Martin Cid's Blog: Martin Cid Magazine, page 1064

Greenshields JCB drives service improvements with Maxoptra routing and scheduling software

Maxoptra routes Greenshields JCB

London, 19 May 2016 – Greenshields JCB, one of the world’s largest JCB dealers, has implemented advanced dynamic vehicle routing and scheduling optimisation software for its field service operation. The Maxoptra field service management platform is designed to enable efficient decision making, in real time, within an ever changing operational environment such as Greenshields’ busy Service Department. The company is gaining greater visibility of the entire field service operation through live, accurate reporting of performance.

“We selected Maxoptra as it was intuitive and easy to use,” commented Chris Farmer, Central Services Manager at Greenshields JCB. “All the information we need is on one screen, and the drag and drop functionality is great. Maxoptra also integrates with our current mainframe systems and GPS trackers.”

Greenshields JCB is the premier dealer of JCB Construction and Industrial machinery in the South East of England. Providing full sales, service and parts support from eight strategically placed locations, Greenshields JCB has a team of 45 highly trained and experienced field engineers with specialist industry knowledge. Greenshields JCB implemented the Maxoptra solution following an extensive and rigorous selection process involving an analysis of requirements, system demonstrations, evaluation of reference sites, its capacity to integrate, and performance testing.

Since implementing Maxoptra’s field service management software, Greenshields JCB has reported positive improvements in the daily planning of its reactive service requests. “The controllers are already comfortable with the system,” continued Chris Farmer. “As we can view the status of all jobs in real time, visibility of the service operation has dramatically improved.”

Following the initial deployment of Maxoptra in early 2016, Greenshields JCB hopes to build on the efficiencies achieved. “Thanks to our investment in this system, we are already delivering benefits to our customers, including improved communication, and looking to deliver more efficient service and boost engineer productivity. It has the potential to be a huge asset to the business and our customers,” concluded Chris Farmer.

Stuart Brunger, Head of Business Development at Magenta Technology, added, “We are delighted to welcome Greenshields JCB on board, and we look forward to working with the company to maximise its investment in the Maxoptra platform. Through the early stages of selection and implementation, Greenshields has embraced the functionality offered by Maxoptra and demonstrated a thorough understanding of how this can be applied to its operation to boost service levels and productivity.”

Fuga Perpetua by Yuval Avital is a Different Opera

The more we read and hear about refugees, it seems we understand and relate to their experience less.

Fuga Perpetua by Yuval Avital

They become representations of something other-than-us, reduced to a familiar script of our worst fears. Responding to one of the greatest dramas of our time, Yuval Avital and Meitar Ensemble smuggle us across the border between our concepts of ‘us’ and ‘them’.

‘Home’ is the root of our identity, our magnetic north, our fixed point from which we orient our story, a sanctuary of protection and intimacy. Without a home, we become vulnerable, unstable, disoriented, lost. Our experience of music is also defined around ideas of home, of stability and rest, but also of movement, change and transformation. In Fuga Perpetua, a rest in one artistic layer drives movement in another, in counterpoint, interweaving constantly.

The ‘storytellers’ in Fuga Perpetua are refugees, appearing in the work through projected ‘interviews’ conducted by Avital and collaborators, where individual refugees were asked to relive before the camera significant moments and memories of their lives, both silently and in voice, following a process designed for this project by Avital with the guidance of Prof. Gerald Cupchik (University of Toronto), a specialist in emotions and aesthetic experience.

The video also includes footage specially made for the opera by Andrea Trivero, director of the ‘Pace e Futuro’ NGO, in the refugee camp of Kakuma in Kenya on its border with South Sudan, with the help of Qaabata Boru chief editor of Kakuma News Reflector. Other footage includes film taken by Meitar Ensemble together with ‘Hasimta Athletics’  – an NGO based in Tel Aviv which aims to empower refugees by meaningful athletic activity, mainly running.  We are particularly grateful for the support of the video multimedia unit of the UNHCR, which provided numerous audio recordings of interviews of refugees conducted worldwide, as sound and visual recording of refugee camps, refugee boats and travels.

Some performances of Fuga Perpetua will feature local hosted refugees who will join the performance through movement, sound and gesture, developing elements first prepared in Avital’s Rivers, which was performed in September 2015 with a vocal crowd of refugees at the inauguration ceremony of the Third Paradise Centre by Michelangelo Pistoletto in Biella, Italy. Finally, the sound installation, a ‘Mobile Sound Theatre’, is devised by Yuval Avital and developed by Dr.Tychonas Michailidis (Birmingham Conservatoire). Comprising 25 mobile loudspeakers surrounding, between and underneath the audience, this gives a powerful physical presence to the spatialization of sound in which events appear, move, take on shape and character.

Fuga Perpetua by Yuval Avital is an icon-sonic Opera for an ensemble, visuals, mobile sound theater and a vocal crowd.

UK Premieres: Brighton Festival, UK 20 May 2016. Nottingham Lakeside Arts Centre, UK 22 May 201.

Fruitlands Museum Celebrates the Start of Summer with a Festival of Lavender

Fruitlands Museum Celebrates the Start of summer with a trio of special events!

Fruitlands Museum Celebrates the Start of Summer with a Festival of Lavender

Fruitlands welcomes summer with three special events this June. On Sunday, June 5, Fruitlands will host the first-ever Festival of Lavender, a celebration of the fragrant purple herb that is as lovely to look at, as it is wonderful to smell and taste. On Sunday, June 12, Fruitlands will host their premier fundraiser, the annual Summer Solstice Farm-to-Fork Dinner.  And on Saturday, June 18, from 10am-5pm, Fruitlands hosts Celebration Saturday, a FREE admission day filled with fun for the whole family!

A FESTIVAL OF LAVENDER: Sunday, June 5, 2016 | 2-3:30pm| $35 members, $45 Nonmembers.

Fruitlands will be all things lavender when aromatherapist and lavender expert Nancy Engel comes to play! Part workshop, part celebration, this 90-minute program will dive deep into the incredible nature of lavender covering the medicinal, culinary, and other uses of this pleasantly fragrant herb. Participants will sup on lavender-inspired dishes, learn valuable growing tips and fashion a lavender sachet or wall bunch. Don’t forget to wear your best lavender finery for this festive afternoon at Fruitlands!

Space is limited. To register, contact programming@fruitlands.org or call (978) 456-3924, ext. 239.

FARM TO FORK DINNER: Sunday, June 12, 2016| 5-9pm | Single tickets-$150, Table of 8-$1200.

Fruitlands’ annual fundraising dinner in the field returns for the 4th year to support the Museum’s educational programs. Guests will feast on a delicious gourmet dinner of locally grown food prepared by Fireside Catering, as they watch the sunset over the spectacular Nashua River Valley and listen to delightful music by Summertime Trio.  This year, the multi-course meal will be expertly paired with wines and presented by Sandy Block, MW. Sandy is the VP of Beverage Operations at Legal Seafood. He became the first American to be certified as a Master of Wine and is the wine editor of The Improper Bostonian, and has had articles published in The International Wine Review, The Quarterly Review of Wines, The Wine Enthusiast, and more. He has served as Vice President of the Executive Board of Boston University’s Elizabeth Bishop Wine Resource Center and has been an Adjunct Professor in its certification programs since inception in 1999.  Dessert will be courtesy of Harvard’s own Gingersnap Bakery.

This event is always a sellout, so purchase ticket early!  To order tickets, visit www.fruitlands.org/events, farm-to-fork or call 978.456.3924 x289.

CELEBRATION SATURDAY: Saturday, June 18, 2016 |10AM-5PM| FREE ADMISSION for EVERYONE!

It’s Fruitlands’ 102nd birthday and time to throw a party! On this FREE day, there will be fun for the whole family. Don’t miss the awards ceremony for the Student Art Competition! Take a guided walk on the Fruitlands Walking Trails. Enjoy a light snack while listening to live music. Try your hand at 19thcentury lawn games. Visit the Museum collections and find your favorite object. Make your very own artwork to take home, or contribute to a growing community sculpture. There’s no end to the fun we have in store!

TV Shows Today, May 18: Empire, Arrow, Chicago P.D.

It’s Wednesday and it’s time for great series. It’s simple, we love it! Empire. Today’s episode: Past Is Prologue. Season 2. Episode 18. 9:00 pm. FOX. From Wikipedia: Empire is an American musical drama television series which debuted on Fox on January 7, 2015. Although filmed in Chicago, the show is based in New York and it centers on a hip hop music and entertainment company.

Our second choice is for the series Arrow. Today: Lost in the Flood. Season 4. Episode 22.

8:00 pm. CW.

And our last recommendation is for Chicago P.D. Today’s episode: She’s Got Us. Season 3. Episode 22. 10:00 pm. NBC.

We hope you enjoy the shows. Have a very nice day, dear friends.

TV Shows Today, May 18 Video: Empire Season 2 Ep 18 First Look: “Past Is Prologue” | EMPIRE

Birthdays Today, May 18: Tina Fey, Teo Halm, Jack Johnson, Teresa Giudice

She is a comediannee, actress, producer and writer… she is great and we love her! Tina Fey! From Yareah, we wish her and her family all the best in this special day. Congratulations and happy birthday, Tina Fey!

Famous Birthdays Today, May 18: Actress Tina Fey at the Muppets Most Wanted Premiere at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood on March 11, 2014. Source: flickr. Author: Mingle Media TV

When humor works, it works because it’s clarifying what people already feel. It has to come from someplace real.

Tina Fey

If you’re an actor and you don’t get cast in stuff a lot, then put together a show or hold play-reading nights at your apartment. Make your own opportunities.

Tina Fey

More famous birthdays today, May 18: Teo Halm, young movie actor born in Los Angeles in 1999; Jack Johnson, rock singer; and Teresa Giudice, reality star.

Happy birthday to all of them. Have a very nice day, dear friends.

Famous Birthdays Today, May 18 Video: True Confessions with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

HBO confirms July 23 debut for Looking: The Movie

HBO has confirmed the debut date for LOOKING: THE MOVIE, with the feature-length presentation scheduled to debut SATURDAY, JULY 23 (10:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Starring Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez and Murray Bartlett, LOOKING: THE MOVIE wraps up the story of three close friends living in San Francisco who explore the options available to a new generation of gay men seeking fulfillment in love and life. In the film, Patrick (Groff) returns to the city for the first time in almost a year to celebrate a momentous event with his old friends. In the process, he must face the unresolved relationships he left behind and make difficult choices about what’s important to him.

LOOKING: THE MOVIE is written by Andrew Haigh and Michael Lannan; directed by Andrew Haigh; executive producers, Andrew Haigh, Michael Lannan, Sarah Condon.

The Able Label: Stylish clothes, designed to make dressing easier

The Able Label: front velcro fasten tee

The Able Label is a new innovative range of easier dressing womenswear clothing, for those who like to look good but find high-street fashion too fiddly or awkward to wear.

Before now, dressing options have been limited to very basic and often frumpy styles. The Able Label has designed a range of adaptive clothing that will increase independence and also appeal to a wider, stylish audience.

The Able Label makes dressing an easier, achievable task instead of an impossible chore. Easy touch Velcro fastenings instead of fiddly buttons help those with physical difficulties and the colour co-ordinated tape and Velcro fastenings inside, aid those who may have cognitive difficulties.

The range is the brainchild of Katie Ellis, a former fashion buyer, who was inspired to launch the line after witnessing her grandmothers struggle with Parkinson’s. Drawing on this personal experience, Katie sought to address some of the day-to-day issues that can arise – independence, the desire to remain stylish and to maintain a sense of identity in spite of reduced dexterity and impaired mobility or cognitive skills.

The Able Label’s Spring/Summer 2016 range combines corals, seaspray blues and nautical stripes. New fabrics include easy-care cooler cottons, super soft viscose/elastane, and flattering Italian fleece that all have extra ‘give’ to aid getting into and out of garments and provide extra comfort with a quality feel.

The Able Label is proud to have Joanna Lumley supporting the range.

I hope this range of easy to get into clothes which are stylish and attractive will become the mainstay of many wardrobes – Joanna Lumley.

Each style can be purchased in sizes 8-22. Prices start from 25 GBP and all clothing is eligible for VAT relief. The Able Label clothing range is available via the e-boutique. Alternatively call ‪01622 828994‬‬‬‬.

The Able Label Facebook

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The Able Label Blog

NFL Career advice: What you know matters more than who you know

Professor Martin Kilduff, UCL

Working for a high-profile manager can secure a promotion at another organisation, but being hired based on a connection might not lead to a successful career in the long run, research from UCL School of Management reveals.

Professor Martin Kilduff studied the National Football League (NFL) in the US to see if the protégés of successful head coaches were also successful. He found that football assistants who worked under star coaches were 52% more likely to get a better next job than those with less impressive backgrounds, but the benefits were short-lived and often harmful in the long run.

The findings indicate that employers often rely on the reputation of connections as a measure of ability.

Professor Kilduff says: “The NFL is an intense, hyper-competitive environment where performance can easily be measured. The effects we see here are actually likely to be stronger and last longer in the corporate environment.

“A high status connection might reflect well on you, but if you’re hired on your own merit, you’re more likely to be promoted and less likely to be demoted.”

Hiring managers should consider more than the reputation of the famous connection, the professor advises, and ask how much success is attributable to the person rather than their past boss.

In the end, a competitive job market will self-correct over time, and those with impressive endorsements won’t be resistant to the impact of their performance.

The study, co-authored by Craig Crossland, University of Notre Dame; Wenpin Tsai, Pennsylvania State University; and Matthew Bowers, University of Texas at Austin, looked at the career outcomes of almost 1,300 coaches over 30 years. The findings were published in the journal Academy of Management.

TV Shows Today, May 17: The Flash, Chicago Fire, Person of Interest

It’s Tuesday and we have great shows to recommend you. First, The Flash. Today¡’s episode: Invincible. Season 2. Episode 22. 5:00 pm. CW. From Wikipedia: The Flash is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns, airing on The CW. It is based on the DC Comics character Barry Allen / Flash, a costumed superhero crime-fighter with the power to move at superhuman speeds. It is a spin-off from Arrow.

Our second choice is for Chicago Fire. Today: Superhero. Season 4. Episode 23. 7:00 pm. NBC.

And our last recommendation is for the show Person of Interest. Today’s episode: ShotSeeker. Season 5. Episode 5. 7:00 pm. CBS.

We hope you enjoy the shows. Have a very nice day, dear friends.

TV Shows Today, May 17 Video: The Flash | Invincible Trailer | The CW

Birthdays Today, May 17: Nikki Reed, Bob Saget, Kristen Hancher, Jaime Preciado

She gained fame for her role as Rosalie Hale in the Twilight saga, she was born in Los Angeles in 1988 and she is our Top#1 Famous Birthdays Today, May 17… Nikki Reed! From Yareah, we wish her and her family all the best in this special day. Congras and happy birthday, Nikki Reed!

Famous Birthdays Today, May 17: Actresses Nikki Reed, Milla Jovovich and Kaley Cuoco at the 2014 ASPCA Compassion Awards on October 22, 2014. Source: flickr. Author: Mingle Media TV

Young people need to vote. They need to get out there. Every vote counts. Educate yourself too. Don’t just vote. Know what you’re voting for, and stand by that.

Nikki Reed

I think my mother is my biggest influence. There are so many things I hate about her but at the same time I’m thankful for her. All I know is that when I’m a parent I want to be just like my mom. I can talk to my mom more than any of my friends could talk to their parents.

Nikki Reed

More famous birthdays today, May 17: Bob Saget, known for his role as Danny Tanner on Full House; Kristen Hancher, music star born in Canada; and Jaime Preciado, bassist born in San Diego in 1986.

Happy birthday to all of them. Have a very nice day, dear friends.

Famous Birthdays Today, May 17 Video: “All I’ve Ever Needed” – Nikki Reed & Paul McDonald