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4 in 5 users removing private information from social media apps globally

The Internet consumers are becoming more aware of their personal data and 82 per cent users have tried to remove private information from websites or social media channels, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.




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View: China's big data advantage isn't enough

To believe that China will have a significant advantage due to its population size requires us to believe that each additional user adds as much to an informational ecosystem as the first one.




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Aarogya Setu app must for private sector workers

Privacy activists said a diverse group of organisations and individuals had endorsed a representation to the Prime Minister's Office and various central government ministries opposing the mandatory use of Aarogya Setu.




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Digital rights group moves IT panel on data privacy in Aarogya Setu app

IIF urged that the hearing should specially involve medical health professionals, academics from IITs and digital rights and public policy experts to provide inputs.




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How all–in migration to public cloud accelerated digital innovation at Tata Global Beverages

TGBL has transitioned its complete infrastructure landscape on public cloud to enable digital transformation across our business. It translated into benefits like infrastructure flexibility and elasticity and what’s more helped TGBL realize 15% reduction in infrastructure hosting and managed services cost.




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Biswabrata Chakravorty, CIO, IndusInd Bank, pioneers innovative video, gesture banking

In conversation with ETCIO, Biswabrata Chakravorty, CIO, IndusInd bank shares how innovative and cutting-edge modes of banking such as video, gesture, and Whatsapp are all adding to customer experience.




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Galvanizing the new age of IT with AI and hybrid cloud

With the emerging synergy between hybrid cloud and AI, we will witness tremendous innovation and business value in the enterprise IT world.




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Unlocking the value of data

Data is the lifeblood of any business looking to thrive and excel today. All organisations, from the bakery down the street to the banks at the centre of the city’s financial district are somewhere on the journey to unlocking the value of that data. Collectively, there is a massive amount of data constantly being used, stored, and processed.




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Value-driven Indian firms to sustain as pandemic impact to last till early 2021

As Indian firms realign their focus on revenue growth, they need to leverage customer and market behaviour to place their bets on long-term, sustainable growth, a new report said.




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Digital rights group moves IT panel on data privacy in Aarogya Setu app

IIF urged that the hearing should specially involve medical health professionals, academics from IITs and digital rights and public policy experts to provide inputs.




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Amazon Web Services launches 3rd availability zone in Mumbai

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Cloud arm of retail giant Amazon has announced the third availability zone in its Mumbai Cloud Region.




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How DBS Bank India impacts various aspects of banking through technology

DBS Bank is leveraging technology to reduce man hours, enhance the customer journey, automate processes and open new revenue streams.




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Enabling business outcomes at the speed of innovation

To help IT leaders find the right balance between IT infrastructure and right workload, ETCIO.com, in association with Dell Technologies and AMD, organised two-city panel discussions for top CIOs.




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Valuing nature protects biodiversity and reaps financial rewards

A new global study on the economics of ecosystem services and biodiversity loss suggests that governments can achieve more resilient economies and receive higher rates of return on their public investment strategies when they recognise and target the value of ecosystem services.




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Updating the monetary value of biodiversity

New research has updated a major report on the monetary value of biodiversity. The second EU-funded Cost of Policy Inaction (COPI II) report has expanded the existing valuation database to include more regions, more ecosystems and more information on the services they provide and their economic values. The new data could be used to calculate a more accurate figure for the global value of biodiversity and ecosystem services.




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Disused quarries could provide valuable habitat if restored naturally

Old mining sites, such as quarries or pits, could provide refuges for endangered species, according to new research from the Czech Republic. Benefits are greater if the sites are allowed to recover naturally rather than being artificially restored with the use of topsoil, ground-levelling and seed planting.




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Evaluating biodiversity and ecosystem services in France

A report commissioned by the French Government has calculated reference values for French ecosystems. These range from ???600 per hectare/per year for pastureland to ???2000 per hectare/per year for some types of forest. The methods used to calculate these values were carefully analysed.




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Integrating biodiversity conservation into local land use planning

New research indicates that successful integration of conservation into local land-use planning needs a combination of regulatory measures and community values. This could be encouraged by better education on conservation, and greater collaboration between neighbouring geographical areas.




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How effective are tradable permits for biodiversity conservation?

Tradable permits have been proposed as a flexible instrument to integrate biodiversity conservation and economic development. New research indicates that permits are not a universal solution, but do have potential in certain economic and ecological situations.




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Improving cost-effectiveness of Natura 2000 conservation

An analysis of conservation management strategies in the EU identifies a number of options for increasing the cost-effectiveness of conservation within the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. More time and money should be given to implementing conservation measures than planning them and governments should guarantee conservation funding over longer terms, say the researchers.




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Tailor agricultural policies to meet local conservation concerns

Grassland bird species of European conservation concern are potentially threatened by changes in land use in the Iberian cereal-steppes. However, a recent study suggests not all bird species respond in the same way to similar management guidelines and agri-environmental schemes need to be adjusted to local conditions.




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Scaling up ecosystem valuations for high level policymaking

A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report analyses approaches to estimating the value of ecosystem services on a large scale. The report provides suggestions for combining and scaling up data from individual, local studies to generate European or global valuations of ecosystems.




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Using game theory to predict conservation conflicts

'Game theory' is a mathematical framework that aims to predict the performance of individuals or groups by considering the interaction between them. New research has applied game theory to three different cases of biodiversity conservation to predict conflict and offer broad suggestions for overcoming disagreements.




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Conservation Systems improve resilience of biodiversity policy

Activists and policy makers are often considered to be separate influences on environmental issues. A new review suggests that the key to long-term conservation policy could lie in the creation of 'Conservation Systems'. These are a collective of activists, organisations and policy makers which could make biodiversity conservation efforts more resilient to major external changes, such as economic crises, change in government or conflict.




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New method estimates time lag in spread of invasive species

Researchers have developed a new scientific method to estimate the time lag between the introduction of an alien species and its extensive spread. For New Zealand weed species, the study estimated that the average lag was around 20-30 years. Although this may seem to be a long time, seemingly rare but fast-spreading species could become tomorrow's harmful weeds.




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Biodiversity in decline, but conservation efforts making a difference

One-fifth of the world's mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish are threatened with extinction, according to a recent report. The study notes that there have been many conservation success stories, but far greater long-term resources are needed to improve the outlook for the world's threatened vertebrate species.




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Valuing biodiversity through multi-criteria analysis

Social and economic aspects should be considered alongside environmental issues when valuing benefits provided by ecosystems and biodiversity. A recently published study outlines the use of multi-criteria assessment methods for valuation that simultaneously take into account a wide variety of economic, social and environmental decision criteria.




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Current economic activity leaves an alien species 'invasion debt'

Past economic activity is more likely to explain the current pattern of biological invasions across Europe than recent human activities, according to a new study. It can take several decades before a newly introduced species becomes established and spreads, which may mean that recent invasions caused by current economic activities could create an 'invasion debt' for future generations.




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Ecosystem Service valuation must use stakeholder knowledge

A recent analysis highlights the difference between the academic concept and the practical concept of ecosystem services. It suggests that academic science aims to discover and apply general and timeless concepts to measure ecosystem services, whereas in practice, stakeholders' valuations of ecosystem services vary with place and time.




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Public priorities for conservation revealed in European survey

Conservation efforts should focus on species that have recently declined in number, are harmless or are perceived as high value, according to a European public survey. Participants also felt that disappearing habitats should be targeted for protection. The results suggest that, by choosing different criteria that more closely match the public's values and criteria, conservationists could improve public support for their work.




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Little Bustard: case study for modelling conservation costs

A new model, named OUTOPIE could help design more effective agri-environmental schemes. The model links the farm, field and landscape levels to allow a more accurate assessment of the costs of enrolling specific fields in conservation schemes. Using the model, the researchers were able to assess the cost-effectiveness of different policies for the conservation of the Little Bustard bird (Tetrax tetrax) in France.




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A new decision-making tool for conservation managers

A tool to help conservation managers prioritise their actions to protect wildlife has been developed. The tool, based on a mathematical model, can provide guidance on conserving endangered species as well as dealing with pests and diseases. It may help conservation managers understand how best to use their limited resources.




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Otters' conservation reveals need to adapt to climate change

There is a need for conservation strategies to consider the changing factors that threaten endangered species, such as climate change. Focusing on the European otter, new research has indicated that climate change will change this important freshwater species' distribution, which may mean that existing conservation areas no longer offer protection.




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More rigorous studies needed to evaluate impact of invasive birds

Conservation researchers have warned against acting on the findings of a previous study that argued for the eradication of several invasive birds, including the Canada goose and sacred ibis, in Europe. They suggest the results are based on anecdotal rather than scientific evidence, and that detailed feasibility studies are needed before such management decisions are made.




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Successful conservation policy needs monitoring and knowledge

New research has explored how well different governance systems can achieve desirable conservation outcomes. Results confirmed the importance of adaptive management, which relies on regular monitoring to enable 'learning through doing' to refine actions, and suggested that leadership using expert knowledge was also significant in successful governance.




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Habitat quality is better than quantity for species survival

A new study suggests that improving the quality of existing wildlife habitat is more important than creating new habitat, when attempting to counteract the negative effects of climate change on species survival. This suggests that resources would be better directed towards habitat rehabilitation and reforestation than building new habitat features.




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Positive link between High Nature Value farmland and bird biodiversity

High Nature Value (HNV) farmland is agricultural land that supports biodiversity and can be identified by its environmentally sound farming practices. New research on bird biodiversity on French HNV farmland has concluded that conservation of HNV farmland is important as well as conserving areas that were previously HNV and have undergone recent agricultural intensification.




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Less 'charismatic' species should not be forgotten in conservation

Land-dwelling and charismatic animals, such as birds and mammals, receive greater attention in conservation research than other species. How does this bias affect those that are not so well known or loved? A new study suggests that African species in freshwater habitats may suffer as a result.




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The conservation effects of Chernobyl 25 years on

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster is still having an impact on local biodiversity more than 25 years after the event, according to a new study. Researchers in France and the US suggest that rare bird species have been particularly affected by the accident and that genetic changes in plants and animals caused by radiation are being passed down the generations.




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Invasive alien plants threaten Antarctic biodiversity

According to new research, several areas of the Antarctic are at considerable risk from the establishment of 'alien' plants accidentally carried by visitors to the region. The findings demonstrate that invasive species pose risks even in remote areas and that these risks are likely to increase as the climate changes.




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Lyme disease ticks more prevalent in deciduous forests

Ticks that are able to transmit Lyme disease are more abundant in deciduous oak forests than pine forests, according to a study conducted in Belgium, which provides an example of how landscape can influence human health. To help prevent tick attacks and the incidence of Lyme disease, the researchers suggest increased efforts are needed to raise public awareness of control measures, such as protective clothing and repellants.




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Conservation goals must incorporate different cultural views

Conservation policy needs to take account of diverse cultural views about the value of different species, according to the results of a new study. Widely differing views of the relative importance of marine species ??? from algae to mammals ??? emerged when the researchers surveyed people across Europe.




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The qualities of an integrated biodiversity observation system

There is a recognised need for a more comprehensive system to observe, track and compare biodiversity across the world. Three years ago a global network was established to help reach this goal. It has identified the necessary characteristics for such an integrated system and possible ways in which integration can occur.




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The scope of ecotourism to finance national park conservation

How can ecotourism be managed so that tourists' visits are compatible with the protection of species and their habitats? In a new study, researchers developed a tool to calculate the trade-off between tourism and the protection of an endangered bird in an Austrian national park, in order to optimise conservation and visitor management.




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Addressing the mismatches of scale in biodiversity conservation

Biodiversity experts working in governance and science have called for greater integration of policy sectors, geographical levels and academic disciplines, in a stakeholder workshop. This would help ensure policy decisions realistically reflect complex relationships between ecological and governance processes in order to meet future biodiversity targets.




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Invasive alien slug could spread further with climate change

A recent study sheds light on why some alien species are more likely to become invasive than others. The research in Switzerland found that the alien Spanish slug is better able to survive under changing environmental conditions than the native Black slug, thanks to its robust 'Jack-of-all-trades' nature.




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New barrier to stop invasive crayfish

New barriers have been developed to prevent invasive American signal crayfish from moving upstream and colonising important European crayfish habitat. The barriers, designed to stop crayfish but allow fish to pass, have been found to be effective where water flow rates are sufficiently high.




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A new method for evaluating threats to soil biodiversity

Little is known about the organisms that live within soil, although they play a vital role in the biological processes that support life on Earth. In a recent study, researchers calculated the relative risk of pressures caused by human activity on soil biodiversity in the EU, showing that intensive land use has the greatest impact.




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Conservation efforts may be paying off for wild plants and insect pollinators

Since the 1990s, rates of biodiversity loss of wild plants and their insect pollinators have slowed down in north-west Europe, according to a recent study. It is likely that conservation activities, such as agri-environmental schemes, have contributed to this improving situation.




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Ash dieback: an overview of this conservation challenge

The common ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) is threatened by an invasive fungal disease, which is spreading throughout Europe. Scientists have recently reviewed and presented previous research into the disease which could help us understand how to prevent the spread of the fungus and develop forest conservation strategies.