed their 10 best films of 2016, and it includes quite a few surprises.
Here we are, creeping up on the end of June. 2016 is almost exactly half over, which means there have been a lot of movies to come out. A review of the first six months of the year shows us that there have been some big box office successes, as well as big failures. Now, let's talk about the rest.
Q. Please explain the difference between tree peonies and the old-fashioned perennial peonies.
A. A tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) is a woody shrub that will grow between 3 to 4 feet high and wide. Like other woody plants with trunks and branches, it should not be cut to the ground at the end of the growing season. Tree peonies bloom earlier than perennial peonies and a fully mature plant can bear as many as 50 six-inch blossoms in mid- to late May. They require moist but well-drained soil and protection from winter wind and midday summer sun.
The hundreds of different perennial peonies (also called herbaceous or garden peonies) are some of the most popular garden plants. They are long-lived and demand little more than full sun, rich, well-drained soil and occasional support to withstand heavy spring rains. They bloom either early, mid- or late season and their flowers generally are characterized as single, double, bomb or Japanese. After their foliage deepens to burgundy in the fall, these peonies can be cut to the ground.
Q. All my herbs are growing in one large container this year. I plan to use them regularly for cooking but am unsure which part I harvest first.
A. If you grow herbs for their leaves and not their seeds, keep pinching back the main stalk to prevent flower formation. Once an herb flowers, the leaves lose some of their essential oils and flavor. Pinching will also promote side branching. Harvest tender young leaves, either by cutting individual leaves or snipping small stalks with leaves attached. Be more judicious with perennial herbs and never harvest more than one-third of the plant at a time. These herbs need to develop strong roots to remain hardy.
Herbs grown for seeds (dill, caraway, coriander, fennel and others) should not be clipped. Let the entire seed head form and turn brown before cutting it off the plant. Dry seeds in a bag or on a fine screen.
Q. What is the correct way to prune lavender?
A. Prune your lavender plant down to 6 inches in spring as the new growth begins. The lower part of the plant is quite woody and will respond well to hard pruning. You also can prune lightly once again in late summer to remove the faded flowers (save them for sachets). This second pruning helps to promote a full, compact habit.
Lee Randhava writes for the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. She cannot reply individually but will select questions of general interest to answer in this column. Send your concerns to: Gardening Q&A, Home&Garden, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611-4041, or send e-mail to home&garden@tribune.com.
Cranes stand at the construction site for Southern Co.'s Kemper County power plant near Meridian, Mississippi, U.S., on Feb. 25, 2014.
A rare coalition of energy companies, green groups and trade unions united this month to support a measure before Congress that helps fight greenhouse gas emissions by providing a tax credit for capturing and storing carbon dioxide.
The provision — known as the Section 45Q tax credit — grants a tax incentive to energy and industrial companies that store carbon dioxide through a set of technologies commonly known as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), rather than releasing the pollutant into the atmosphere.
Support for a measure strengthening the tax credit came in the form of a letter sent last week to members of Congress. Representatives of environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, unions like the AFL-CIO and companies like Arch Coal, the country’s second largest coal producer, signed the letter.
Many environmental groups and energy companies have high hopes that CCS can play a game-changing role in the energy sector, as policies increasingly demand reductions in global warming-causing carbon dioxide emissions. The CCS process typically involves pipelines that transport carbon dioxide away from a power plant or another industrial site to an injection well that dumps the pollutant thousands of feet underground, where it cannot enter the atmosphere. Other CCS projects actually use the gas for other purposes like improved oil recovery.
Many environmental policymakers say that widespread adoption of CCS in the coming decades may be key to stopping the most devastating effects of climate change. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has already exceeded 400 parts per million, a level some scientists have described as unsustainable. Others remain deeply skeptical of the technology because a few high-profile projects failed to deliver as promised.
Despite the apocalyptic timbre of the siege in Sydney and the perpetrator's apparent links to Islamic terrorism, it was the crude work of one man acting alone.
We can't stop this. Sorry, but we can't. As we ruminate on a thousand hows and what ifs – such as how the hell did someone like Man Haron Monis find himself out on bail – there's a brutal truth we can't escape: we're trying to impose order on chaos; to convince ourselves that everything can some day be under our control, when it just can't. Tony Abbott deserves lasting admiration for having the courage to admit as much.
From all appearances, this was as crude and as solitary as it gets. There's no high-tech wizardry on show. There's no elaborate, maniacal plan worthy of a Hollywood supervillain. There's not even a mastermind pulling strings to make this more coherent. There is only a man, a gun and a flag. The man and the gun we've seen before. Indeed, we've seen it horrifically often: in Belgium just hours after Martin Place; at Port Arthur. But the flag – that changes things. It lends this the apocalyptic timbre that drives us so mad. It's the thing in this episode that does the least damage – and the most.
It's also the thing that makes this global. There's every reason to suspect we're dealing with someone deranged here but many deranged gunmen have gone before him. Only rarely do they associate themselves with the symbolic power of a global militant movement. At no point in the history of our species have such human satellites, living beyond the margins of even the most marginal groups, had the power to do so: the power to become so much more than they are simply by attaching themselves to a symbol from another continent. And right now, there is no symbol more potent and available than that of Islamic terrorism.
So, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau and Martin Rouleau Couture in Canada. Zale Thompson in New York. Now Monis at Martin Place. We're seeing this more now: troubled (often criminal) histories, possible mental illness, religious conversion, violence. Monis apparently converted to Sunni Islam only recently, perhaps because you can't really claim to love IS when you're a Shiite and they're trying to exterminate you. Islam has such permeable borders, such an absence of hierarchy, that anyone can become anything in their own mind. Its symbols are available to anyone who wants to claim them and there is nothing anyone can do to stop them. Australian Muslims had been disowning Monis for at least seven years. They'd even expressed their concerns to the authorities. But how can you stop the "fake sheikh" being real to himself?
There's no control order regime to account for this. There's no metadata inside an apparently deranged mind. We're busy fretting about the terrorists' tools of the future – which is all fair enough – while they wreak havoc with the tools of the past. Think about what we've seen lately, from Australia to North America: a knife, an axe, a couple of guns, even a car. Perhaps the most profound aspect of our age is that the power to inflict carnage is now shared with the small to the invisible to the otherwise insignificant. Man Haron Monis was so insignificant, hardly anyone knew him; so insignificant the system overlooked him. And now he's history.
But there's another history to be written here. One that is very much in control. It's a history written not just in the statements of leaders, but in the minutiae of our everyday interactions. It's the history we glimpsed as the siege unfolded when a single, humble Australian decided to declare #illridewithyou in solidarity with Muslims too scared to ride public transport. It's a history that commenced with the interfaith vigil held at the Lakemba and Auburn mosques. And it's a history to be determined by what we decide this tragedy symbolises: the sordid ideology of a man who deserves to be forgotten or the greatest virtues of those of us left behind.
Waleed Aly is a Fairfax columnist and hosts Drive on Radio National.
Chile’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5% for a fifth consecutive month as inflation in the world’s top copper producer eased and unemployment continued to decline.
Central Bank President Rodrigo Vergara is expected to give a clearer guide to monetary policy when he addresses the Senate Finance Committee on June 18 after the bank publishes a new report with fresh forecasts.
Policy makers in their last report, published April 3, estimated that inflation would end the year at 3.5% and that interest rates would probably track market expectations. Since then, annual inflation slowed to 3.1% in May and one-year interest rate swaps, which reflect traders’ views of average borrowing costs, dropped 71 basis points, or 0.71 percentage point, to 4.72%.
While traders are forecasting a rate reduction within 12 months, economists surveyed by the central bank estimate the bank’s next move will be an increase.
Inflation may be slowing because of one-time factors such as lower oil prices and still poses a threat in the medium term, policy makers said in minutes of last month’s meeting. Noting a “tight” labor market and faster-than-forecast economic growth, central bank board members discussed raising interest rates before voting unanimously to keep them unchanged May 17.
The jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 6.5% in the three months through April from 7% in the same period last year. However the economy is showing signs of moderation as growth eased to 5% in March and 4.8% in April, the weakest expansion since November last year.
Chile in May posted the widest trade deficit since 2008 as exports dropped 12% from the previous year on lower copper prices. The metal, which accounts for more than half of the country’s exports, has averaged 3.7025 dollars a pound this year, down from 4.0222 a pound in 2011.
Categories: Economy, Politics, Latin America.
Tags: Chile, Chilean Central Bank, Rodrigo Vergara.
Russell R. Pate, a nationally recognized expert and scholar on physical activity, will speak about obesity prevention in youth at the Ramsey Lecture Series on March 28 at 4 p.m. in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.
Pate, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina, is an internationally recognized exercise physiologist with interests in the health implications of physical activity and physical fitness in children. He will deliver a lecture titled "Policies for Promotion of Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention in Mahler Auditorium. A reception will be held prior to his presentation at 3:30 p.m. in Hill Atrium.
Pate has published more than 230 scholarly papers and has authored or edited three books. He heads a research team that currently is supported by three grants from the National Institutes of Health. He led the development of the recommendation on Physical Activity and Public Health of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine (1995) and served on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (2003-04), the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee (2007-08) and an Institute of Medicine panel that developed guidelines on prevention of childhood obesity. He currently chairs the coordinating committee for the National Physical Activity Plan.
One of 20 members of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Pate advises President Barack Obama through the Secretary of Health and Human Services about physical activity, fitness and sports in America.
He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Fitness and has served as an appointed member of the South Carolina Governor's Council on Physical Fitness since 1988.
The event is funded by the Ramsey Lecture Series in the UGA College of Education.
10 Acres on Hwy 86 in Eagle Rock. Joins Promise Land Zoo & close to Eureka Springs & Table Rock Lake. Lays good with level area for building site. Old billboard on property.
Are you looking for a project? This could be it. 2 bedroom home that sits at the end of a secluded road for privacy. Large chain link backyard area for dogs or children. The property needs TLC and owner is selling as is where is.
Great Piece of Development Land. Around 1000' of State Highway Frontage. Property is Flat To Gentle Roll and has a Drive Entrance in the Center of property. Would be a great location for Small homes, Storage Buildings, or Commercial Retail/Storage.
The top U.S. airlines earned a net profit of $3.8 billion during the first half of this year -- up from $1.6 billion during the same period last year, according to an industry group.
The airlines were assisted by a 2.3% decline in jet fuel prices and modest declines in maintenance expenses and aircraft rents, according to the group, Airlines for America.
And the jump came despite numerous extreme weather events that interrupted travel earlier this year, including the polar vortex and severe thunderstorms.
The $3.8 billion was the combined profit for the six-month period for the nine major passenger airlines -- Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United. The 5% net margin, or five cents on every dollar of revenue, was an improvement from the 2.1% margin reported in the first half of 2013.
The industry group said that the nine airlines spent $7 billion to buy and refurbish aircraft and were able to reduce gross debt by $1.8 billion during the period.
The group also predicted Labor Day travel would increase 2% over last year's holiday, which is measured over seven days. Airlines for America expects 14 million air travelers, compared to 13.8 million in 2013. The busiest day will likely be Friday, August 29, the group predicted.
During the following talk from 2018's Radio Alive Conference, GfK's managing director Morten Boyer discusses Australia's evolving radio ratings.
Market research company GfK is ensuring it is “not led by opinion” as it begins to rethink how Australia’s radio ratings are measured. The GfK method currently uses a diary-based system, which has previously been criticised for its over-reliance on participants’ memory.
Morten Boyer, managing director at GfK, asks the audience at this year’s Radio Alive Conference: “How would you do it? How would you all go about designing such a measurement system?
He explains how more testing needs to be conducted before the company can think about rolling out changes to its measurement system.
“When we look at the testing we’ve done here in Australia so far, we still don’t have the confidence we feel we need to make a substantial change to your methodology at this point,” says Boyer.
In order to combat this, GfK is planning on launching a “super pilot”, which will launch across the five major metro markets and include research across GfK’s app, watches and diary.
During his speech at last year’s conference, Boyer admitted all electronic rating methods “provide an incomplete level of listening”.
Sounds like he is covering for an industry that absolutely does not want more robust measurement. Diaries suit radio stations just fine because it preserves their revenue. More advanced, passive radio measurement is absolutely feasible and has been done in other markets, but will lower audiences.
PETITION - STOP the Brutal Slaughter of Whales!
Iceland is allowing endangered whales to be SLAUGHTERED for sport. We can't let this go on any longer.
This is great news. Word from colleagues in Iceland, and now reports in both Icelandic and English-language media confirm that the planned hunt for fin whales will not happen this summer.
Icelandic whalers have started harpooning the first of over 150 endangered fin whales.
Release Canada's Only Captive Orca, Kiska, to An Appropriate Facility.
PETITION: Kiska is a female orca (killer whale) who was captured from Iceland roughly 40 years ago and has resided at Marineland, Canada in Niagara Falls Ontario ever since.
Please Stop Brewing Whale Testicle Beer!
They're at it again. The Icelandic brewery that raised conservationists' ire last year when it released a beer made from the meat, bones, and oil of endangered fin whales has come back with another whale-based brew.
After a two-year hiatus, Iceland has resumed its kill of endangered whales. Already, over 100 fin whales have been hunted and slaughtered - and there are plans to kill many more, including 10 humpback whales.
The Iceland Government has set up a committee to consider all aspects of whales and whaling in Iceland. They are set to review the impact of whaling on Iceland's international reputation, as well as the possibility of a whale sanctuary.
ACTION ALERT: Stop Iceland From Killing Endangered Fin Whales! PLEASE SIGN !
Growing to nearly 90 feet long, the fin whale is the second largest living animal on this planet after the blue whale. It is a long slender marine mammal, whose great speed and lithe form earned it the moniker "the greyhound of the sea".
ACTION ALERT: Watch Pierce's Video and Ask President Obama to Save Whales! PLEASE SIGN !
Please watch Pierce Brosnan's powerful new video on Iceland's illegal slaughter of whales. Then send a message urging President Obama to impose tough trade sanctions on Icelandic companies tied to whaling.
ACTION ALERT: Iceland: Stop Whaling and Start Watching! PLEASE SIGN !
In baseball, there have always been two options for plays on the bases: safe or out. Next season, very likely, there will be another possibility: a challenge by the manager.
Major League Baseball announced on Thursday that it planned to greatly expand instant replay, starting in 2014, with managers having the option to challenge calls they believe the umpire missed. An umpiring crew watching video at Major League Baseball’s headquarters in New York would have the final say on such plays, taking the burden off the umpires on the field.
Not all calls would be eligible to be challenged. The field umpires, for instance, would still have the final call on balls and strikes, hit batters and checked swings. But if baseball’s proposal passes a formal owners’ vote in November — and receives approval from the umpires and the players union, which have long been in favor of such advancements — fewer games should be decided by missed calls.
Home run calls by umpires have been reviewable since 2008, but even with the addition of that wrinkle, baseball, until now, remained a sport in which mistakes by umpires were generally accepted as a regrettable, but human, part of the game. In 2010, the umpire Jim Joyce cost the Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game by blowing a call at first base on what would have been the final out. Galarraga smiled after the play, and the two men eventually wrote a book together.
Under the new system, that call could be challenged and overturned. The spontaneity of the moment — right or wrong — would be lost in favor of a more basic goal: that the final call is the correct one. “We really tried to honor the legacy of the game and mostly recognize that we’ve got technology that’s improving quickly, and we had a good experience with the home run and boundary replays,” the former manager Tony La Russa, an adviser to Major League Baseball, said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
Schuerholz and La Russa developed the new proposal with Joe Torre, a former player and manager who is now an executive vice president with Major League Baseball. For years, baseball had been content to let the other major sports put in more extensive replay, choosing instead to essentially preserve the status quo and not risk adding to the already troublesome length of games.

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