MATR Newsletter - Tue Apr 25, 2006 |
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." Michelangelo
Come Home Montana
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Outstanding Career Opportunity - Technology Venture Center Business Manager - TechRanch, Bozeman, MT
This position reports directly to the Executive Director of TVC and requires a strong background in accounting, grants management, compliance with federal agencies, OMB rules and regulations, payroll and benefits, purchasing, procurement, and budgeting.
Education
- Rural Entrepreneurship and Innovative Leadership.
The articles cover a whole range of topics including entrepreneurship on tribal lands (by Elsie Meeks of First Nations Oweesta Corporation), how to build small town success (by Boomtown USA author) Jack Schultz, and the state role in supporting rural entrepreneurship (by Erik Pages of EntreWorks Consulting). The journal also includes case studies of excellent programs in Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.
Montana Business
- "Cool Community Colleges" Profiles Creative Approaches to Economic Development
The book offers information on how community colleges can more effectively integrate the arts, design and culture into programs to build creative economies and contribute to economic development; highlights successful programs both nationally and internationally; and suggests actions for community colleges.
- Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell Supports School Laptop Program. Laptop computers should be on the desks of every high school student
"If we are to adequately prepare our students to effectively compete in the global market place, we must transform how they learn and how teachers teach," Governor Rendell said during his tour of the middle school.
- In Montana, better than average isn't good enough. SUMMARY: Graduating six out of seven from high school is leaving too many children behind.
Montanans should find little comfort or satisfaction in graduation rates that exceed the national average. An 85 percent graduation rate means 15 percent or one in every 6.6 students fail to meet the most basic measure of success in our school system. Even if that were the best in the nation - and it's not - it's a dismal statistic.
Funding and Building your Business
- Visual Learning Systems' Feature Analyst Assists Jane Goodall Institute
“We expect that conservation efforts worldwide will see incredible benefits from the use of image data and Feature Analyst for wildlife habitat monitoring,” said Stuart Blundell, chief operating officer of VLS. “The accuracy and consistency of the mapping speak for themselves.”
Global Telework
- Office Collaboration, the Wiki Way
As Wikipedia's popularity has soared, businesses have begun to investigate its underlying technology as a way to share business and financial knowledge among employees, suppliers, and customers.
- Private Equity and Venture Capital Firm Summit Partners Publishes White Paper for Successful Entrepreneurs Who Want to Increase their Personal Financial Liquidity
White paper addresses goals that company founders can achieve by unlocking cash from their business through raising private equity or venture capital financing
- Venture firms itching to spend Seattle a hotbed of new wireless ideas
A number of factors are leading venture capitalists to pump more money into startup companies: an improved economy, greater broadband penetration and new Internet and wireless applications that make it easy for people to share digital photos, videos and text.
Regional Business
- Virginia accelerates telework program. 34 states have adopted telework programs
As in the federal government’s telework program, most state initiatives call on managers to designate employees who can work from home one or more days a week. But without rigorous guidelines or sanctions, reluctant managers tend to offer the option to only a handful of employees.
Regional Economic Development
- Job Market Booming For Skilled IT Professionals - Average IT Manager Makes $99,000, Staffer $73,000. Great time to switch companies or even industries
"There's been an unabated growth in the last three quarters," said Jim Lanzalotto, Yoh's vice president of strategy and marketing, in an interview "And I don't see anything that can slow it down."
Utah Business
- New Metric Model for Economic Development Unveiled
“Perhaps the most interesting finding is that racial inclusion, income equality and ethnic diversity – measures of equity and fairness – correlate positively to economic growth. These factors are not normally called out in regional economic measurement tools, but in this study they are shown to be important to the economic picture.
Washington State Business
- 9 Utah firms funded. High-tech trio lures more than half of Utah's first-quarter investments
"There are glimmers of activity that remind me of the early days of the Internet bubble," Bob Williams, a general partner with Bay Partners in Cupertino, Calif., told AP. "I wouldn't call it irrational exuberance yet, but I would call it budding enthusiasm."
Careers
- OneEighty to make acquisition, start unit. New subsidiary to offer merged voice, data lines direct to business desktops
“For some time now, we have given great thought to the creation of OneEighty Systems due to the ongoing requests by our business customers to support and manage their data and voice networks,” Green says. “So, when the opportunity came along with Fisher Tele-Com, it was the natural time to launch our managed-services plans,” and the new subsidiary.
- Washington State ranks 4th in nation for venture capital investments
"There is an entire generation of people -- the 14- to 24-year-olds -- that grew up with this tool set and that is a primary tool that they depend upon for their digital living," he said. "It is not an exception, it is really a matter of course. And that is driving a lot of consumption."
Energy
- The Truth Behind Online Job Hunting
Electronic job hunting requires the same skills as a traditional job search. You need to do research, have targeted goals and be patient and determined. Don't be fooled by the following common misconceptions:
Hydrogen News
- Billings, Montana hospital first in nation to use fuel cell
The one-year demonstration project is not only good for the environment, but also should help reduce health-care costs, said Jim Duncan, director of development and community affairs for Billings Clinic.
Connectivity & Communications
- University of North Dakota starts on next-generation hydrogen fuel research center
"The ground-breaking research that will be done right here in North Dakota will allow our grandchildren to drive hydrogen-powered cars, live in hydrogen-powered homes and end our country's addiction to foreign sources of energy," Senator Conrad said
City Club Missoula
- Speed limit on WiFi about to get a boost
The new ''WiFi-N" devices, which went on sale earlier this month, will enable consumers to play their favorite tunes or watch their favorite movies over their home wireless networks. The devices are far faster than most Internet users will ever need.
- Soon that cell will be all ears. Voice-recognition technology will cut out the wait time
Companies are creating voice recognition applications that allow users to say a search term into the phone and be rewarded in seconds with results.
- Oregon emergency system (RAINS) helps deploy responders via the Web
Called RAINS, for Regional Alliances for Infrastructure and Network Security, this public-private coalition takes a bottom-up approach to emergency-response communications — an approach quite different from the more centralized federal system.
- City Club Missoula - Stupidity at heart of matter in Search and Rescue debate
Can Missoula tax stupidity?
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