"Firms don't have a good measure of R&D effectiveness or what I call, Firm IQ," says Anne Marie Knott, associate professor of strategy at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. Knott's business research focuses on how to measure a firm's IQ and with a new National Science Foundation grant in hand, she's closer to figuring out what makes smart firms tick. Knott has received a grant from the NSF for a study to identify the characteristics of firms with highly productive R&D (high IQ) versus those with less productive R&D (low IQ). During the pilot ...

Podere Vignola offers short-term apartments in Florence and the Tuscan countryside. Four apartments are positioned in a romantic agritourism in Chianti, just 15 minutes from the Florence city center, and another apartment is located in the historical center of Florence, just a few steps from the Uffizi gallery. You can read further information by visiting www.Poderevignola.com, the new website of the company that owns the apartments. The website is shared in two different sections: the area devoted to the agritourism in Florence and its vacation apartments and the area ...

Every April, our collective stress level rises as we scramble to meet our tax deadlines. Particularly tricky federal tax issues come up when an employee either receives money from a lawsuit settlement with his or her employer, or severance pay upon leaving a job. In most situations both are taxable as income, but subtleties in the law create some exceptions. Taxation of Settlements Generally A settlement is an agreement reached between parties to a lawsuit. Usually the plaintiff receives money damages to compensate for his or her injury, and in exchange agrees to ...

Imagine that you were in a bad car crash. Not only was there extensive property damage to your vehicle, but you also suffered severe injuries and have thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills to prove it. In an attempt to recoup your losses from the insurance company of the driver who hit you, you file a personal injury lawsuit. While there is some question about whether the other driver is 100% at fault, you are confident that he is at least partially responsible for your losses. The court, however, disagrees and finds you shared fault - 10% of it - for causing ...

High-profile, deadly and previously undisclosed side-effects of mass-marketed prescription medications like Vioxx and Avandia have consumer watchdog groups, medical professionals and the public at large wondering if the Food and Drug Administration can stem the tide of "bad medicine." Most people think of the FDA as the gatekeepers of our country's food and medical supplies - there to prevent any harm from befalling us, responsible for making sure that only the highest quality products hit the marketplace. Unfortunately, in its quest to be better, the FDA may have hindered ...

Today cyclists are a familiar sight on Florida's streets, but it has only been in the last generation or so (since the 1970s) that cycling among adults has really taken off. Before that, cycling was generally regarded as a children's pursuit. While many Florida roads have had bike lanes added to them, in many cases it's not a perfect fit, and on other roads adding bike lanes has proved difficult due to traffic patterns, natural and man-made obstacles, and expense. In March of 2010, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a major policy change, saying that it was ...

Federal officials are not keeping secret their escalated efforts to prosecute financial fraud crimes involving U.S. government funds as well as U.S. government-backed or government-insured funds. Prior to the economic turbulence of the past few years, civil and criminal actions against firms suspected of defrauding government agencies or their proxies were mostly separate matters. But FBI investigators and Department of Justice prosecutors have announced their intention to investigate alleged wrongdoing involving federal funds, and individual criminal indictments have become ...

Medical malpractice claims against plastic surgeons can involve a variety of procedures. Patients who undergo breast implants, breast reduction, liposuction or facelifts may have to consider legal action if the medical professional they trusted caused severe scarring, infection, disease, malformation, tissue damage or other unexpected and often unexplained results. People who sought vast improvements in their personal appearance may face a future of embarrassment, pain, discomfort, medical complications and corrective surgeries. But imagine the combined effect of undergoing ...

Overwhelming debt puts plenty of pressure on borrowers who must endure constant creditor harassment while they choose which obligations to face during difficult financial times. But that is a minor nuisance compared to spending a night or two in jail. The practice of locking up debtors who fail to respond to legal notices is not practiced everywhere, but reports from communities across the country reveal that debt collection companies have enlisted local authorities to use the full force of the law in enforcing warrants for even minor debt. Formal debtor's prisons were ...

President Obama's July signing of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act brings increased oversight to an industry that many feel recklessly brought about "The Great Recession" and sent the economy into a tailspin. The stated aims of the new law include improving transparency and accountability in the financial system, ending bailouts by American taxpayers, putting an end to the idea that any institution is "too big to fail," and protecting consumers from improper financial services practices. One important strategy is the extension of incentives ...

One little known side effect of the prolonged recession is a rise in the number of applications for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In an average year, the Social Security Administration considers 2.5 million applications for disability benefits. But cases were up by 20 percent over the past year and are likely to increase to well over 3 million in the coming year, according to SSA chief actuary Stephen Goss. One obvious reason is that workers who have endured disabilities may decide to seek benefits after losing a ...

This scene is all too common on North Carolina highways and back roads: on a recent July night near the end of a long drive, a Georgia trucker hauling over 20 tons of a highly combustible chemical overturned on a sharp mountain curve. He had followed GPS commands onto a rural gravel road between Lenoir and Banner Elk, where he planned to sleep for the night before delivering his load the next day. Perhaps the only uncommon thing about this accident is that no other vehicles were involved, and nobody was severely injured or killed. Trucking accidents like this happen ...

Hampton Inn Gaffney Hotel offers convenient lodging to students and parents touring Limestone College or attending their upcoming fall semester orientation session. Orientation is scheduled from Friday, August 20 through Saturday, August 21, 2010. The local school, which is a 4 year liberal arts college, is only a few miles from this Gaffney South Carolina hotel. Limestone College, a Christian, non-denominational college, was established in 1845 as the first women's college in South Carolina. In the late 1960s Limestone became coeducational. Nine of the campus buildings ...

Super 8 Monroe North Carolina Hotel offers convenient and affordable accommodations for drivers and their passengers who will be attending the Downtown Monroe Antique - Muscle Car Cruise-In. The popular event is held from now through October on the second Friday of each month. Located in the historic downtown district on Main St., the next Cruise-In will be August 13, 2010 from 6:00 - 9:00pm. Monroe, NC is a quaint suburb of Charlotte, NC. The town is also close to the South Carolina border. Monroe's downtown area features local restaurants and merchants which will ...

Superbreak, the short break specialist has reported a surge in airport hotel sales so far this summer, through both the trade and direct arms of the business. The tour operator has seen growth of 17% in bed night sales across the 29 UK airport hotels in its portfolio. As budget-minded customers take advantage of the great deals available, its parking and hotel packages that have been particularly successful. A night in a hotel plus parking is often available for less than the price of a car park alone. Superbreak has aimed to be flexible as possible for customers, ...

Bestweddingaway has announced the launch of its new UK website which is designed to assist couples who are looking to have their wedding in Italy. Bestweddingaway is a specialist in organising weddings in Italy and the new site forms part of agency's continuing plans to introduce highly innovative services to the sector, to make it easier for couples to plan their ideal day. According to Mintel, one in six UK weddings now take place abroad. This is a 43% increase since 2003 and is constantly growing. It is no surprise that by 2013 it is predicted that the destination ...

GHI Builder.com has been providing secondary incomes for people in the USA and UK for over a year now and it has just launched the latest GHI Builder home business asset which is a $16,000 website complete with full Content Management System. The new website is being included with all new sign ups and has been specifically built for aiding fast income generation from home and what's more you can keep the website either to use with GHI or for your own business purposes - it's yours. You Get to Own a $16,000 Website Designed and built for GHI Builder at a cost of $16,000 ...

This week a new start-up entered an already crowded field of incorporation and business filing services. This one, called MyUSAcorporation.com, is special, however. After more than a year in development, MyUSAcorporation's site boasts a sleek design, simple and user-friendly forms, extensive content and a unique user account environment. But perhaps the site's biggest draw is its low prices. For example, MyUSAcorporation promises to form your Delaware LLC for over 40% cheaper than LegalZoom.com, the most popular company in the industry. MyUSAcorporation charges only ...

Don't miss this year's premiere amateur bass fishing tournament, the 2010 Lake of the Ozarks Big Bass Bash, which will be held on October 2nd and 3rd. Over 160 guaranteed places will be paid out totaling more than $160,000 in cash, including $50,000 to the heaviest bass of the weekend. The Big Bass Bash is for amateurs only. Its unique format allows the weekend angler a chance to win like the professionals. Unlike most fishing tournaments which have a team arrangement where prizes are based on total weight, the Big Bass Bash format is distinctive in that it only takes ...

Mr. Paul Chehade, from May 3rd, 2010, has been working on the serious problem to do with the pollution in our coasts due to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico this year. Since May, Mr. Chehade has been sending letters to Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States and to all the Governors, District Attorneys and EPA Directors in the states involved. Mr. Chehade believes that we cannot continue waiting for the bureaucratic process as our habitat and economy are destroyed. Consequently, together with a group of American and European entrepreneurs, Mr. Chehade has ...

The App, which was first introduced three weeks ago, could initially be downloaded for free on the iPad. "Mobile access of the Fund Platform via the iPhone furthers deVere's goal to provide highly convenient and accessible services to our clients," said Nigel Green, CEO of the deVere Group. "This is the latest example of continued innovation our company prides itself on." The deVere Platform App offers instant access to over 5,000 funds from some of the world's leading fund houses. It allows users to keep up to date with their investments, current market trends, ...

Samantha Sarcinella, future wife of NASCAR Driver Kyle Busch, has announced today that she will be pursuing her modeling and acting career full time. Samantha began her career as a teenager earning impressive credits as: a promotional model for Sprint, Allstate, Miller Lite, Jim Beam, and Kellogg; a runway model for Harley Davidson; and a swimsuit model in the hit movie, Batman Begins. Samantha has always believed that an education lasts longer than good looks. This mentality helped her earn a B.S. in psychology from Purdue University and she is now pursuing her master's ...

Ciel Bleu is a team of two professional and experienced fashion wedding photographers ( http://www.cielbleuphoto.com ) who pride in their ingrained talent for capturing the most breathtaking moments of human emotions into fashion wedding photography. One of them is an experienced journalistic and travel photographer while the other has been shooting fashion, beauty and lifestyle photography for many years. With a fine blend of both these talents they bring to you an exceptional company of well-trained photographic eyes that gives you unforgettable moments of your wedding ...

Goodwill Industries executive, Kim Zimmer will appear on BlogTalkRadio's My Crew Magazine's (http://blogtalkradio.com/My-Crew-Magazine) 2nd Annual Back To School Radio Show with host Kim Kelly, Editor-In-Chief of My Crew Magazine on Thursday, August 12, 2010, at 7 pm, Pacific, and 10 pm Eastern. The exclusive interview will feature Goodwill Industries back to school ideas, programs, and online shopping that fits the budget conscious parent. In addition, Zimmer will talk about projects and other services that Goodwill Industries provides for our communities. The show ...

Urbanedge - leading Melbourne home builders that continue to deliver affordable and stylish alternatives to standard housing, has offered a complete house and land package loan solution in 3 simple steps. At Urbanedge, getting a loan for purchasing new home and land packages has been simplified into 3 simple steps. The steps include completing the application with an Urbanedge Home Finance Manager, signing the lender contracts and other Mortgage documents and receiving authority for building a home or buying a house and land package. For ordinary house and land packages ...