Tag: technology

Technology and Families: How to Stay Connected

By Maria Shane, MA, LMHC, GMHS, Tulalip Tribes Behavioral Health

Have you ever wondered how to create the right balance between the time you spend on electronics and the time you spend face-to-face with loved ones? If so, you are not alone. Today we have smart phones, computers, TVs, laptops, tablets, iPods, gaming systems, and the list goes on. There are many benefits to the technology we have available. We have access to more information now than ever before. Through technology, we can connect with loved ones who are far away. It can be enjoyable and reduce our stress to check in with others online to share our ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Sharing a good laugh can lift our spirit. Spending time on electronics can help shift our attention away from stress, worry, and pain.  However, our inability to turn off our electronics can also interfere with our ability to find true connection with one another. It may mean that our families would benefit from reasonable limits on the amount of time each day we spend on electronics. The strong urge to always be checking Facebook, texting, or gaming affects everybody: adults, teens, and young children, as well as the relationships within the family or couple. If you are curious about ways to find the right balance for your family, we hope the ideas shared here will help you think about the possibilities.

Technology and Children

Some parents and grandparents wonder how much “Screen Time” a child should have each day. There is no one right answer, and each parent/family knows their children best; however, a useful guideline is between 30 minutes to 90 minutes per day, depending on age. In general, younger children should have less “Screen Time”.

When children spend too much time each day on electronic devices, there can be negative effects. The Mayo Clinic has identified some of the effects, which include: irregular sleep patterns, behavior problems, obesity, lower grades, violence, and less time for physical play. If you are concerned about the amount of video games your child plays, or the way your teen uses Facebook, you might be interested in setting some reasonable limits for your children around electronics.

Technology and Couples

A relationship may feel negatively affected by technology when a couple has not discussed some ground rules to ensure the outside world doesn’t interfere with connection and intimacy.  Couples who are having problems connecting because of electronics often report the following concerns: misinterpreting messages, feeling like screen time comes before the relationship, and having difficulty communicating face to face. Couples may find it difficult to connect, even when they’re in the same room, because of the distractions from their smart phones, computers, etc. If you and your partner struggle to safeguard your time together, you may be interested in setting some boundaries around electronics.  Come up with some mutually agreed ground rules to ensure the cyber world doesn’t interfere with your quality time together.

Difficult conversations are always better to have face-to-face than through text messages.  It’s easier to express your anger, frustrations or hurt feelings through a text, email or facebook post.  However, when emotions are running high, the likelihood of misreading a message rises sky high.  According to various researchers, body language accounts for 50-70 percent of all communication.  You cannot see facial expressions, body posture or hear the tone of a person’s voice through texting.  Why keep that from your loved one?  Arguments aren’t easy but if you put in the work to improve your communication the results will be worth it.  Strengthen your communication and enrich your relationship.

Possibilities and Solutions

If you are interested in ways other families have tackled their technology struggles, here are some tips you can consider.

Talk about It. Sit down with your family or loved one and make a plan so you can prevent the virtual world from interfering with your real world. Talk honestly about the ways technology interrupts with your connection; this will help you find clarity for what changes to make.

Establish “Tech-Free Zones”. It may be difficult to keep track of the amount of time you or anyone else in your family spends on electronics each day. However, you can set limits and create “Tech-Free Zones” in the times and places when you are together. This is important for couples as well as families with children. Some families come up with an agreement that for 30 minutes while everyone eats dinner at the table, no phones, iPads, TVs, or computers are on. Or, during the car ride to school or running errands, no one uses their phone, iPod, hand held gaming system, or tablet. Instead, you have the opportunity to talk to one another. Some families have discovered a fun way to make this a “game,” for example, the first person to check their phone during dinner has to do the dishes.

Remove TVs and Computers from Bedrooms. It may be hard to remove the TV, Xbox, and computer from your child’s bedroom; however, it may help improve sleep, academic performance, and many other areas of your child’s life. Keep TVs, computers, and gaming systems in a shared space like the living room, so you can better monitor the content and time your children spend on these electronics. Couples may also benefit from an electronic-free bedroom which can increase intimacy. Try eye-gazing instead of screen-gazing, or simply use this time to check-in and talk about your day.

Settle Disagreements Face-to-Face. Just because you can reach your partner, parent, or child anywhere at any time, doesn’t mean you always should. It’s understandable that you may want to clear the air sooner rather than later, but don’t take the risk of making matters worse. [Remember, it’s too easy to misread a text or post on Facebook.] Set a time to sit down with your loved one to talk things out, this will minimize problems because you can rely on body language and tone of voice to really get your message across.

Model Healthy use of Electronics. Adults are in a good position to model, through their own behaviors, healthy use of electronic. As adults, we need to follow the “Screen Time” rules we set for our children. We can make a commitment to avoid texting or using the phone while driving. We can show our children what appropriate conversations are on Facebook. We can turn our phones off and refrain from checking our email during dinner. Our children can follow our lead.

Engage in “Screen Time” with your Child.   Use your child’s favorite app or video game as a way to connect! Sit down and play a game with your child. If this seems difficult, try doing it for only 10 minutes at a time. [You can even set a timer to help you keep track.]. Allow your child to teach you the game. You will get to have some quality time with your kid, doing something they love, and, you will have the chance to assess if the game and online community is something you are comfortable with.

Limit “Screen Time” at Bedtime. Create a “No electronics at bedtime” rule. Did you know that looking at electronic screens before sleep interferes with our brain’s ability to “shut off”?  Collect phones, tablets, and other electronic devices one hour before bedtime and allow your children to pick up their electronics in the morning.

 

Create Ways for Children to Earn “Screen Time”. Allow children to earn “Screen Time” by completing other activities such as homework, chores, and physical play. One possibility is to allow children to earn up to one hour of screen time a night for completing one hour of the other activities. For example, if your child spends 15 minutes walking the dog, 15 minutes jumping on the trampoline, and 30 minutes reading, they can earn one hour of screen time to use watching a TV show or playing a favorite video game.

 

The goal is to find a balance between the benefits and advantages technology brings while avoiding the pitfalls of disconnection. When use of technology causes relationship problems such as: avoidance of feelings, isolation from loved ones, or when it blocks us from having necessary but difficult face-to-face conversations, it could be time to make a change. There are many ways to set reasonable limits on the use of technology in your life.  I hope the ideas shared here have gotten you thinking creatively about your options. If you have questions or are having trouble developing a game plan in your home, consider talking to a professional for additional support.

Feel free to contact us for guidance or questions. We are here to help.

Our Child & Family Mental Wellness Team serves youth 17 and younger and their families.  They are located at beda?chelh at 2828 Mission Hill Rd. Tulalip, WA 98271 and can be reached at 360.716.3284.

The Adult Mental Wellness Team serves adults 18 years and older and their families. They are located at Family Services at 2821 Mission Hill Rd. Tulalip, WA 98271 and can be reached at 360.716.4400.

 

Quinault boats test new crab pot-monitoring system

Washington state biologists interested in tribal experiment with electronic technology

Pete Wilson, Quinault Indian Nation fisherman, demonstrates how crab pots are scanned using a sensor embedded in the pot float.DEBORAH L. PRESTON PHOTO
Pete Wilson, Quinault Indian Nation fisherman, demonstrates how crab pots are scanned using a sensor embedded in the pot float.
DEBORAH L. PRESTON PHOTO

By Katie Wilson, Chinook Observer

 

OLYMPIC PENINSULA — Many eyes have been on the Quinault Indian Nation as it tests technology that could help dramatically improve rule enforcement in Washington’s $62 million commercial crab fishery.

Three Quinault fishermen have been using an electronic crab pot monitoring system to track gear use. This entails placing quarter-coin-sized radio frequency tags in their crab pot buoys over the summer and since November. As the pots were pulled aboard, they scanned the buoys in front of a sensor: “Basically like you’re scanning groceries at the store,” said Quinault fisherman Pete Wilson, who was one of the three participants in the pilot program. The sensor transmitted the identification number and the GPS location to a computer.

With every pot registered to only one owner, fishery managers hope this will be a simple way to track boat activity and gear use.

“It would solve some pretty significant issues we face in the crab fishery,” said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish lead biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

As things stand currently, both tribal and non-tribal commercial crab fishermen looking to cheat the system and steal gear and crab can, for the most part, get away with it. Fishermen work at night and “guys that have no scruples come along and fish other guys’ gear,” Ayres said. “Unless someone is right there in the middle of the night and knows what’s going on, it’s almost impossible for us to make a case. …Because fishermen know we can’t do anything about it, they don’t necessarily report [incidents] to us.”

WDFW enforcement officers will hear about stolen gear from time to time, but the traps are in the ocean and the ocean is never still. Besides, whales tangle in pots, debris snags them, storms move them.

The Quinault Indian Nation is working with the non-profit EcoTrust Canada to process the data it collected. The pilot program ended in January. No final report or numbers have been made public yet though Joe Schumacker, QIN marine scientist, expects a report in March.

“If it works well, we’re hoping to have it on all fishing boats in the future and would love to see it used by the non-tribal fishermen as well,” Schumacker in an article in the Winter 2014/15 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission News.

In an phone interview, he said it is something he has been pushing for the last decade. It is something fisheries in British Columbia have utilized and recently the idea seems to be gaining traction in the states, Schumacker said.

“I don’t think it’s all the way there,” Wilson said about the equipment in a phone interview Feb. 3. But he thinks it’s close.

“I’d say 90 percent of our guys are probably going to want this implemented,” he said. “There are one or two who’d probably prefer that it would not, for their own personal reasons.”

But he and the others don’t have anything to hide.

“I think it can only help,” he said.

 

Cost downside

 

For fishery managers like WDFW, the technology would mean wading through massive amounts of data, something they don’t currently have the staff for, Ayres said. And there is a daunting cost to fishermen.

“If it wasn’t slightly over $10,000, it would certainly eat up most of it,” Wilson said regarding the expense per boat.

Schumacker didn’t have a cost estimate yet, but said it would have to be well under $10,000 to be affordable to fishermen.

Cost is one reason that WDFW has yet to implement similar monitoring though it has examined the possibility before. With that kind of price tag, it’s a hard sell, Ayres said.

The benefit of the monitoring would primarily go to those in the industry, but since they would also have to bear the bulk of the cost, the technology won’t become mainstream unless the fishermen support it.

Still, Ayres said, “it’s something that’s slowly becoming more common in other situations in other states.”

In theory, as it gains traction elsewhere and becomes standard: “It gets better and slowly gets cheaper.”

But he thinks the department will see more support as younger, more tech-savvy fishermen enter the fleet.

“We’ve got fishermen who still don’t have answering machines and, God forbid, a cell phone or an e-mail address,” he said.

Even now, they are only just beginning to look at requiring an electronic log book instead of paper log books fishermen currently maintain.

Northwest Tribal Courts Using Cutting Edge Technology to Promote Access to Justice

 

Source: Northwest Intertribal Court System

The Northwest Intertribal Court System (NICS) today launched a powerful online database providing attorneys and the public free access to hundreds of tribal court appellate opinions from thirty Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Northern California.

The new NICS platform features a “Boolean” search engine, hyperlinked subject matter and tribal indexes, U.S.-based technical support, and a mobile application. Until now, the opinions have been available only in print or on CD.

Other legal databases, like Westlaw and LexisNexis, charge a substantial fee for similar services. NICS can provide its database for free, in part because of grants from the charitable funds of the Tulalip, Muckleshoot, and Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribes, and ongoing support from NICS’ other member tribes.

“Publishing these appellate court opinions online with a powerful search engine and making it available for free puts NICS and the many tribes participating in this project on the cutting edge of using technology to promote access to justice,” said Michael Rossotto, the NICS Appellate Department Director. “While federal, state and many tribal courts publish their decisions online, we are not aware of any other court system, federal, state or tribal, that offers online access to its decisions with all of the features we are offering free of charge,” said Rossotto.

Formed in 1979, the Northwest Intertribal Court System (NICS) is a consortium of Indian tribes that have joined their resources to ensure that each tribe is able to have its own court by sharing judges, prosecutors, and court-related services. The database represents a new and important chapter in the development of tribal justice systems and demonstrates NICS’ dedication to its member tribes.

The new NICS database will support its member courts by increasing efficiency, promoting access, bolstering tribal court credibility, and demonstrating the inherent sovereignty of the tribal governments, tribal officials said.

“Published appellate decisions are a testimony of tribal sovereignty and our inherent right to govern our affairs according to Shoalwater Bay Tribal laws and customs,” said Lynn Clark, Court Administrator for the Shoalwater Bay Tribe. “It promotes the Tribal Court’s professional credibility and shares appellate judgments and precedents in tribal laws.”

Pro se litigants will especially benefit from the new system. For the first time, tribal members who represent themselves in the tribal courts administered by NICS can tap into the collective wisdom of hundreds of tribal court jurists with a free and easy-to-use online database. Legal scholars, judges, and tribal law practitioners throughout the U.S. will also benefit from being able to access and research this rich resource, which now spans over 27 years of court decisions and will be continually updated as new opinions are issued by NICS-administered courts.

“Making our Court of Appeals’ opinions available online will better enable our tribal members to represent themselves,” said Muckleshoot Tribal Council Chair Virginia Cross. “It should also reduce costs for those who are able to afford a spokesperson or attorney, and will reduce the overall cost of administering our justice system by making legal research quicker, easier and more effective.”

“The Tulalip Tribes have for many years published the opinions of our Court of Appeals with NICS, the Indian Law Reporter, and Westlaw. Making these opinions available and researchable for free through the NICS website is yet another example of Tulalip’s exercise of its sovereign authority and its leadership in implementing the federal Tribal Law and Order Act and Violence Against Women Act,” added Herman Williams, Chairman of the Tulalip Tribes.

NICS’ tribal court appellate opinions, previously compiled in books known as “appellate reporters,” are published online by Code Publishing Company, Inc., of Seattle, Washington.  NICS is also taking pre-orders for a library-quality bound reprint edition of the entire series of reporters.  To access the NICS Tribal Court Appellate Opinions database, view a list of the participating tribes, or order the library-quality print edition, visit NICS on the web at: www.nics.ws.

About the Northwest Intertribal Court System

NICS’ mission is to assist its member tribes, at their direction, in a manner that recognizes the sovereignty, individual character, and traditions of those tribes in the development of tribal courts that provide fair, equitable, and uniform justice for all who come within their jurisdiction. NICS promotes tribal sovereignty through the administration of professional, efficient and unbiased courts that provide a forum for the peaceful and fair resolution of disputes. NICS was formed in the late 1970s in direct response to the requirement of the “Boldt decision” that a tribe needed to have a comprehensive scheme for enforcing its fishing regulations before the federal court would give final authorization for a tribe to regulate its own fisheries free from interference by the State of Washington. As the federal government returned to a policy of promoting tribal self-governance during this period and tribal governments began to reassert their sovereignty and pass tribal ordinances in many areas besides fishing, NICS-administered tribal courts quickly grew from hearing fishing disputes to being courts with broad jurisdiction under the laws of their tribes. In 2002, NICS was recognized by Harvard University as one of the top 100 programs in its annual Innovations in American Government Awards competition. Many of the original NICS member tribes now administer their own courts, while NICS now provides services to numerous non-member tribes on a fee-for-service basis. NICS’ current member tribes include the Chehalis, Muckleshoot, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Sauk-Suiattle, Shoalwater Bay, and Tulalip Tribes. For more information, visit www.nics.ws.

About the Tulalip Tribes

The Tulalip Tribes are the successors in interest to the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish and other tribes and bands signatory to the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott.  The 22,000-acre Tulalip Indian Reservation is located north of Seattle in Snohomish County, Washington. Tribal government provides membership with health and dental clinics, family and senior housing, human services, utilities, police and courts, childcare, and higher education assistance. The Tribe maintains extensive environmental preservation and restoration programs to protect the Snohomish region’s rich natural resources, which includes marine waters, tidelands, fresh water rivers and lakes, wetlands and forests both on and off the reservation. Developable land and an economic development zone along the I-5 corridor provide revenue for tribal services. This economic development is managed through Quil Ceda Village, the first tribally chartered city in the United States, providing significant contributions and benefits tribal members and the surrounding communities. The Tribes have approximately 4,400 members. For more information, visit www.tulaliptribes-nsn.gov.

About the Muckleshoot Tribe

The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe whose membership is composed of descendants of the Duwamish and Upper Puyallup people who inhabited Central Puget Sound for thousands of years before non-Indian settlement.  The Tribe’s name is derived from the native name for the prairie on which the Muckleshoot Reservation was established.  Following the Reservation’s establishment in 1857, the Tribe and its members came to be known as Muckleshoot, rather than by the historic tribal names of their Duwamish and Upper Puyallup ancestors.  Today, the United States recognizes the Muckleshoot Tribe as a tribal successor to the Duwamish and Upper Puyallup bands from which the Tribe’s membership descends.  For more information, visit the Muckleshoot Tribe at www.muckleshoot.nsn.us/.

About the Shoalwater Bay Tribe

The mission of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe is to become self-sufficient and provide for the spiritual, social, economic and physical health of tribal members, while honoring traditions of the past and leaving a responsible legacy for future generations. The Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation is located on the shores of Willapa Bay in southwestern Washington at the southern end of the Tribe’s ancestral homeland. The Tribe draws its membership from the Lower Chehalis, Shoalwater Bay, and Chinookan peoples. A small but strong tribe, the Shoalwater Bay Tribe is deeply connected to its history, and works hard to preserve its language and culture. Meanwhile, the Tribe also strives to grow its reservation economy, which includes the Shoalwater Bay Casino, a tribally chartered construction firm called Willapa Bay Construction, LLC, and a number of other tribal enterprises. The Tribe is especially dedicated to improving the health and lifestyles of its members while also increasing awareness of Shoalwater Bay Tribe culture and expanding the Tribe’s influence. For more information, visit

www.shoalwaterbay-nsn.gov/.

About Code Publishing Company

Code Publishing Company (CPC) is an innovative, full-service publishing company.  CPC offers codification and electronic publishing services to help its customers keep pace with the information age. CPC uses the latest technology to provide customers with high quality print publications along with an electronic version of all documents published. CPC provides print on-demand services, Internet/Intranet access services, and technical and legal editing services and data conversion to a variety of organizations and Indian tribes. Visit CPC on the web at www.codepublishing.com.

HHS announces the winners of the reducing cancer among women of color challenge

 Apps help undeserved and minority women take control of their health

Source: Department of Health and Human Services

HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE announced the winners of the Reducing Cancer Among Women of Color Challenge. A first-of-its-kind effort to address health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities, the winning apps will help women of color prevent and fight cancer.

The winning apps, Big Yellow Star, Broadstone Technologies, Appbrahma, HW-Technology, and Netzealous, are designed to help women of color prevent and fight cancer by linking them to information regarding preventive and screening services and locations, including support groups and care services.

The apps all focus on providing high-quality health information in different languages to women and community health workers about screening and preventive services. The apps were developed to interface securely with patient health records and strengthen communication across a patient’s care team in an effort to better coordinate information and care.

“This challenge created an innovative opportunity to use new technologies and new platforms to engage women in communities that have too often been dismissed as ‘hard-to-reach,’” Dr. Gracia said.  “Through these innovative tools, we are addressing disparities by reaching women where they are – and taking an exciting step forward in implementing the HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.”

“The Reducing Cancer Among Women of Color Challenge is a great example of the positive impact health information technology can make.  Getting timely cancer preventive and treatment information to patients has always been an effective strategy.  The winners of this challenge increase our capacity to empower women across a broad socioeconomic spectrum,” said David Hunt, M.D., F.A.C.S., medical director of health IT adoption & patient safety at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

In the United States, breast and gynecologic cancers are responsible for more than 68,000 deaths each year with over 300,000 new diagnoses made each year. Women of color are disproportionately affected due to various reasons, including the inability to access health care and preventive information, services, referral, and treatment.

The Reducing Cancer among Women of Color Challenge is a partnership between HHS’ Office of Minority Health and ONC.  It challenged innovators and developers to create a mobile device-optimized tool that engages and empowers women to improve the prevention and treatment of breast, cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancer in underserved and minority communities and that can interface with provider electronic health records.

Submissions were reviewed and judged based on:

  • Patient engagement
  • Quality and accessibility of information
  • Targeted and actionable information
  • Links to online communities and/or social media
  • Innovativeness and usability
  • Non-English language availability

 

To learn more about the app challenge, the winners, and information on how to download the winning apps please visit:
http://challenge.gov/ONC/402-reducing-cancer-among-women-of-color and http://www.health2con.com/devchallenge/reducing-cancer-among-women-color-challenge/

 

Underwater robot will assist with rescue and recovery

By Rikki King, The Herald

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office's newly acquired SeaLion-2 underwater robot, dubbed "Batman" by deputies, cruises in a South Everett swimming pool last week. Its controllers are seen above the robot. Photo: Mark Mulligan / The Herald
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office’s newly acquired SeaLion-2 underwater robot, dubbed “Batman” by deputies, cruises in a South Everett swimming pool last week. Its controllers are seen above the robot. Photo: Mark Mulligan / The Herald

EVERETT — In the water, the robot looked like a curious critter.

It glided through the pool, poking its nose up to the surface to nudge at obstacles.

The robot is construction-equipment yellow, about the size of a small dog.

Nearby, specially trained deputies watched its movements on a computer screen, scanning the water through its “eyes.”

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office recently acquired an underwater robot, a JW Fishers SeaLion-2, through a federal grant.

They call it “Batman.”

Batman went for a test drive last week at a community pool in south Everett. It splashed around and posed for pictures.

Its true missions are more somber.

The sheriff’s office got Batman in January, Lt. Rodney Rochon said.

Later that month, Batman helped them gather underwater visuals as they pulled a car from the Snohomish River. The bodies of two missing people were inside.

On March 16, Batman found the body of a fisherman who drowned in Silver Lake the day before.

Batman’s worth about $40,000, Rochon said. As part of the federal grant that paid for the acquisition, the dive team and the robot can be called to help with rescue and recovery operations throughout the region.

At least two children and two adults drowned in Snohomish County in 2012.

Rescues are the team’s top priority, Rochon said. In the cases when they can’t rescue someone, they try to find the body.

“We need to recover the victim so the family can get closure,” Rochon said. “It’s not just about the investigation.”

The robot also can be used to gather intelligence and limit the time human divers spend in the water, he said. It can weather harsher conditions and dive deeper — up to 1,000 feet — and for longer than people can. Deputies only can dive 100 feet for safety reasons.

The SeaLion-2 design is most popular with law enforcement, said Chris Combs, a spokesman for JW Fishers, the Massachusetts-based manufacturer. It weighs about 40 pounds. It has high-resolution color cameras in front and back and four motors to propel it forward, backward, up and down. Some models have sonar technology.

“The SeaLion-2 is really a pretty neat little machine,” Combs said.

The sheriff’s office also got to lease a SWAT robot for free for a while last year. On one mission, it helped dissolve a standoff in Marysville.

The lease ended a while back, and that robot went back home.

Microsoft: New lab envisions the future of work and play

Microsoft

 March 01, 2013

Microsoft today unveiled its reimagined Envisioning Center, which offers a hands-on experience with the future of business and leisure — and also serves as a laboratory for the company’s engineering teams.

 

REDMOND, Wash. – March 1, 2013 – The future of work and play is on display at Microsoft’s reimagined Envisioning Center, the result of collaboration between the company’s Strategic Prototyping team and Office Labs. Visitors can work on interactive desks, talk with colleagues through digital walls, and cook in a Kinect-enabled kitchen. Microsoft expects thousands of customers to explore the new space each year.

“We want to excite customers about the direction we’re heading in and show that we are constantly thinking about new scenarios based on trends and real work in Microsoft Research and the business groups,” says Jonathan Cluts, director of Microsoft’s Strategic Prototyping team. “These scenarios are based on reality, not science fiction.”

“We don’t imagine that we’re predicting the future,” says Anton Andrews, director of Envisioning in Office Labs. “But it’s case of staying on the cutting edge of the conversation, and promoting that conversation.”

 

 
110
 
The new Envisioning Center explores how technology will transform the way we live, work and play in the future.
Envisioning Center
March 01, 2013
The new Envisioning Center explores how technology will transform the way we live, work and play in the future.
 
Download: Web | Print
Microsoft believes that working from anywhere will reach new levels of ease and sophistication. Create and move work freely across devices and displays using natural language, ink, touch and gesture.
Natural Flow
March 01, 2013
Microsoft believes that working from anywhere will reach new levels of ease and sophistication. Create and move work freely across devices and displays using natural language, ink, touch and gesture.
 
Download: Web | Print
Interactive workspaces will let you bring your ideas to life naturally, easily connecting to the insights, information and expertise you need as you work.
Interactive Workspaces
March 01, 2013
Interactive workspaces will let you bring your ideas to life naturally, easily connecting to the insights, information and expertise you need as you work.
 
Download: Web | Print
Workspaces that emphasize social activity help teams collaborate. Here, interactive whiteboards add smart assistance and remote participation to a brainstorming session.
Team Collaboration
March 01, 2013
Workspaces that emphasize social activity help teams collaborate. Here, interactive whiteboards add smart assistance and remote participation to a brainstorming session.
 
Download: Web | Print
In the workplace of the future, team meetings move from presentation and action items to real-time problem solving and execution. Technology in this action room amplifies the team’s ability to visualize projects, simulate real-time outcomes and make rapid decisions.
Team Problem Solving
March 01, 2013
In the workplace of the future, team meetings move from presentation and action items to real-time problem solving and execution. Technology in this action room amplifies the team’s ability to visualize projects, simulate real-time outcomes and make rapid decisions.
 
Download: Web | Print
In the future, you will be able to explore new cuisines with recipes that adapt to dietary needs, and even get help cooking and learn a few new tricks from your personal, digital chef.
Everyone Can Be a Chef
March 01, 2013
In the future, you will be able to explore new cuisines with recipes that adapt to dietary needs, and even get help cooking and learn a few new tricks from your personal, digital chef.
 
Download: Web | Print
Ecosystems of devices and sensors will work on your behalf, helping you without getting in your way.
Smart Stovetop
March 01, 2013
Ecosystems of devices and sensors will work on your behalf, helping you without getting in your way.
 
Download: Web | Print
With a 4k display and smart lighting, your living room can naturally transform from a movie theater to an art gallery to a personal chat with loved ones who live many miles away.
Home Entertainment
March 01, 2013
With a 4k display and smart lighting, your living room can naturally transform from a movie theater to an art gallery to a personal chat with loved ones who live many miles away.
 
Download: Web | Print
In the home of the future you can stay connected with loved ones in new ways, like creating a storyworld with Grandma at bedtime.
Storytime With Grandma
March 01, 2013
In the home of the future you can stay connected with loved ones in new ways, like creating a storyworld with Grandma at bedtime.
 
Download: Web | Print
Retail in the future blends the best of online and brick-and-mortar to personalize your shopping experience on the fly. Experience augmented shopping and safely share information across public and private displays.
Augmented Retail
March 01, 2013
Retail in the future blends the best of online and brick-and-mortar to personalize your shopping experience on the fly. Experience augmented shopping and safely share information across public and private displays.
 
Download: Web | Print

Seattle Based ANAE exhibits energy technologies at Dubai Exhibition

Alekson Native American Enterprises LLC Press Release

Jim Alekson
CEO of Alekson Native American Enterprises
(206) 898-5869 | Email: jalekson@aleksongroup.com

 

Seattle, Washington – The USA Regional Trade Center Exhibition officially opened today in Dubai, UAE and Alekson Native American Enterprises LLC (“ANAE”), a 100% Native American owned enterprise, was among the showcased exhibitors.

The USA Regional Trade Center, endorsed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of State and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade, facilitates and encourages trade and commerce between U.S. Businesses and the MENA Regional Market encompassing the Middle East and North Africa.  USARTC levels the play field and lowers the barriers to U.S. Company entry into the MENA Regional Market.

In 2009, ANAE began directing its business development attention toward green energy technologies and assembled a collection of elite technologies from around the world.  This collection came to the attention of the USARTC and two months ago, they extended an invitation to ANAE to exhibit several of its energy related technologies and business initiatives at the Dubai Trade and Commerce Exhibition.

The innovative technologies and initiatives showcased by ANAE include SACHEM Hi-Energy Wood Pellets, a substitute for thermal coal; AIRE-FOILTM vertical-axis wind turbines; ECO-LOGICTM LED smart lighting systems; FARM-OF-THE-FUTURETM hydroponic food-crop cultivation systems; and CASTAGRATM industrial coatings for protection against corrosion in the oil and gas industries as well as other energy related technologies. 

ANAE aligns itself with world-class inventors and mechanical and electrical engineers to secure and bring revolutionary technologies to the United States.  All of the exhibited technologies have been commercialized and have years of field-proven success. They have been developed within the United States as well as elsewhere in the world.  Sachem Energy SolutionsTM, an operating division of ANAE, is responsible for advancing technologies commercialized outside of the United States. 

“We are very honored the USA Regional Trade Center invited us to participate in this prestigious event.”  “We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to showcase and advance Indian Country participation in the world’s green energy revolution.” stated Jim Alekson, CEO of Alekson Native American Enterprises LLC. 

“We are pleased to have ANAE participate in our Trade and Commerce Exhibition and represent business development opportunities in Indian Country.”  “Innovative technologies advanced by ANAE and its Native American Partners represent a real step toward reducing the world’s dependency on fossil fuels to meet its ever increasing energy needs.” comments Kim Childs, Vice President of USA Regional Trade Center

Alekson Native American Enterprises LLC

Alekson Native American Enterprises LLC and its Sachem Family of Companies are 100%  Native American owned by Members of the Citizen Band of the Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma and their Native American Partners.  ANAE is steadfastly devoted to advancing initiatives that bring about economic diversification for Native American Communities across the United States.  Our mission is to advance innovative technologies and initiatives that create jobs, encourage entrepreneurship and advance 21st Century educational and job training opportunities in Native American Communities. For additional information visit: www.aleksonnae.com and www.nativeamericanenterprises.blogspot.com.  ANAE is also on Twitter.

USA Regional Trade Center

USA Regional Trade Center facilitates and encourages trade and commerce between U.S. Businesses and the MENA Regional Market encompassing the Middle East and North Africa.  USARTC provides U.S. Companies, educational institutions, individuals, federal and state agencies, trade groups, professional associations, think tanks and legal, accounting and banking institutions with an integrated business platform for exploration of trade opportunities and facilitation of U.S. exports to the MENA Regional Market. For additional information visit:  www.usartc.com