IBM today is making available a new social networking tool called Pass It Along to help organizations take a more user-friendly, collaborative approach to knowledge sharing. The new technology expands the notion of social networking for employees and learners -- and includes advanced features such as learning paths, visual mapping and expertise profiling.
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Today I would like to speak to you about technological change. The word 'technology' has a coldness and a distance that seems removed from human experience. There is 'high technology', which sounds almost religious. And there are techies, who are sometimes a little too expert in the art of technology.

The study of microbial communities from environmental samples, known as metagenomics, has been propelled forward by technological advancements in high-throughput, low-cost sequencing such as 454's Genome Sequencer FLX System. With the recent use of sequencing approaches for metagenomic analysis, the major research challenges have shifted from generating to analyzing data. continue reading

The Illinois CPA Society has named the recipients of their fourth annual "Women to Watch" award which recognizes notable contributions to the accounting profession, their organizations, and the development of women as leaders.

Commercial lawyers already under pressure to reduce fees as the market worsens are facing a new challenge with the introduction of new accounting rules governing M&A transactions. The rules, which come into effect in June 2009, will force companies to change the way they account for the fees they pay to lawyers, bankers, accountants, recording such fees as a specific entry in their accounts.

This week AccountMate Software Corporation shipped out their latest accounting software update, AccountMate 7.5 for SQL. Per AccountMate's on-going policy, this update included a significant number of enhancements and changes suggested by its reseller channel and their clients.
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials have warned employees they could be fired if they make offensive posts on social networking sites such as Facebook.

The Charlotte Observer reports school officials sent a memo to more than 19,000 school employees Tuesday.

An elementary teacher was suspended last week and recommended for firing after she posted on her Facebook page that she was teaching "in the ghetto of Charlotte." Four other teachers faced milder penalties for pages that showed "poor judgment and bad taste."

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The incident arose one day in May, when a 5-year-old student in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome was referred twice to the principal for discipline problems. Portillo then allegedly asked the class to vote whether the boy, Alex, should stay in the class. He lost the vote 14-to-2. The teacher's attorney said she will contest the suspension. The boy's mother, Melissa Barton, said she should be fired.

A move to eliminate automatic cost-of-living increases for retired educators was quickly shot down Wednesday by the Teacher Retirement System Board. The unanimous defeat of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s plan to end the automatic raises provided fresh evidence that taking on teachers and retired educators is usually a losing bet for Georgia politicians. Six years ago, the state’s 100,000 teachers helped oust Gov. Roy Barnes after educators said he showed disrespect for their profession.

The last five years have been an extraordinary period of growth for GENBAND and we're very pleased to be recognized by the prestigious Deloitte Technology Fast 500," said Charles Vogt, president and chief executive officer of GENBAND. "Through our market-leading IP Gateways and security solutions, GENBAND employees and partners are together helping telecommunications operators around the world transition their networks to IP and improve their network security. We're able to grow rapidly by helping companies save money through smart network evolution and protection.

Looking at major indexes, the Dow Jones Wilshire Fixed Line Telecommunications Index sank 3.4% to 854 points. Over the past year, the index has ranged from a high of 1,466 points to a low of 732 points. The index has lost 40% of its value in 2008.