http:// 2011-08-02T11:28:19Z 2011-08-02T11:28:19Z international-environmental-pioneer-to-visit-australia-next-week

Media Release ‘You can look at plenty of satellite pictures and see change in them, but until you get on the ground—in some cases down on your hands and knees—you can't fundamentally understand what climate change is all about."…..Brian Rosborough Melbourne August 3 2011 Brian Rosborough is the Founding Chairman of Earthwatch Institute who headed up the organisation for 25 years, is set to visit Australia early next month. Way ahead of his time in 1971, Brian was responsible for one of the most visionary approaches to supporting scientific research; involving the community in the research, to help them understand changes in the climate and the environment. Richard Gilmore, Executive Director of Earthwatch Australia has announced that Brian will be a special guest at Earthwatch’s 40th Anniversary to be celebrated in Melbourne on August 10 at a black tie gala event at Crown Palladium to raise funds for much-needed oceans research. A former investment banker, Brian Rosborough, launched Earthwatch in 1971 with the goal of providing ‘social venture capital’ to scientists by enlisting volunteers to do fieldwork. Now, one of the world’s largest private funders of field research, Earthwatch sends nearly 4,000 volunteers each year on join scientific expeditions in 60 countries. Since 1971 Earthwatch internationally through 100,000 global supporters, volunteers, scientists and educators have committed nearly 11 million hours to conservation research - equal to more than 5,000 years of work. Currently raising millions a year from the generosity of institutions, individuals, governments and corporations, Earthwatch has a global reach. Earthwatch is supported by more than 150 staff, locatedin our headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as in offices in Oxford, England, Melbourne, Australia, and Tokyo, Japan. Mr Gilmore said, Brian Rosborough has a significant history with Australia arriving with very few connections and little money to set up the Australian Earthwatch Institute some 30 years ago. “He soon gathered a small but esteemed group of prominent Australians. That group included legendary names like Sir James Vernon, Sir Jack Crawford, Sir John Proud and Sir Laurence Muir,who along with the Myer and Darling families chose to take a gamble on an untried and unproven idea.” Brian Rosborough Background Brian Rosborough serves as a Member of Advisory Board of CMarket; Inc. and serves as a Trustee of Deerfield Academy. He served as a special envoy to the United Nations, as well as serving on a wide variety of boards including PrincetonUniversity, the Fulbright Institute, Mt Holyoke College, the Rocky Mountain Institute, and numerous others Mr. Rosborough Founder Earthwatch Institute in 1971. Mr. Rosborough has been involved in social venture capital since ... leaving the investment banking business in 1971. Mr. Rosborough served as Director of EarthCare Co. since December 16,1998. He served as a Member of the Advisory Committee of CMarket, Inc. More Links Brian Rosborough CV Earthwatch Australia Earthwatch International About Earthwatch Earthwatch Institute is an international non-profit organisation that brings science to life for people concerned about the earth's future. Founded in 1971, Earthwatch supports scientific field research by offering volunteers the opportunity to join research teams around the world. This unique model is creating a systematic change in how the public views science and its role in creating environmental change. Today, Earthwatch recruits close to 4,000 volunteers every year to collect field data in the areas of rainforest ecology, wildlife conservation, marine science, archaeology, and more. Through this process, we educate, inspire, and involve a diversity of people, who actively contribute to conserving our planet.

2011-04-10T00:55:21Z smart-it-solves-5-000-year-old-construction-problem

"I definitely want one! Fantastic idea", was the response of judge and Agricultural Scientist Chris Russell when introduced to the Rocksolver construction technology on the latest New Inventors program. Rocksolver is a highly innovative software-driven construction method that solves a problem which has plagued builders for thousands of years; how to overcome the difficulty of using their cheap and durable local resource of unprocessed rock as a building material. On 6th April on ABC TV's New Inventors program the inventor of Rocksolver, Malcolm Lambert, demonstrated how software can solve the jigsaw puzzle of building with irregular-shaped rocks by building a small wall following the computer generated lay out. At 10% of the price and 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions compared to competing products, unprocessed rock presents itself as a viable and important alternative in a world where building activity is increasing while carbon emissions need to be going down. Although Rocksolver didn't win on the night judges comments indicated their recognition of a smart solution to an age-old problem; Designer and teacher Alison Page said, "You are bringing an ancient tradition right into the 21st century, especially with the phone application and I love that a novice can do it". Eco designer Leyla Acaroglu gave her vote to Rocksolver, saying "Based on the fact that we're really looking at saving massive amounts of raw materials and the capacity to really revolutionise how we build structural walls I'm going to give it to the Rocksolver". Rocksolver is being developed by Australian R&D company Intresto Pty Ltd, based in Armidale, NSW. Rocksolver is currently undergoing prototype testing in preparation for the first release of a 2-dimensional application for paving later in 2011 then a release for 3D structures like seawalls, retaining walls and houses in 2013. Intresto's founder, Malcolm Lambert, said, "This is the first time Rocksolver has appeared on TV so it's great way to introduce a highly innovative and green building technique to a public who are becoming increasingly concerned about their environmental impact".

2011-01-20T22:00:00Z early-convict-butts-now-online-reveal-license-to-play-for-well-performing-prisoners-ancestry-com-au

Ancestry.com.au, Australia’s number one family history website[i], today launched for the first time online more than 42,000 Australian convict NSW Tickets of Leave Butts, 1824-1867. This collection adds to Ancestry.com.au’s existing collection of more than 2.3 million convict records which will be available FREE to the public for 11 days beginning January 20 in honour of Australia Day. With more than four million[ii] Australians having descended from convicts, approximately one in five can claim convict history and will likely have an ancestor included in the collection. The NSW Tickets of Leave database includes Registers of Tickets of Leave, 1824-1827, which offers prisoner details in ledger format, and Ticket of Leave Butts, 1827-1867. The Butts were essentially copies of the ‘Tickets’ given to each convict and details the following information: prisoner’s number, name, ship arrived on, master of ship, year of arrival, native place, trade or calling, offence, place of trial, date of trial, sentence, year of birth, complexion, height, colour of hair, colour of eyes, general remarks, the district prisoner is allocated to, the Bench who recommended him and the date of issue of ticket. The ticket of leave system was introduced in 1801 by Governor King to reduce the financial burden of convicts and as a reward for good behaviour. Convict recipients were granted limited freedom to live and travel within defined areas, to work for their own benefit and to acquire property. They were considered a class above the other ‘full term’ convicts and often rose to positions of power and influence within the colony prior to the expiry of their sentence. James Tucker, an alleged author originally from Bristol, arrived in Sydney on the ship Midas in 1827 after being sentenced to life for writing a threatening letter to his cousin. Over the next 30 years, Tucker was granted five tickets of leave, four of which were revoked for various reasons including drunkenness, forgery and court absence. He had one reinstated in recognition of his efforts to put out a fire at the Royal Hotel. After receiving his last ticket of leave in 1853, James disappeared from the convict system. Ancestry.com.au’s extensive convict collection also includes records from the England and Wales Criminal Registers, the Convict Transportation Registers, Convict Muster Rolls, Convict Applications to Marry, Convict Death Registers, and a variety of other record sets documenting the trial, journey, working life, release and death of the majority of convicts transported. Convict records offer a unique peek into the window of early Australian history, providing researchers not only with invaluable information to paint a portrait of their ancestor, but also with clues to their ancestors’ place of birth and country of origin, allowing them to investigate earlier family history. Notable Australians who can proudly claim convict history include: Maggie Beer, Celebrity Chef and 2010 Senior Australian of the Year: Her 3xgreat-grandmother was a convict thief and her 3xgreat-grandfather a bigamist who was convicted after three simultaneous marriages. They met after both were transported to Australia.Tony Windsor, MP, Independent Federal Minister for New England’: His2xgreat-grandfather was transported to NSW on the ship Midas in 1827 (the same boat as the aforementioned James Tucker) after stealing wet bedding from a clothes line and eventually died in Darlinghurst Gaol after being convicted of horse stealing.Rod Marsh, Cricketer: His great-grandfather (by adoption) was transported to Australia after being charged with manslaughter following a late night brawl which resulted in a man being shot. Ancestry.com.au Content Director Brad Argent comments: “Australia Day is all about national pride and so is a great time to stop and think about the unique way in which our country was founded and by whom. “For those wanting to explore their early Australian heritage, like it or not, chances are that convict records will not only be the right place to start, but will also reveal colourful stories which will actually make you proud to be Australian.” To find out more about your family’s heritage, please visit: www.ancestry.com.au ENDS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION / INTERVIEWS: Jacquie Potter Christine Law Howorth Howorth P: 02 8281 3893 P: 02 8281 3256 M: +61 414 449070 M: +61 414 810 894 E: jacquie@howorth.com.au E: christine@howowrth.com.au ABOUT ANCESTRY.COM.AU Australia’s leading family history website, Ancestry.com.au contains more than 930 million records in its Australian and UK collections, including the Australia Birth, Marriage and Death Index, Australian Convict Transportation Registers, Australian Free Settlers, Australian Electoral Rolls, New South Wales SANDS Directories, as well as the most complete online collection of England, Wales and Scotland Censuses and the England and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes. Ancestry.com.au was launched in May 2006 and belongs to the global network of Ancestry websites (wholly owned by Ancestry.com Operations Inc.), which contains six billion records. To date more than 20 million family trees have been created and 2 billion profiles and 45 million photographs and stories uploaded. (Figures current as of 28 October 2010) The Ancestry global network of family history websites:www.ancestry.com in the US, www.ancestry.co.uk in the UK, www.ancestry.ca in Canada, www.ancestry.com.au in Australia, www.ancestry.dein Germany, www.ancestry.it in Italy, www.ancestry.frin France, www.ancestry.sein Sweden andwww.jiapu.com in China. [i] comScore, 2009, based on genealogy related websites selected from the Family and Parenting sub-category under the Community category [ii] The Australian Constitution Referendum Study, 1999

2010-10-20T10:29:48Z upside-learning-unveils-new-corporate-identity-revamps-its-website

Upside Learning has undergone a major transformation – the first of its kind in the company’s 6 year journey. In line with its efforts to align the company’s image with its evolving business, Upside Learning has unveiled a new corporate identity today. The new identity symbolizes the company’s movement into new domains, birth of new ideas, innovation and development of new products. It combines the elements of agility and innovation to reflect a shift in the way Upside Learning thinks & works; its focus on higher growth & success, and its step towards the new & improved.The logo has been designed to reflect the company’s philosophy of putting YOU (the customer, its employees and other stakeholders) first - denoted by the ‘U’ shape, the arrow signifies its focus on growth through performance and learning, while the color green embodies the eco-friendly nature of its solutions and services. The branding initiative involves a new visual identity across all communications, which include a revamped website and blog, and relevant changes in the marketing and support materials. Upside Learning has also released a ‘new identity launch’ video on You Tube that captures the essence of the company and that of the new logo. You can watch the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxEeCRwR114Commenting on the background on the development of the new corporate identity, Amit Garg, Director of Content Solution at Upside Learning, added, “With a view to adapting with the dynamically changing eLearning landscape, our new corporate identity reflects the company’s philosophy to constantly innovate itself with the evolving technology, and customer requirements, and move along the curve.” "Upside Learning has grown significantly over the past 6 years with diversified offerings, and today it serves over 150 customers across the globe," said Amit Gautam, Director of Technology Solutions at Upside Learning. "Our new identity reflects the attributes of our unique culture - focused on the customers, employees and other stakeholders. Most importantly, it symbolizes our fervor to grow", he added.Subsequently, the company also plans to re-align its products and service offerings with a renewed focus on innovation; underlining its commitment of providing effective learning solutions to the global community.About Upside LearningEstablished in 2004, Upside Learning is a globally recognized leader in training outsourcing, LMS solutions, custom eLearning development & mobile learning. With a collective experience of 600+ person-years, it has successfully completed more than 300 corporate and academic projects for over 150 clients worldwide.The company’s product & services portfolio ranges from Custom eLearning to Catalog Courses, Mobile Learning to Blended Learning, Learning Management Systems to Technical support services tailor-made to an organization be it an Enterprise, a SMB or a Training Company.Upside Learning has been consistently picking up awards & other recognitions every year, including the most recent, 3 Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Awards for its flagship Learning Management System – UpsideLMS and Deloitte’s Technology Fast1600 Asia Pacific Program award.It is its constant endeavor to develop advanced & innovative learning solutions to provide cutting-edge solutions to its clients thereby impacting their organizational learning and hence, performance. For more information visit the website: http://www.upsidelearning.com