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KNOXVILLE – Eight teams of budding entrepreneurs will square-off in the last session of “Vol Court” at 5:15 p.m., Tuesday, April 13 at the Stokely Management Center, seventh floor. The team with the best business ideas will receive $1,000 to launch their business, space at the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) business incubator, mentoring from Technology 2020’s Center for Entrepreneurial Growth (CEG) and 10 hours of legal advice from Miller & Martin, PLLC — a prize package worth more than $20,000.

Vol Court is a series of nine free how-to seminars led by entrepreneurs and business experts from across the state. The program is joint effort of UTRF, the College of Business Administration’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) and the CEG.

The teams vying for the opportunity to grow their business include:

• “Ratemyhostfamily.com, LLC,” a Web site that uses an online survey platform to allow study abroad students to give quantitative and open-ended feedback about their host family, residence hall, and apartment while studying abroad.
• “Real Mobile,” a mobile marketing company that enables real estate companies, agents and private home-sellers to more effectively market their listings.
• “Michael’s Home Improvements,” a company that provides expert craftsmanship for the installation of tile, hardwood, engineered flooring and construction of decks, screen room and room additions.
• “SpringBox,” a company that sells a compact computer server and related support service that acts as a stand-in for an information technology (IT) department in a small business.
• “Brolo,” an internet-based video chat service that incorporates the latest in peer-to-peer technology, algorithmic search functions and active digital video management.
• “Boulder Booties,” a company which sells a product that protects the specialized climbing shoes worn while rock climbing.
• “Integrated Technologies,” a company which specializes in large scale application of piezoelectric material to provide energy to sell back to energy companies.
• “Mobile Micro Medical,” a portable blood reintegration technology that allows medical responders to stabilize trauma victims prior to transportation to a medical facility.

Each team will be given eight minutes to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges that includes a local venture capitalist, current and former entrepreneurs and a lawyer. The judges will have five minutes to ask questions of each team, and then they will decide the winner by consensus.

“We’ve had 80 students, faculty, staff and university friends participate in our first ever Vol Court series, which truly exceeded our expectations” said Joy Fisher, director of marketing and business development for UTRF. “The entrepreneurial culture here at the university is growing, and this competition is helping our aspiring entrepreneurs to acquire the skills and resources they need to successfully start their own businesses.”

For more information on Vol Court, visit http://utrf.tennessee.edu/news/.

The CEI facilitates entrepreneurial knowledge creation and dissemination through research, teaching and practice in the area of entrepreneurship. It strives to develop entrepreneurial talent who will start businesses or contribute to the success of existing technology-driven businesses. The center provides experiential learning activities that enhance classroom instruction in entrepreneurship and innovation, offers links between the regional entrepreneurial community and the university, and acts as a hub for cross-campus initiatives that foster the growth of entrepreneurial research and commercially viable enterprises.

The CEG is an entrepreneurial support organization within Technology 2020, one of the primary drivers of innovation and economic development in the region. The CEG helps entrepreneurs develop an execution strategy that leads to a sustainable company. In addition to its strategic planning process, the CEG develops and delivers entrepreneurial training seminars.

UTRF helps turn the ideas and discoveries that emerge from the University of Tennessee into products and services that benefit society. In addition to supporting the growth of research at UT and commercialization of the resulting inventions, UTRF champions entrepreneurship and drives state and regional technology-based economic development. UTRF serves all seven of the UT campuses and institutes across the state.

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C O N T A C T:

Whitney Holmes (865-974-5460, [email protected])

A empresa preparadora alemã de veículos do grupo Volks, a MTM, anunciou o resultado de sua última experiência com o Audi R8. O modelo GT3-2 possui 560 cv com tração traseira, e motor V8 com 580Nm de torque, que faz com que o R8 atinja de 0 a 100km/h em 3.9 segundos e atinge a velocidade máxima de 317km/h.

Outras modificações estão na suspensão do carro, que precisou ser melhorada para aguentar o aumento da força, além de mudanças na aerodinânica onde foi adicionado um spoier frontal de fibra de carbono, novas saias laterais e uma asa traseira.

A MTM se orgulha do trabalho realizado e convida os consumidores a converterem seus R8, caso esses tenham a versão comum do carro e (obviamente) não vai poder comprar a versão modificada.

Imagens do R8 Modificado

Via | Carscoop

Adorning yourself in fake goods, be it a replica Gucci handbag or knock-off Armani sunglasses, makes a statement. It says that you want to feel, or be seen as, wealthier than you actually are. It signals an aspiration towards a richer lifestyle. Of course, such products can’t actually change a person’s status, but a new study suggests that they can change people’s behaviour, and for the worse.

Francesca Gino from the University of North Carolina has shown that counterfeit products actually make people behave more dishonestly. They cheat more in tests and they judge others as unethical with greater abandon. Even worse, they’re completely unaware of this impact. This effect is heavily ironic. People often buy fake goods to look good to other people. But Gino’s study shows that these products can affect our moral choices precisely because they make us look worse to ourselves. As she writes, “Feeling like a fraud makes people more likely to commit fraud.”

In her first experiment, Gino told volunteers that they were going to wear a pair of real of fake designer sunglasses while doing certain tasks. Their job was to test out the glasses. In reality, all the eyewear on offer was real and each cost a princely $300. But even though everyone had the same shades, the volunteers who thought they were wearing the fake ones were more likely to cheat in the tests.

First, they were given a problem-solving task where they would be paid for each correct answer. The answer sheets were anonymously posted into a box and the recruits had to write how many questions they had solved. As far as they knew, they could make up any number they liked but, in reality, Gino had coded the worksheets to give away their identity. She found that 71% of the recruits who wore fake sunglasses cheated in the test, overplaying their own successes. In contrast, just 30% of those adorned in authentic shades resorted to lies. Neither group actually scored better or worse than the other.

In a second test, they saw a square divided in two down its diagonal and had to say which of the two sides had more spots. If they said the left side, they received half a cent but if they said the right side, they got fifty cents instead. This presents a stark conflict between answering truthfully and earning the most money. And over time, the recruits who wore fake sunglasses (but not the real ones) became more and more likely to choose the right side, even when there were patently more dots on the left.

For her next experiment, Gino showed that counterfeit goods can change how people view the actions of others. Again, 79 students were given sunglasses that were ostensibly real or fake. This time, after allegedly test-driving the eyewear, they had to fill in a questionnaire about moral behaviour.

Compared to those wearing real sunglasses, volunteers who wore counterfeits said that people they knew were more likely to act dishonestly, from taking home office stationery to inflating an expenses claim. And given fictional scenarios involving moral choices, the counterfeit-wearers were more likely than their peers to think that other people would behave unethically. It seems that people who wear fake goods interpret the actions of others through a lens of dishonesty.

What’s behind this change of heart? To find out, Gino repeated the sunglasses study with 100 fresh volunteers, and a few important twists. This time, some of the recruits weren’t told anything about the sunglasses or whether they were genuine. They also had to complete a questionnaire that analysed how they felt about themselves, by asking them how far they agreed with statements such as “Right now, I feel as if I don’t know myself very well” or “Right now, I feel out of touch with the real me.”

All the volunteers did the same problem-solving test from the first experiment and they behaved much like the first lot did. Among those who thought they wore fake shades, 74% cheated, while just 30% of those who thought they wore real ones did. Out of those who weren’t told anything, 42% cheated. The questionnaires revealed that these differences were fuelled by the volunteers’ feelings about themselves. Those who wore the supposedly fake sunglasses felt personally less genuine than their peers. Because they felt like fakes, they were more likely to behave unethically.

The icing on this psychological cake is that people have no idea about this effect. When Gino asked 86 random students about the impact of fake goods, they didn’t predict any consequences on ethical behaviour. Even when asked about the experiments themselves, they didn’t think that the nature of the sunglasses would affect the volunteers’ propensity to cheat on their tests.

Gino fully admits that the real world is very different to laboratory settings but, nonetheless, she is concerned about the psychological impact of counterfeit goods at a societal level. As she says, “Individuals who buy counterfeits for themselves or give them to others may believe that they are simply getting similar products for less money, but in fact may be paying a price in terms of their long-term morality.“

Reference: Psychological Science

More on morality:

• When is attempted murder more acceptable than harming someone by accident?
• Clean smells promote generosity and fair play; dark rooms and sunglasses promote deceit and selfishness
• Will vs. Grace – are people honest because they resist temptation or because they don’t feel it?
• Our moral thermostat – why being good can give people license to misbehave
• A bad taste in your mouth – moral outrage has origins in physical disgust
• Clean thoughts can soften moral judgments

This month on TheKitchn.com we’re playing with the theme of Three Square Meals and we’re starting with breakfast. Hands down my favorite breakfast is a whimsical, slightly sour baked creature that my mom used to make for me when I had sleep-overs at our house. We called it Big Pancake; others know it as a Dutch Baby.

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There is so much wrong with this image on so many levels, I don’t even know where to start. [cheezburger via CrunchGear] More »

WHOA: Greek short-term debt suddenly spikes to 21%!

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Filed under: Etc.

If you’re moving out of state, one of the most popular ways to get your stuff to your new home is a U-Haul truck or trailer. This gives the rental company a unique perspective on where people are migrating to, and the company shares this information with the rest of us with its annual U-Haul National Migration Trend Report. The report for 2009 reflects 1 million one-way truck transactions across the country to show which states are gaining the most residences.

According to U-Haul, the state with at least 20,000 families moving that saw the most growth was, somewhat surprisingly, Kentucky. The Blue Grass State managed to bring in 5.76 percent more families than it lost in 2009. Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Illinois round out the top five.

Among the states with 5,000 to 20,000 moves, Vermont had the highest percentage of growth with 16.67 percent more families coming than going. Vermont took the top spot among states with fewer than 20,000 moves after two straight years of Maine at the top. Hit the jump to read over the U-Haul press release, which includes the top 10 move destinations among states with at least 20,000 relocations and the top eight among states with fewer than 20,000 interstate moves.

[Source: U-Haul]

Continue reading U-Haul tracking data suggests more families migrating to Kentucky, Vermont than other states

U-Haul tracking data suggests more families migrating to Kentucky, Vermont than other states originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few months back, when I read Chapter 7 of the latest NSF Science and Engineering Indicators report (PDF), I noticed that the standard section detailing Americans’ dismal views about evolution and the Big Bang was missing. But I wasn’t sure what to make of that fact, so I shrugged and moved on. But now, Science magazine has investigated, and in turns out a lot of folks are extremely upset at this omission. That includes the National Center for Science Education and even the White House. There are charges of a whitewash–that these data were cut precisely because evolution and the Big Bang are the subjects where Americans appear the most “scientifically illiterate” in comparison with citizens from other countries:
The deleted text, obtained by ScienceInsider, does not differ radically from what has appeared in previous Indicators. The section, which was part of the unedited chapter on public attitudes toward science and technology, notes that 45% of Americans in 2008 answered true to the statement, “Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals.” The figure is similar to previous years and much lower than in Japan (78%), Europe (70%), China (69%), and South Korea (64%). The same …

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) is scheduled to announce his retirement today, according to multiple media outlets. His decision complicates Democratic efforts to hold his competitive 1st District seat, which encompasses northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Stupak is reportedly scheduled to make the official announcement during a 12:30 p.m. news conference at Northern Michigan University.

The anti-abortion Democrat had recently faced criticism for voting in support of the president’s health care reform plan.

Here are the first pics of the Audi A3 facelift in the sportback version. The A3 restyling will occur across the whole range, including the three-door model, the A3 cabriolet and the S3 versions. On the latter, a new 1.2-litre TFSI version with 105 hp and 175 Nm will debut, which replaces the old 1.6-litre aspirated engine with 102 hp. This new entry level version has an average ful consumption of about 5.5 litres per 100 km, thanks to the Start&Stop system.

The Audi A3 facelift is both inside and out, with a single frame front grille and chrome air intakes. The rear vision mirrors have been redesigned and the three-door version gets some new elements at the rear. New body tints and alloy wheels for the Ambition kit are available, while on the inside we get new aluminium surfaces and a sports steering wheel in leather.

The Audi A3 engine range will include most of the fuel and diesel options in the Audi line-up, including the 1.4 TFSI with 125 hp, the 1.8-litre TFSI with 160 hp and the 2.0-litre TFSI with 200 hp. The latter also comes in a 265 hp version for the S3 range. The other engines available are the 1.6 TDI with 90 or 105 hp, the 2.0-litre TDI with 140 or 170 hp and the 1.6 TDIe with a mere 3.8 l/100 km of fuel consumption and 99 g/km of CO2 emissions. The Audi A3 facelift will be available on the market from summer this year.

Audi A3 Sportback facelift

Did you hit the raffle, score big at the casinos or win a car from your church raffle last year? If you did, you received a Form W-2G reporting your winnings — and so did the IRS.

Gambling winnings are taxable — reported on Line 21 of Form 1040. All is not lost. You can deduct your gambling losses, up to the extent of the winnings, but only if you itemize on Schedule A. If you report $5,000 in winnings, you can deduct $5,000 in losses as a miscellaneous expense. Gambling losses are deductible in full, and are not subject to the 2% of AGI limitation.

Losses from any type of wagering transaction can be deducted against winnings. If you win at the slots, your deduction is not limited to losses from slot machine play. You can deduct losses from the lottery, 50-50s, bingo, casino table games, charity raffles, horse racing, keno, etc., up to the amount of your total winnings. Keep your losing lottery, raffle and racetrack tickets for the year, and keep track of slot activity by using a player’s card. But make sure the losing racetrack tickets in your collection don’t have footprints on them.

Winnings from a “no purchase necessary” sweepstakes or contest are not gambling winnings. If you win the Publishers’ Clearing House Sweepstakes or a trip to Club Med as the 10th caller to a radio station, you must report the winnings as income, but cannot deduct gambling losses against this income.

— Robert D. Flach

Consumerist has teamed up with MainStreet.com to bring you tax tips every day between now and April 15th. This frees up Tax Cat to do more important things — like trying to claim hairball meds and catnip as business expenses.

Looking for more deductions? You’ll find tons at MainStreet.com.

More from MainStreet.com:

• The Highest Taxes in the World
• The Craziest Tax Deductions Ever
• The Best Birthday Freebies

As the Canadian dollar bounces around near parity with the U.S. dollar, Canadian companies are now threatened by the prospect of cheap American products and services gouging their competitiveness.

The Globe and Mail:

A leading Canadian think tank is warning Canadian firms they are putting their long-term futures in peril if they ignore the dollar’s long-term rise.

The Conference Board of Canada says Canadian firms risk losing their international competitiveness if they do nothing to counter its rise.

The U.S. dollar just weakened from 1.25 Canadian to ~1.0 in about a year. Canadian productivity gains will have a hard time keeping up.

This is an example of how it’s nearly impossible to know what is the best value for the dollar, for America. If Canadian business wants a stronger dollar right now, then is a strong dollar good for the U.S.?

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by Julian Ku

I don’t know a lot about CEDAW, the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, but I know that lots of groups on both sides think the treaty is really important. For instance, in this post, a critic of CEDAW quotes a proponent of CEDAW, Janet Benshoof,  for the view that:

“[W]ere the United States (US) to ratify CEDAW, it would bring about a “radical transformation of American law,” which would include overturning any abortion restrictions in domestic laws or those covering foreign activities. Further, Benshoof asserted that CEDAW doesn’t allow for any defense based on custom or religion, and that it applies to all private conduct.

I guess my (admittedly not expert) reading doesn’t see where the big transformation is.  Not to mention the treaty is almost certainly non-self-executing.  But this debate may eventually come back to us when (or if) the Obama Administration makes a final push for CEDAW (although that will probably not be until Obama’s second term, if there is a second term).

(This is a guest post by Michael White, editor of newobservations.net and a mortgage broker.)

The New Observations quarterly forecast of property values estimates a loss in values this year of 13 percent – a slight uptick from the 12% loss forecast at the beginning of the year.

The average of four major nationwide indexes measuring prices also continues to suggest we hover right around a middle point of the total loss expected. Our current loss by the average of four indexes from the peak in 2006/2007 is 20 percent. The total loss forecast by the blend of indexes is 33 percent.

The losses for this year projected in the four indexes vary widely and range between 3 percent and 24 percent. The indexes predicting large losses this year are biased by quicker and deeper losses which they registered following the peak. The variance between the indexes is demonstrated by a tally of current losses: It is only nine percent according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), but it is 30 percent at Case Shiller.

A chart of all four data sets follows.

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There is an oasis of tranquil row houses amid Bronx pre foreclosure homes, old low-income housing and broken industrial buildings in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx.

This cluster of around 40 two-story semidetached row homes along Manida Street were built around the 1900s, but they are still showing the endurance typically seen in structures lovingly built at the turn of the century. With several of them beautifully preserved or restored, they still show the Flemish architectural style prevalent during the time German families dominated the Bronx neighborhoods.

The owners of the row houses had always known that their homes are very special, so many of them tried their best to keep them. Some of them now are even working with city preservation advocates to have the row houses declared as historic buildings and acquire landmark status.

One of the residents is Cybeale Ross who bought her home for $16,500 in 1958 and has preserved the French doors, high ceilings, bay windows, stained-glass skylight and Gothic arches. She related that she never thought of selling her home. Even during the time Bronx was burning, she refused to leave.

Through the years, the historic row houses endured developments that came their way, whether devastating or beneficial, but the emergence of Bronx pre foreclosure homes and other types of foreclosures in Bronx affected them in a significant way.

While the prices of the Manida homes shot up to $533,000 during the peak of the housing market in 2008, now the prices have gone down to $370,000 as nearby homes and buildings enter listings of mortgage and government tax foreclosures.

Some owners have made some interior changes, including those who have bought their homes over the past five years. Others who have made changes in the past have decided to restore the original look that featured French doors, upstairs skylights and back patios.

According to Bronx borough historian Lloyd Ultan, the houses were built on subdivided farmland around 1900, the time suburbs were being developed to reduce congestion within New York City. The dominant residents then were of German ancestry, so it is not surprising that the Manida row houses exhibit Flemish architecture.

Ultan said that the Manida row houses show that there are treasures in areas most New Yorkers think are devastated by Bronx pre foreclosure homes. He added that the Manida homes have good reasons for applying for landmark status.

Founded in 1999 by the Yerli brothers, Crytek entered the UK market ten years later and since then has set-up shop at their Berlin HQ, Budapest, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and even in Seoul, Korea. They’re particularly known for

In another world, the Pre would be available on more than Sprint and Verizon, Palm would’ve made $22 million last quarter, and their ads would’ve actually made you want one of their phones. Oh, and Google would own Palm. [Fortune] More »

Remember Wi-Lan? The failed Canadian company reinvented itself as a patent nuisance, claiming that WiFi violated its patents, leading to it suing a bunch of companies all at once. That strategy seems to be working, so now its claiming that Bluetooth also violates Wi-Lan patents and has sued another 19 companies for infringement. The list includes Apple, Dell, Intel, HP and others. And, of course, the lawsuit was filed in East Texas — and Wi-Lan is claiming willful infringement, demanding treble damages. Same story, different day.

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