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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 1 declined, 2 accepted (3 total, 66.67% accepted)

Idle

Submission + - Berkeley Library RFP asks for Nuclear Free vendor (berkeley.ca.us)

beefsprocket writes: RFID tags are not new to libraries. Neither is 3M as one of the larger providers of the Checkpoint circulation and self-checkout system. What is new is a library discarding their current working system used for over 500,000 items because the vendor refuses to submit a required Nuclear Free Disclosure Form. The specific form is required for anyone wishing to do business with the City of Berkeley per the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act of 1986. This reverses a 2008 exemption that the Library applied for to be able to work with 3M. From the RFP which is available here (pdf only):

"The Berkeley Public Library is seeking a vendor to provide services, software and hardware related to the provision of a self-check technology system, staff assisted circulation functions (check-in and check-out), materials security and automated materials handling system to be implemented at all five locations.

Vendors are invited to submit a proposal for one or more of these services, software and equipment or a complete system that will replace the current Checkpoint/3M library system.

In 2008, 3M Library Systems became the exclusive reseller and maintenance provider for the CheckPoint — Intelligent Library System. Because 3M will not submit the required City of Berkeley — Nuclear Free Disclosure Form, the Library must seek an alternate vendor who is compliant with all City of Berkeley contract requirements. The Library has received a 2-year waiver from the City of Berkeley to continue working with 3M while seeking an alternative. In 2009, the Library began exploring options for continuing to maintain the existing system with a different vendor, but has not found this to be a viable option."

Medicine

Submission + - Daydreaming is really complex problem solving

beefsprocket writes: ScienceDaily reports that "A new University of British Columbia study finds that our brains are much more active when we daydream than previously thought. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that activity in numerous brain regions increases when our minds wander. It also finds that brain areas associated with complex problem-solving — previously thought to go dormant when we daydream — are in fact highly active during these episodes. "Mind wandering is typically associated with negative things like laziness or inattentiveness," says lead author, Prof. Kalina Christoff, UBC Dept. of Psychology. "But this study shows our brains are very active when we daydream — much more active than when we focus on routine tasks."

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