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Revolutionary electronic cycling jacket launches to improve cycling safety

Cyclist wearing Visijax

An innovative new electronic cycle jacket Visijax® www.visijax.com has been launched by British company Li & Co Ltd, which will improve the safety and visibility of cyclists and aims to reduce the numbers of cycling accidents.

The Department of Transport reports that 60% of bicycle fatalities take place between rush hour (7-10am and 4-7pm) with the number of cyclists either killed or seriously injured in the first half of 2011 rising 12 per cent year on year.

According to road safety experts RoSPA, turning in front of fast moving vehicles is one of the biggest hazards faced by riders.

In direct response to this issue, Li & Co has developed cutting-edge technology, ‘Intelligent Motion-Activated Signalling System’ (iMASS ™) and ‘implanted’ it within the high-design Visijax® commuter cycling jacket.

This new feature, unique to the Visijax® jacket, detects movement so when a cyclist raises their arm to indicate, an amber flashing signal is automatically turned on, which can be seen clearly by motorists and other cyclists on the roads. The flashing signal remains on for around five seconds after a cyclist has put down their arm to allow sufficient time for them to turn safely.

Supporting the iMASS™ system, are 23 integrated high intensity LED lights arranged in clusters with standard vehicle lighting codes i.e. white for the front and red for the rear. For additional cyclist safety, the lights on the back of the jacket are positioned in a backpack-friendly area so cyclists can be seen clearly from behind. The complete system is powered by three AAA batteries, which have a total life of 200 hours – a ‘one-touch’ button placed in the front of the jacket activates all lights and the iMASS™ system.

Visijax® has been developed with all areas of cycle safety and comfort in mind.

Additional features of the jacket include:

• High visibility luminous colour
• Rainproof and breathable fabric – outside zips have been specially designed to ensure that rain doesn’t leak into the gaps
• All round ventilation including advanced armpit ventilation points to allow for increased airflow

Andy Li, CEO of Li &Co comments; “Visijax is a breakthrough cycling product, designed with passion, driven by technology and road-tested for safety. There is nothing like it available on the market and it’s a great example of how leading-edge technology and British design can improve our day-to-day lives. The jacket was designed with a single focus to improve visibility and safety of cyclists. We strongly believe Visijax fills a gap in the market for stylish cyclewear for commuters, offering unparalleled levels of protection to improve cycle safety on UK roads.”

Visijax® is currently available exclusively at www.amazon.co.uk for an introductory price of £129* (offer ends 31st May 2012.) Visijax® will be available internationally from Autumn 2012.

For more information on the specification and features of the jacket visit: www.visijax.com.

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MindTools.com Wins Queen's Award 2012

An online business training firm whose website is used by 15m people a year in 129 countries, has today (21st April 2012) been awarded Britain’s highest business honour – a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its achievements in International Trade.

MindTools.com, whose UK base is in West Sussex, offers over 1,000 online leadership, management and career development resources to busy professionals and corporate clients around the world. Last year more than 80% of the company’s sales came from overseas. The company has just 7 UK employees and 22 staff worldwide.

Customers of Mind Tools include 10,000 individual consumers as well as large corporate clients such as TomTom in the Netherlands, financial services company RBC Dexia in Luxembourg and Canada, and pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim in North America. Mind Tools also works with government agencies in several countries including the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.

Mind Tools offers hundreds of high quality articles for free, which people can access via the website, a weekly email newsletter, or dedicated iPhone and iPad apps. Individuals and companies who take a subscription to the Mind Tools Club gain unlimited access to a wider and richer set of training resources, which includes articles, workbooks, videos, and podcast interviews and book reviews.

James Manktelow, Founder and CEO of MindTools.com, and author of seven books on leadership and team management, comments: “We are incredibly proud to be amongst today’s Queen’s Award winners. We’re in the business of helping other people achieve excellence – so to be honoured for our own business excellence is particularly satisfying. We have no doubt our Queen’s Award will give the business a tremendous boost both here and overseas. We have fantastic team of people here at Mind Tools, and this is really great recognition for everyone’s hard work.”

Rachel Thompson, Director of the Mind Tools Club, adds: “Our aim is to equip business people around the world with all the skills and training they need to make the most of their lives and careers. 450,000 people are signed up to our weekly e-newsletter, and 250,000 have downloaded our mobile apps since we launched them last year. The business has grown largely through recommendation, and our Queen’s Award will really help cement our global reputation.”

Announced annually on 21st April, The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are widely regarded as the UK’s top business accolade – the equivalent of a knighthood for companies. Winners are entitled to use the coveted Queen’s Award Emblem in their marketing for 5 years as a marque of their success. Each winning company is presented personally with a trophy by a representative of Her Majesty at a ceremony at its offices later in the year. Winners are also invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace.

Business and Enterprise Minister, Mark Prisk said:  “The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the highest accolade a business can receive. The standard of this year’s winners highlights the great work taking place by businesses of all sizes to help boost the growth of the UK economy. I hope that it will inspire more entrepreneurs to start or grow their business as we look to make 2012 the year of enterprise.

“It is a fantastic achievement for all of the businesses that have received an award and I would like to congratulate them on making such a valuable contribution across all business sectors.”

Endsleigh Insurance offers tailored support for gap year travellers

Easter signals the time when many students and academics start serious planning for the Gap years and sabbaticals that are becoming increasingly popular in the UK.

Having first become fashionable amongst students, a wider age range is now taking extended breaks ‘with a purpose’. For example, research suggests that around 50% of over-50s in the UK are planning to travel the world after retirement. However, as people become more determined to achieve ever more ambitious ‘life milestones’, it is also more difficult to know what kind of insurance policy will best suit you.

Endsleigh Insurance offer insurance cover specifically for gap years, sabbaticals and ‘trip of a lifetime’ holidays.

More than ever, people in the UK are determined to achieve travel and experience ambitions, usually referred to as ‘life milestones.’ Ambitions range from seeing ‘the Seven Wonders of the World’, to volunteering abroad, or spending a year working somewhere exotic; Endsleigh Insurance provides tailored packages to ensure the most ambitious life milestone can be enjoyed whilst appropriately covered.

Mike Day, of Endsleigh Insurance, said: “Gap years are an increasingly popular choice with many sections of the amongst the UK population, but as they become more common people are recognising the need to insure themselves because as the ambition grows, so do the costs should anything go wrong. We have a great history of providing cover for gap year and ‘life milestone’ holidays and can give clear advice to customers about what kind of cover they need.”

Endsleigh Insurance has policies that can offer:

Activity specific cover tailored to individual trips

24 hour English speaking emergency medical claim lines across the world

Low excess charges

Endsleigh is also the only insurance provider recommended by National Union of Students, and offers a variety of gap year insurance policies for students that include:

Adventure gap year insurance that includes cover for over 100 sport activities.

Work abroad insurance providing cover for up to 12 months in paid or voluntary work such as teaching, au pair work, sports coaching, bar work, fruit picking and even tour guiding.

Volunteering policies provide 12 months cover for volunteer work such as counselling and mentoring youngsters, buildings projects and working with animals and wildlife.

Endsleigh can help with planning adventures, working abroad or volunteering, and offers a variety of affordable policies tailored to a customer’s travel, holidays and gap years.

The Worshipful Company of Horners contribution to scientific education

The Worshipful Company of Horners provides a significant contribution to scientific education and design.

A major part of the Worshipful Company of Horners mission is to promote the development and quality of science education and to encourage students at all levels to embark on science related careers. This is done through the Horners supporting and participating in scientific education initiatives with particular relevance to plastics, their application and the industry. To this end the Horners’ Polymer Study Tours perform an important aid to education and manufacturing.

Polymer Study Tours 2012

These four day residential courses are designed to provide teachers with case studies that they can use in contextual teaching of both science and design & technology and they give teachers the opportunity to meet in an informal environment to exchange views on the teaching of science and design & technology. They help to educate teachers on the science, technology and applications of polymers (both plastics and rubbers). From the industry point of view the Polymer Study Tours provide information and create interest, which will promote the recruitment of high quality scientists and technologists for the plastics and associated industries.

The course gives students the opportunity to visit major plastics processing companies and to attend lectures and discussions with leading figures from industry and academia .

The Horners also promote excellence in the plastics industry through four annual awards...

The Horners Award for Plastics Design and Innovation recognises excellence within the industry. The Product, Machine or Process must have significant UK content in Design, Materials or Manufacture and a proven record of commercial success. The award is promoted jointly with the British Plastics Federation. A presentation to the winners is made at the Horners annual banquet at The Mansion House.

The Bottlemakers Award is judged for design and innovation in a plastic bottle, jar or hollow container. The judges look for innovative design in a commercial product.

Design Innovation in Plastics - Students Design Award is the Horners Design Award and the UKs oldest established student design competition.

The Jewellery Award is an award organised in the London Metropolitan University for a jewellery design using predominantly horn or plastics.

About Worshipful Company of Horners:

Founded in 1284, the Worshipful Company of Horners, is an ancient guild and livery company, as well as a modern city institution. The Company operates under a charter received from Charles I in 1638. As the craft of working with horn declined, the Company had the vision in 1943 to adopt horn's modern equivalent, plastics.

Today, the Worshipful Company of Horners maintains both its ancient links to the City of London and to the plastics Industry and seeks to support the horner's craft. Its Liverymen hail from many backgrounds, including the City, the Plastics Industry and the professions. Its charities and awards support activities in education, design, the City and industry.

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With Tuition Fees Rising, Students Should Be Given The Appropriate Support To Ensure Their Success, Says Perspective

With tuition fees set to rise to a maximum of £9,000 per year, students deserve appropriate and personalised support to be give them best chance of success and return on their huge investment, says Perspective, a leading provider of learning management products.

The fees hike has been met with criticism and even protests from students and teachers alike since the announcement in 2011. Despite the remonstrations and lower than average increase in student applications, the new costs are here to stay and will be enforced before the end of the year. As a result, those students still opting to attend university should be assured that their commitment will be replicated by the universities with close and accurate monitoring and personalised support to maximise the chance of them leaving with a high degree pass.

The simple introduction of a student management system, such as Perspective’s Sunesis product, will provide a simple yet highly effective means of achieving the appropriate levels of support required. With the ability to view progress in real-time, as well as red-flag situations, such as unauthorised absence or a sudden drop in grades, being raised automatically, teachers and lecturers have greater control over the destiny of their students and the ability to rectify any unwanted situations before they become a serious problem that could lead to course failure.

Paul Davis, managing director of Perspective, commented: “Attending university has always been a large financial commitment but non-more-so than today – especially given the current economic climate. That’s why I think the universities need to implement accurate progress monitoring systems, and even give each student an individual learning plan, to assure them that they are getting a return on their investment by being given to best chance to succeed on their chosen course.

“Such products are simple to use and in the large majority circumstances save time on existing monitoring procedures. Importantly, at a time when many potential students are weighing up less expensive alternative further education options, it could be the difference that attracts them to an institution.”

For more information about Perspective and its range of products, please visit www.perspective-uk.com.

Student Accommodation Investment Proposition Unveiled

AJP Worldwide and PrimeSite Developments has unveiled plans for a brand new Student Accommodation Block situated at the Lomax Building Stoke-on-Trent. ‘Movers and shakers’ from the world of property, land, commodities, business and sport, were invited to AJP Worldwide’s Inaugural Conference held at the Britannia Stadium to share a brighter vision for the future.

With specific expertise in direct investment into a physical asset such as UK and international property and land, AJP Worldwide is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading specialists in this field and sources some of the most innovative and bespoke assets from around the world. Stoke-on-Trent has now been chosen for its most recent proposition bringing high quality student accommodation to the heart of the city.

The Lomax development will include 120 bed student halls of residence all with en-suites and large bedroom sizes of 135 sq ft. The halls of residence will also encompass communal kitchen and living areas complete with flat screen TV’s, a gymnasium, inclusive bills and high speed broadband.

Situated in a prime location only 0.6 miles away from Staffordshire University, 4.5 miles from Keele University and in easy reach of all transport links including all major bus routes and train stations the Lomax Student Accommodation will be most sought after for students studying in the area of Stoke-on-Trent.

The city of Stoke-on-Trent also offers outstanding cultural and sporting facilities which are all easily accessible from the central location of the development including the Fenton sports complex, the Stoke-on-Trent theatre complex and the Britannia Stadium.

Nigel Griffin, Managing Director of AJP Worldwide comments: “We understand that many people are unhappy with the poor returns on their investments and are now questioning the future of high-charging, poorly performing funds and pensions. Through working with a ‘best of breed’ team of industry professionals, this has enabled us to bring value-driven propositions to market”.

“Our conference was a great opportunity to showcase our unique proposition of the Lomax development and provide access to the most dynamic and influential property and business entrepreneurs in the UK today, as well as the ‘brains’ behind our core range of products”.

Bobbie Johnson, Developer, PrimeSite Developments commented: “The Britannia Stadium was the perfect setting for PrimeSite Developments to showcase our exciting 120 bed student accommodation to the financial and investment community of Stoke.”

“Lomax Students Halls of Residence is what we believe to be the best student accommodation to ever become available in Stoke, an opinion that has support from both Keele and Staffordshire Universities. In addition, and equally as exciting, the business model around which the scheme is developed allows us to offer the project with god returns in an asset class that has exceeded other commercial property class throughout the economic downturn.”

AJP Worldwide is giving professional advisors and their clients the opportunity to invest in The Lomax Student Halls of Residence Development with the opportunity to achieve a 4% per annum return during construction and a return in excess of 7.5% per annum fixed for five years upon completion. This is also available to self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and small self-administered schemes (SSAS) with an entry level of £5000.

The Lomax Student Halls of Residence is due for completion in August 2013.