02-2014 : Montréal Exchange Derivatives Education Initiative Continues to Grow

03-2014 : Montréal Exchange to Introduce Futures Contracts on the FTSE Emerging Markets Index

The Health Committee within the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has approved a resolution which condemns the free availability of pornography based on the public health hazard that it presents by harming children and families across the Commonwealth. “It’s a public awareness resolution,” said Chairman Matt Baker (R-Tioga). With the resolution, Pennsylvania joins nineteen other states that have passed or introduced a similar measure. “Most people understand pornography is bad, and child pornography is particularly bad,” continued Baker. The resolution cites that due to advances in technology, young children are now exposed to pornography at alarming rates, with as many as 27% of older millennials reporting that they first encountered explicit pornography before even reaching puberty. “As someone with two small daughters, I think that it’s something we owe a certain amount of time and effort to look at,” said Rep. Eli Evankovich (R-WestmorelandAllegheny). House Resolution 519 also encourages a three-pronged approach to confronting this issue with education, prevention and research and policy change at the community and social levels. Prior to the vote, Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) stated that her intent is to “make sure that families are aware of this issue, that it is a concern and it can become, if it not already is, a public health crisis.”

There will be a shift at the helm of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference beginning June 1, 2018. Eric A. Failing, PCC’s current social concerns director, will assume the role upon the retirement of Robert J. O’Hara, Jr. after his 21 years as executive director. Prior to joining the PCC staff as social concerns director, Failing was vice president of sales, marketing and development for Pennsylvania Legislative Services. In his year since joining the PCC team, he has spearheaded efforts to pass bills that would ban the practice of abortion for a Down syndrome diagnosis in the womb, expand services to the poor, address the crisis of drug addiction, and other issues. When he announced his plans to retire in March, O’Hara told CatholicPhilly.com that he counts programs that benefit Catholic school families, namely expanding the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC), among his proudest accomplishments.  He has also worked tirelessly to promote social concerns, access to health care for the poor, pro-life issues and the ability of religious organizations to operate according to their beliefs without government interference. The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference was established in 1960 to give witness to spiritual values in public affairs and to provide an agency for corporate Catholic service to the statewide community. It serves as the public affairs agency of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops and the Catholic dioceses of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to formulate positions on public policy issues, officially represent the Church before state government, and to foster a public understanding of the Church’s teaching and concern about morality, health, welfare, human rights, education and the common good. The PCC gets involved with a wide variety of issues that span across the political spectrum. Visit www.pacatholic.org for the latest news and legislative updates, to lend your voice to advancing the Church’s position in the State Capitol through the PA Catholic Advocacy Network. Congratulations, Eric Failing, on your new job, and Bob O’Hara upon your retirement. Godspeed to you both!

Professor Zhu Feida The global personal data economy is growing faster than anyone could have imagined. The current business model for data is broken – for individual users and businesses alike. On one hand, users don not have enough control over their own data, such as what data is collected and how the data is used. That challenges their privacy. Users are also not fairly rewarded for their data. On the other hand, while most businesses see the value of customer data, the data they have is fragmented and incomplete. That results in blurry customer profiles, inaccurate insights and poor recommendations. Furthermore, it is difficult for businesses to connect with their customers in a personalised way and track the effectiveness of the connection. In this podcast, Associate Professor Zhu Feida from SMU School of Information Systems shares his research on a next-generation, blockchain-based platform named Symphony. The platform seeks to empower a personal data economy by democratising and personalising data intelligence, with privacy by design.

Associate Professor of Humanities Winston Chow from SMU’s School of Social Sciences has researched on the areas of urban vulnerability to climate change; sustainability in urban climatology; and perceptions of environmental and climate change in tourism. In recent years, he has published papers on the impact of weather extremes on urban resilience to hydro-climate hazards and trans-boundary variations of urban drought vulnerability and its impact on water resource management in Singapore and Johor, Malaysia. In this podcast, Associate Professor Chow will discuss the continued economic growth of a city by adopting sustainable urban development measures.

The rise of new technologies is changing the way companies raise funds. Along with increased popularity of crowdfunding in recent years, a new form of funding has emerged – that is, the use of Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs. In 2017, companies in the United States raised over $4 billion through ICOs; in 2018, more than $21 billion has been raised. ICOs generate many challenges for securities regulators, and also give rise to other issues including corporate governance, data protection, anti-money laundering and insolvency. Assistant Professor Aurelio Gurrea-Martínez from the SMU School of Law has conducted legal research on financial regulation. In this podcast, he shares his recent comparative and interdisciplinary study which addresses the issue of ICOs and makes recommendations to regulators and policy makers in a way that aims to promote innovation and firms’ access to finance without harming investor protection, market integrity and the stability of the financial system.

Global warming and climate change have created an unprecedented global interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially in energy production. Biomass, or organic matter, which is a renewable energy source that can replace fossil fuels in energy production is gaining popularity. Consequently, commercialising agricultural residues as biomass is gaining momentum in many countries. In a pioneering study, Onur Boyabatli, Associate Professor of Operations Management and DBS Sustainability Fellow at SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business, together with Assistant Professor of Operations Management Buket Avci, and PhD student Li Bin, studied the economic and environmental implications of biomass commercialisation in agricultural processing industries. In this podcast, Associate Professor Boyabatli shares his insights into this trending subject and the policy implications of their research findings.

11/15/2024 - 11:30 AM - Venue: Pueblo West Library

11/13/2024 - 11:30 AM - Venue: Pueblo West Library

Devon Gorby, PhD, was AGU’s 2023-2024 Congressional Science Fellow. She is now a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of State. From September 2023 to September 2024, I worked in the office of Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico as AGU’s Congressional Science Fellow. I used my scientific background in climate science, geology and hydrology to cover his water and environment portfolios. The experience was the …

The post A year in the life of a Congressional Science Fellow appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Seismic studies assess the stresses and health of iconic rock structures.

The post Utah’s arches continue to whisper their secrets appeared first on GeoSpace.

A new study simulates ocean tides on imaginary Earth-like worlds, revealing the limits of topography’s influence on tidal energy

The post How to design continents for maximum tides appeared first on GeoSpace.

On 25 June, AGU joined 1050 organizations asking leadership in Congress to reject proposed funding cuts for FY25.    The 1,050 undersigned organizations—which represent the full breadth of investments that support all of America, every day—call on Congress to reject arbitrary and damaging funding levels for Fiscal Year 2025 and, at the very least, to fully appropriate the necessary non-defense discretionary (NDD) funds to keep pace with rising costs and …

The post AGU joins letter calling on Congress to reject FY25 budget cuts appeared first on The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy.

Devon Gorby, PhD, was AGU’s 2023-2024 Congressional Science Fellow. She is now a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of State. From September 2023 to September 2024, I worked in the office of Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico as AGU’s Congressional Science Fellow. I used my scientific background in climate science, geology and hydrology to cover his water and environment portfolios. The experience was the …

The post A year in the life of a Congressional Science Fellow appeared first on The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy.

From increased regulation, to a growing emphasis on food safety, to changing workforce and customer demographics, food processors and their vendors and partners are facing a period of unprecedented change.

ecoCombo™ compliments Rohrer’s ezCombo™ program and offers a new way for retail brands to make sustainable packaging choices in their blister packaging.

The same government that destroyed Puerto Rico’s economy and the domestic pharmaceutical industry by repealing Section 936 in 2006 is now going to tell you what heroes they are by reviving that industry. It might be easier said than done.

PA and PulPac created the Blister Pack Collective to limit the use of non-recyclable plastics in over-the-counter and prescription drug packaging through cross-industry collaboration.

The partnership aims to facilitate the industrialization of complex products such as coffee capsules and blister packaging.

The configurator is hosted exclusively on the company’s website where customers can instantly and effortlessly create 3D aerosol packaging.

The 105mm wipes canister is made with Altium’s Dura-Lite technology that uses 23% less plastic, and the disinfecting formula is made from citric acid-based botanicals.

The coffee is said to be the first super-concentrated coffee available in plastic bottles.

The cannabis industry's first concentrate lid made from 100% ocean-bound and reclaimed ocean plastic. 

Yes, I know that some cereals are available in resealable pouches. But we’re talking about having cereal in resealable bags in the box.

From filling to sterilizing, flexible packaging must be handled differently than rigid containers.

The new TamperFlag rigid containers, made by Novolex brand Waddington North America (WNA), feature a tamper-evident “flag” that pops up and stays raised once opened. The feature alerts consumers that the container has been unsealed.

Despite the steady drumbeat of “less is more” when it comes to packaging, Eldon Schaffer of TekniPlex Consumer Products makes a case for the continued use of container liners, citing several of their invaluable contributions.

In the survey, 88% of respondents claim to be planning a connected packaging campaign this year, and 78% of respondents believe connected packaging will improve business sustainability credentials.

As part of our 2024 “State of Converting” outreach to the industry, The Packaging Group from BNP Media sought input from leading converters to gain perspective on the current EPR legislative climate.

Lightweight, compact, and heat-resistant retort pouches are ideal for preserving food products like baby food, ready-to-eat meals, and pet food through retort sterilization, ensuring longer shelf lives. However, there are limited recyclable options for retort pouches in the market.

In this podcast, we talk about secondary packaging solutions for the food industry, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and the personal care and beauty industry.

Businesses can order quantities as low as 5,000 pieces, providing an ideal solution for start-up operations, SMEs, and new product development trials.

recycle:me offers partners a truly collaborative approach to tackling the beauty industry’s waste problem, which sees an estimated 120 million units of packaging thrown away each year.

ANALYTICA, a behavioral sciences-based company in Edinburgh, as launched the first service that optimizes packaging using consumer psychology and neuroscience-led customer tests.

Dropps, a direct-to-consumer challenger brand, is now marked by the introduction of an updated brand identity that emphasizes powerful cleaning from nature. 

The reduced packaging size will not only minimize resource consumption but also enhance logistical efficiency, leading to a reduction in carbon emissions.

Lineup includes keynote speaker Francisco Garcia, COO & Co-Founder of E6PR and Co-Founder of ENTELEQUIA, the largest compostable packaging company in Mexico. 

Comprehensive playbooks on recyclability, reuse and compostability offer roadmap for sustainable plastic management.

Bubble cushioning, inflatable air pillows and bubble mailers supplied by Sealed Air all include recycled content.

In this year’s research by Industrial Physics, 47% of packaging professionals surveyed shared that they’ve had to delay innovation while they search for an external packaging and material testing expert. 

Several prevailing discussion points continue to surface as I enter into conversations with snack food and bakery industry colleagues these days, and one that frequently rises to the top is portion control.

Convenience store retailers are optimistic about their future, despite increasing competition from quick-service restaurants, according to data collected by their industry group.

Dalston’s Soda worked with B&B studio to design outer boxes for shipping that reinforce its ‘soda with soul’ brand positioning. The delivery boxes help create further brand love from existing online buyers, while introducing new consumers to the brand’s values and personality.

California passes first-in-the-nation law requiring plastic beverage containers to contain an increasing amount of recycled material — 15% by 2022.

The pharmaceutical industry’s understanding of serialization is maturing as companies slowly begin to recognize the added business value supply chain traceability can provide. Historically, the industry’s focus on serialization has been driven by the need to satisfy evolving regulations. However, companies are realizing that the benefits of traceability extend beyond compliance.

With adhesives being top of mind for many in the packaging industry, individual innovations in this area have also come to the forefront. Learn about some of these advancements.

The dairy product manufacturer’s ambitious sustainability goals include making packaging 100% recyclable and closing material loops by 2027.