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Mukesh Ambani isn't letting a lockdown derail his plans of tech domination

The flurry of transactions show the tycoon's ambitions to pivot Reliance Industries into an Indian technology titan are going into hyperdrive




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Accenture says Unacademy hack has no impact on its data

"Accenture has no professional relationship with Unacademy, and any implication or assertion otherwise is erroneous. Accenture has suffered no data breach or loss of any records or client information as a result of this incident," Accenture said in a statement.




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Google, Facebook to let most employees work from home till year-end

Tech giants Google and Facebook allowing most of their workforces to WFH through the end of this year.




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India witnesses 40% increase in peak Internet traffic: Report

There was significant spike in downloads and uploads per user, owing to the high volume of work and streaming content across India.




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Pune labour commissioner asks Wipro to respond to complaint on employee salary cuts

NITES, said that this went against the government guidelines of not firing people or cutting salaries during the pandemic.




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Hacking attacks on educational portal tripled in Q1 amid online learning

DDoS attacks during the first three months of this year have seen a significant spike in attacks on educational websites.




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Kennel Technicians

Would you like to work in a rewarding position caring for animals? Are you a compassionate individual with a good understanding of animal behavior?  Do you have strong self-motivation, communication, and multi-tasking skills?   Catawba County Emergency Services is recruiting for multiple full-time Kennel Technicians to join our Animal Services team.
 
As a Kennel Technician, you will ensure all animals within the Animal Shelter receive proper care, cleaning, medical attention, and are inventoried appropriately.  Kennel Technicians work a 40-hour week, rotational schedule.  Some weekend work is required. 




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Success Coaches (Social Worker III)

Catawba County is recruiting for two engaging social workers with considerable knowledge in child welfare to fill the role of a Success Coach (Social Worker III). Success Coaches provide enhanced case management services to families.  In this role, you will provide on-going supportive services including assessment, crisis intervention, and skill reinforcement to families.   You will carry a caseload of 8-15 families requiring varying levels of service intensity. 
 
These Success Coaches will provide these voluntary services to post adoptive families in the Region 4 which includes Mecklenburg, Gaston, Lincoln, Stanly, Cabarrus, Union and Cleveland counties.  Position involves heavy regular travel within the communities where services are provided.  For convenience to and knowledge of community resources, it is preferred that the applicant live in one of the counties served.   If not, applicant must be willing/able to travel within the counties served on a daily basis. 
 
These positions are time-limited and will end June 30, 2021. 




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Modular data centres eliminate the need for specialised support skillsets: Opinion

Modular data centres are attractive options to power next-gen applications such as Internet of Things (IoT), industrial process control and smart cities. Radical edge computing possibilities are on offer.




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Nokia bags deal from Airtel to automate data center networks in 15 circles

India has been recording unprecedented growth in data and this requires that service providers, like Airtel, increase the number of data centers, the telecom gear maker said.




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India server market revenue hits $280.1 mn in Q3 2019

The overall server market in India witnessed a Year-over-Year (YoY) growth of a dismal 0.8 per cent in terms of revenue to reach $280.1 million in the third quarter (Q3) versus $277.8 million in Q3 of 2018, a new report by International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Wednesday.




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Amazon invests Rs 2,500 crore in marketplace and data centre units

The investment follows a Rs1,715 crore infusion into Amazon’s payments and wholesale arms last month.




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Work & entertainment at home lift demand for data centres

Demand has increased by nearly eight times. Requests for virtualisation and cloud infra have also resulted in a surge




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Covid-19 Impact: Demand for data centers surge as remote working catches up

The emergence of new business environment in the wake of Covid-19 is expected to boost cloud services and digitisation as companies overhaul their digital infrastructure to deal with new ways of working, they said.




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How DBS Bank India impacts various aspects of banking through technology

DBS Bank is leveraging technology to reduce man hours, enhance the customer journey, automate processes and open new revenue streams.




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ML finds use cases at IDBI Bank

Inderpal Singh Kalra, ED-IT and Digital Banking & Emerging Payments at IDBI Bank throws light on three crucial solutions that leverage ML to manage risk.




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How JK Tyre is taking the IT route for enhancing productivity, efficiency

Sharad Agarwal, Head-IT at JK Tyre looks at technology as an enabler which will drive productivity and efficiency within the firm.




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Here's how Magicbricks achieved 60% higher accuracy in lead generation

In conversation with ETCIO, Subodh Kumar, CTO, Magicbricks, shares how data comprising 75 attributes has helped the company generate 60% more quality leads




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How IFFCO plays Flipkart, Amazon to farmers

“We are serving 97% of the pin code across the country, without any delivery charge. We are helping farmers at their doorsteps, just the way urban people benefit from e-commerce shopping”, asserts AK Gupta, Head-IT at IFFCO.




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Banking analytics trends to look in 2020

The future challenge is to develop analytic strengths that span the organisation and not just areas of expertise.




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Tata AIA Life makes 80% transactions self-serviced

Yusuf Pachmariwala, EVP & Head Operations, Tata AIA LI talks about the use of AI and ML at the Insurer to automate tasks and reduce fraud.




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How RBL Bank is using tech to create new revenue streams

RBL Bank’s focus on machine learning is helping it create new revenue streams that has already led to the creation of its first tech-based product--API Banking.




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Forest rehabilitation: benefits for carbon and biodiversity banking

According to researchers, opportunities for carbon sequestration and benefits for biodiversity offered by forest rehabilitation schemes mean they should be given greater value as a tool for carbon offsetting. A new study demonstrates the value of forest rehabilitation for rainforest birds.




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Coordinating cross-border ecological networks

Establishing ecological networks across national boundaries is recognised as essential to supporting biodiversity. New research in Germany has indicated that these networks could be improved through greater exchange of knowledge and better links with land planning.




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Planning green space networks for urban biodiversity

Sustainable urban planning recognises the importance of green space networks to conserve biodiversity. A recent study in China has assessed whether a development plan for Jinan City improves the city's urban green networks.




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Keeping historical records of protected areas

A new internet-based tool for tracking the changing boundaries of nature protected areas has been developed for Catalonia, which the researchers say could be used to help evaluate conservation in the Natura 2000 network.




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Restoring European grasslands takes more than just sowing seeds

Using commercial seed mixtures to replant European grasslands tends to produce a smaller range of species than originally grew on the land. New research has identified several methods that successfully reproduce the original range of species, such as transferring of fresh hay or soil that contains seeds.




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Forward-looking approach needed to conserve biodiversity corridors

The importance of predicting future threats to the areas connecting biodiversity hotspots when planning conversation projects is highlighted in a new study. Using Costa Rican forest as a case study, researchers compared forward-looking planning methods to those that focus exclusively on current threats and found the forward-looking approaches to be more effective and reliable.




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Scaling up ecosystem valuations for high level policymaking

A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report analyses approaches to estimating the value of ecosystem services on a large scale. The report provides suggestions for combining and scaling up data from individual, local studies to generate European or global valuations of ecosystems.




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Mosquito pesticide causes knock on problems for birds

Pesticides that kill mosquitoes could have indirect effects on other species, according to researchers. The study indicated that a well-known mosquito insecticide led to reduced numbers of eggs and chick survival for house martin birds.




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One fifth of world's plants at risk of extinction

Over one fifth of all the world's plants are at risk of dying out, according to a recent report. Loss of habitats through converting natural areas to agricultural use is the largest threat to plants, affecting 33 per cent of plants assessed by this study.




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Biodiversity in decline, but conservation efforts making a difference

One-fifth of the world's mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish are threatened with extinction, according to a recent report. The study notes that there have been many conservation success stories, but far greater long-term resources are needed to improve the outlook for the world's threatened vertebrate species.




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Ecosystem Service valuation must use stakeholder knowledge

A recent analysis highlights the difference between the academic concept and the practical concept of ecosystem services. It suggests that academic science aims to discover and apply general and timeless concepts to measure ecosystem services, whereas in practice, stakeholders' valuations of ecosystem services vary with place and time.




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A new decision-making tool for conservation managers

A tool to help conservation managers prioritise their actions to protect wildlife has been developed. The tool, based on a mathematical model, can provide guidance on conserving endangered species as well as dealing with pests and diseases. It may help conservation managers understand how best to use their limited resources.




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Are threatened European plant species conserved in seed banks?

A new European study has assessed whether seed banks are successfully conserving European plant species threatened by extinction. The findings indicate that threatened species are only partly conserved by seed banks, and that these facilities need to focus their future efforts on filling gaps in their collections.




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Successful conservation policy needs monitoring and knowledge

New research has explored how well different governance systems can achieve desirable conservation outcomes. Results confirmed the importance of adaptive management, which relies on regular monitoring to enable 'learning through doing' to refine actions, and suggested that leadership using expert knowledge was also significant in successful governance.




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Fracking: a serious concern for surface water as well as groundwater

While the ecological impact of shale gas exploration and extraction on groundwater has received considerable attention, the implications for surface water and terrestrial ecosystems is often overlooked, according to a new US study. Although more data are needed, preliminary results suggest that regulations based on proximity to surface water could be necessary to protect valuable ecosystems.




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Risk of sleeping sickness in Africa spreads under climate change

By 2090, up to 76.7 million more people in Africa could be at risk of infection by the parasite that causes sleeping sickness, according to recent research. The study predicted which areas of Africa would be at greatest risk in future.




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Alternative conceptual framework for PES schemes on offer

An international group of researchers has proposed a new way of describing payments for environmental services (PES). The new definition supplies a framework, incorporating the social aspects of PES, which can be used by practitioners, such as governments, to design and implement a variety of PES schemes.




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Positive link between High Nature Value farmland and bird biodiversity

High Nature Value (HNV) farmland is agricultural land that supports biodiversity and can be identified by its environmentally sound farming practices. New research on bird biodiversity on French HNV farmland has concluded that conservation of HNV farmland is important as well as conserving areas that were previously HNV and have undergone recent agricultural intensification.




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Lyme disease ticks more prevalent in deciduous forests

Ticks that are able to transmit Lyme disease are more abundant in deciduous oak forests than pine forests, according to a study conducted in Belgium, which provides an example of how landscape can influence human health. To help prevent tick attacks and the incidence of Lyme disease, the researchers suggest increased efforts are needed to raise public awareness of control measures, such as protective clothing and repellants.




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Reducing roadkill: driver awareness need improving

Wild animals are more likely to be hit by vehicles during times where roads have poorer surface conditions and during periods of low light, according to a study of moose in Sweden. The researchers emphasise that it is not possible to accurately predict hotspots for wildlife collisions using data on the movement of the animals alone, and suggest that efforts to reduce accidents should focus on driver awareness and road conditions.




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Contact with nature can reduce the risk of allergies

Loss of biodiversity may be connected to the rising incidence of allergies and other chronic inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, in people living in urban areas, according to recent research. Contact with the natural environment appears to be good for health, not only for a feeling of wellbeing, but also for boosting the human immune system.




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Networked domestic gardens boost urban biodiversity

Urban development is changing the composition of the natural landscape. A recent study has highlighted the importance of connecting fragments of green space, such as gardens, with ecological corridors to improve biodiversity and help spiders and beetles disperse within the urban landscape.




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The scope of ecotourism to finance national park conservation

How can ecotourism be managed so that tourists' visits are compatible with the protection of species and their habitats? In a new study, researchers developed a tool to calculate the trade-off between tourism and the protection of an endangered bird in an Austrian national park, in order to optimise conservation and visitor management.




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Biodiversity loss threatens key ecosystem functions

A synthesis of 192 studies has provided a quantitative estimate of the impact of the loss of plant biodiversity on ecosystem primary production, showing that this impact could be as great as that of other major environmental changes, such as climate warming, rising ozone levels and ocean acidification. They examined the effects of biodiversity loss on primary plant production of biomass and decomposition of plant litter, both of which underpin the carbon cycle and provision of key ecosystem services.




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Health of European streams revealed by leaf breakdown

A recent study, which assessed 100 streams across Europe, reveals that a key ecosystem process, leaf litter breakdown, is slowed when nutrient concentrations in the water are either very low or very high, has the highest potential at moderate nutrient concentrations and is inhibited in heavily polluted waters, implying that the relationship between nutrient levels and ecosystem processes, such as leaf litter breakdown, is complex. The researchers suggest that including an assessment of the functioning of ecosystem processes can make an important contribution to the overall evaluation of stream health.




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'Alternative agriculture': key to preserving food security and biodiversity?

The goals of providing sufficient quantities of food to support the world's growing population, whilst simultaneously protecting its biodiversity, may seem incompatible. However, a recent review of the literature has highlighted how 'alternative' agricultural practices can offer a realistic solution to the problems of achieving both food security and biodiversity conservation.




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Pollinator-dependence an underestimated risk?

Researchers have found that crops which rely heavily on pollinators have lower yields compared to less pollinator-dependent crops. They also have slower growth in yields and less stable yields from year to year. The results highlight the importance of managing biodiversity to support ecosystem services, such as pollination, on which much modern agriculture depends.




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Can plankton adapt to warmer oceans?

Future decades could see shifts in phytoplankton populations, leading to less diversity among phytoplankton strains in increasingly warm tropical oceans, researchers predict. These microorganisms play an important role in regulating the Earth's climate.