Fifty-seven Bic Biros are sold every second (and then "borrowed" by passing colleagues) - not bad for a 60-year-old product. But did the pens really make that much of a difference? It was a familiar frustration that led to the invention of the modern ball-point pen - leaky ink. In 1938, Hungarian newspaper journalist Laszlo Biro noticed the ink used on the printing presses dried quickly and so tried using it in a fountain pen to avoid the problem of leaks, blots and smudges. But the ink was too thick to flow into the nib. So Biro, with the help of his brother, a chemist, devised a pen tipped with a metal ball bearing that used capillary action to draw ink through the rotating ball. They brought their invention with them when they fled to the West during a crackdown on Jews later that year. A British firm took over the patent to produce pens for the RAF, and the first Biros went on sale in the UK 60 years ago this week. Barring tweaks and improvements, the pen is still recognisable as the ball-point Biro devised to make writing easier, and it regularly features in top 100 design lists, says Libby Sellers, the curator of the Design Museum.
It was a familiar frustration that led to the invention of the modern ball-point pen - leaky ink.
In 1938, Hungarian newspaper journalist Laszlo Biro noticed the ink used on the printing presses dried quickly and so tried using it in a fountain pen to avoid the problem of leaks, blots and smudges.
But the ink was too thick to flow into the nib. So Biro, with the help of his brother, a chemist, devised a pen tipped with a metal ball bearing that used capillary action to draw ink through the rotating ball.
They brought their invention with them when they fled to the West during a crackdown on Jews later that year. A British firm took over the patent to produce pens for the RAF, and the first Biros went on sale in the UK 60 years ago this week.
Barring tweaks and improvements, the pen is still recognisable as the ball-point Biro devised to make writing easier, and it regularly features in top 100 design lists, says Libby Sellers, the curator of the Design Museum.
NEW YORK: The mystery surrounding the Liao civilization known by the name given in Chinese sources to the dynasty that ruled its lands from A.D. 907 to 1125 may never be unraveled. A major show on view at the Asia Society until Dec. 31 puts together the documented visual evidence that gives us reason for desperately wanting to find out more about the Khitan people who played the lead role in this multi- ethnic culture. It flourished on a territory covering Inner Mongolia in present-day China, independent Mongolia to the north, and parts of Manchuria. The art can be seen to have absorbed influences coming from China and the Iranian world far away in the west. Yet, its originality never weakened. Its sculpture, its painting as we now know it from murals in burial chambers, its gold and silver vessels, its superb ceramics are highly distinctive - as distinctive, say, as the corresponding categories in the art of Korea. The big difference is that, unlike the Koreans, the people of the Liao Empire took their secrets with them as their state succumbed under the blows of the Jurchen, another people of the steppe. Whoever the Khitan were, they vanished, diluted in a mass of Mongolic and Turkic speakers later absorbed into the Chinese empire.
A major show on view at the Asia Society until Dec. 31 puts together the documented visual evidence that gives us reason for desperately wanting to find out more about the Khitan people who played the lead role in this multi- ethnic culture. It flourished on a territory covering Inner Mongolia in present-day China, independent Mongolia to the north, and parts of Manchuria.
The art can be seen to have absorbed influences coming from China and the Iranian world far away in the west. Yet, its originality never weakened. Its sculpture, its painting as we now know it from murals in burial chambers, its gold and silver vessels, its superb ceramics are highly distinctive - as distinctive, say, as the corresponding categories in the art of Korea.
The big difference is that, unlike the Koreans, the people of the Liao Empire took their secrets with them as their state succumbed under the blows of the Jurchen, another people of the steppe. Whoever the Khitan were, they vanished, diluted in a mass of Mongolic and Turkic speakers later absorbed into the Chinese empire.
The growth in the popularity of owning second homes has helped fuel a property boom in parts of Britain. But the very things which can attract prospective second-home owners - the picturesque scenery and relative tranquillity - can also put pressure on the housing market, because development is restricted. In Pembrokeshire, in south Wales, where 6% of all houses are second homes - rising to 50% in some coastal areas - average property prices are now close to seven times the average wage and many local people struggle to get onto the property ladder. One idea being considered by planners involves relaxing restrictions on land which is currently protected from development, so sites can be used for affordable homes. Communities 'eroded' Former estate agent Matthew Owens has been appointed as the county's rural housing enabler. His job is to work with town and community councils to identify demand for affordable homes and find sites where they can be developed. "It sounds a bit dramatic but we are slowly seeing the erosion of local communities in Pembrokeshire," he said.
But the very things which can attract prospective second-home owners - the picturesque scenery and relative tranquillity - can also put pressure on the housing market, because development is restricted.
In Pembrokeshire, in south Wales, where 6% of all houses are second homes - rising to 50% in some coastal areas - average property prices are now close to seven times the average wage and many local people struggle to get onto the property ladder.
One idea being considered by planners involves relaxing restrictions on land which is currently protected from development, so sites can be used for affordable homes.
Communities 'eroded'
Former estate agent Matthew Owens has been appointed as the county's rural housing enabler. His job is to work with town and community councils to identify demand for affordable homes and find sites where they can be developed.
"It sounds a bit dramatic but we are slowly seeing the erosion of local communities in Pembrokeshire," he said.
That´s another word for "rezoning" and many a mayor and developer are finally going to jail for it in Spain. Are they kidding? Lying? Pulling the wool over the public´s eyes? Or just retarded copy-cats?
They should take a look at the sad state of the Spanish coasts. Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.
Revealed: UK fur imports at record levels, 'IoS' investigation shows Top designers and celebrities defy the anti-cruelty lobby Record numbers of Britons are buying real fur, overturning decades of campaigning by activists who say substitutes should be worn instead. Sales of fur clothing have hit £500m for the first time, up 30 per cent on two years ago, with £40m of new fur products being imported every year. To the fury of the anti-cruelty lobby, the championing of real fur by supermodels and top designers is sending sales soaring, with, say protesters, young animals being clubbed and shot by hunters as a result. The fashion designer Stella McCartney last night told The Independent on Sunday: "The continuing use of fur is a real problem in the fashion industry, and there is an issue with people assuming that fur trim is fake when most of it is real." More than a decade after top models posed in placards with "I'd rather go naked than wear fur", new figures show that sales of fur have risen by 30 per cent in the past two years.
Record numbers of Britons are buying real fur, overturning decades of campaigning by activists who say substitutes should be worn instead.
Sales of fur clothing have hit £500m for the first time, up 30 per cent on two years ago, with £40m of new fur products being imported every year.
To the fury of the anti-cruelty lobby, the championing of real fur by supermodels and top designers is sending sales soaring, with, say protesters, young animals being clubbed and shot by hunters as a result.
The fashion designer Stella McCartney last night told The Independent on Sunday: "The continuing use of fur is a real problem in the fashion industry, and there is an issue with people assuming that fur trim is fake when most of it is real."
More than a decade after top models posed in placards with "I'd rather go naked than wear fur", new figures show that sales of fur have risen by 30 per cent in the past two years.
In a perfect world, scientists share problems and work together on solutions for the good of society. In the real world, however, that's usually not the case. The main obstacles: competition for publication and intellectual property protection. Is there a model for encouraging large-scale scientific problem solving? Yes, and it comes from an unexpected and unrelated corner of the universe: open source software development. That's the view of Karim R. Lakhani, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School with an extensive research background in open source software communities and their innovation and product development strategies. His latest research analyzes how open source norms of transparency, permeable access, and collaboration might work with scientists. What he and his coauthors discovered: "broadcasting" or introducing problems to outsiders yields effective solutions. Indeed, it was outsiders--those with expertise at the periphery of a problem's field--who were most likely to find answers and do so quickly. <...> [Karim R. Lakhani:] People often think about open source as a special case as if such openness can only happen in software, and this is an attempt to work on generalizing what we see. <...> [Karim R. Lakhani:] Recently, an internal science team at a U.S.-based major biotechnology firm was assigned to develop a method for rapid and simple detection of DNA sequences in unconventional field settings. Their mission was to produce a DNA sequencing test that was cost effective, robust, and operable in extreme field conditions. After several months of effort, the team in consultation with company experts concluded that no viable solution existed for their problem. Since solving the problem was of critical importance for the firm, management decided to break from convention and the disclose the specifics of the problem to a large group of unknown "outside" scientists requesting a solution in return for substantial prize money. In a four-week period of time, over 574 scientists investigated the problem statement and forty-two of them submitted potential solutions for considerations. The winning solution was proposed by a scientist from Finland who did not work in this field. The solution involved the novel application of an existing methodology to the problem at hand. Besides solving the problem, the solution information opened up a new knowledge domain for future investigations and resulted in a valuable patent for the firm. This case example illustrates how the disclosure and wide dispersion of scientific problem information allows R&D organizations to access a broader range of scientific knowledge, and can help accelerate internal and proprietary research efforts.
Is there a model for encouraging large-scale scientific problem solving? Yes, and it comes from an unexpected and unrelated corner of the universe: open source software development.
That's the view of Karim R. Lakhani, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School with an extensive research background in open source software communities and their innovation and product development strategies. His latest research analyzes how open source norms of transparency, permeable access, and collaboration might work with scientists.
What he and his coauthors discovered: "broadcasting" or introducing problems to outsiders yields effective solutions. Indeed, it was outsiders--those with expertise at the periphery of a problem's field--who were most likely to find answers and do so quickly.
<...>
[Karim R. Lakhani:] People often think about open source as a special case as if such openness can only happen in software, and this is an attempt to work on generalizing what we see.
[Karim R. Lakhani:] Recently, an internal science team at a U.S.-based major biotechnology firm was assigned to develop a method for rapid and simple detection of DNA sequences in unconventional field settings. Their mission was to produce a DNA sequencing test that was cost effective, robust, and operable in extreme field conditions. After several months of effort, the team in consultation with company experts concluded that no viable solution existed for their problem. Since solving the problem was of critical importance for the firm, management decided to break from convention and the disclose the specifics of the problem to a large group of unknown "outside" scientists requesting a solution in return for substantial prize money. In a four-week period of time, over 574 scientists investigated the problem statement and forty-two of them submitted potential solutions for considerations. The winning solution was proposed by a scientist from Finland who did not work in this field. The solution involved the novel application of an existing methodology to the problem at hand. Besides solving the problem, the solution information opened up a new knowledge domain for future investigations and resulted in a valuable patent for the firm. This case example illustrates how the disclosure and wide dispersion of scientific problem information allows R&D organizations to access a broader range of scientific knowledge, and can help accelerate internal and proprietary research efforts.
In a four-week period of time, over 574 scientists investigated the problem statement and forty-two of them submitted potential solutions for considerations. The winning solution was proposed by a scientist from Finland who did not work in this field. The solution involved the novel application of an existing methodology to the problem at hand. Besides solving the problem, the solution information opened up a new knowledge domain for future investigations and resulted in a valuable patent for the firm. This case example illustrates how the disclosure and wide dispersion of scientific problem information allows R&D organizations to access a broader range of scientific knowledge, and can help accelerate internal and proprietary research efforts.
