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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