Welcome to our new website which we hope is a growing resource of Thought Leadership, information, current events and news, with an emphasis on Business and People Improvement within the Legal, Commercial and Financial Services Sectors, based on the consultancy and development projects we undertake here at Trafalgar - The People Business.
25 June, 2012
Crowe Clark Whitehill 2012 Survey
The Crowe Clark Whitehill 2012 Solicitors' Benchmarking Survey opens on the 19th June. See how your firm performs against competitors and learn more about the overall market performance. Register you interest in the survey at ppg-survey@crowecw.co.uk or join their LinkedIn group – Crowe Clark Whitehill Professional Practices Forum
19 June, 2012
Seeing into the Future:
With Governments, Banks and others endeavouring to work out how to set the path for the future, Fast Futures undertake research, facilitate workshops and Rohit Talwar (CEO) also presents at Executive Retreats or Awaydays to stimulate and expand thinking. Some people wait to see what the future holds, others make their futures by finding out what the trends are, and so prepare themselves. Napoleon said that attacking is the greatest form of defense. Let us know what you think about these reports and if you would like to have a meeting with Rohit.
14 June, 2012
A shock to the System? The new wonder Volt for High Performing Teams!
Every exhausted lawyer, banker, accountant, doctor or other professional now needs to take note: using a 9 volt battery charger, you can jolt yourself into high performance. No, this is not fantasy, you need no drugs, alcohol or other substances – just a quick plug into the electricity – and you are an all singing , all dancing high performer.
This could be the break through Managing Partners and Directors have been waiting for – so queue up here to buy this great little gadget. Oops check out point 2 – they are not quite sure, yet, just what this does to you longer term – but hey, it could be fun finding out – and if you are over 55 years old, maybe you have your day??
The Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (referred to by Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Futures, June 2012)
1. "In a society where both students and their professors take stimulant medications to meet their academic expectations, the potential pressure for the use of cognitive enhancing technologies of all types is very real“ says Roy Hamilton, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who believes we are seeing a new trend towards cosmetic neuroscience
2. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is one way to artificially enhance brain function and ability – and has a number of amateur fans who experiment at home DIY style, sometimes to their detriment
3. Essentially, tDCS works by running 9 volts of electricity through the brain. Why or how this works precisely, is unknown
4. The mild electrical shock, which is applied to the area of the brain associated with the skill which is being undertaken at the time, is meant to depolarise the neuronal membranes in that region, making the cells more excitable and responsive to inputs. This may accelerate the formation of new neural pathways during the time that the skill is being practised.
5. Another explanation is that as certain parts of the brain are stimulated, they repress activity in the prefrontal cortex - the area used in critical thought, creating greater focus and concentration (1)
6. The results of tDCS is a rapid increase in ability of complex tasks, such as mathematical skills, languages, problem solving, attention span, memory, movement, coordination, and marksmanship, which is why the US Army is pioneering and developing tDCS. Certain methods of tDCS can improve the speed with which a marksman can detect a threat by a factor of 2.3, and cuts drone remote-pilot training time in half (1)(3)(4)
• Those that receive tDCS often reports that time has passed unduly fast and focused calm concentration, it seems that there is such intense focus by the participant that time is forgotten (1)
• Importantly, these benefits remain, and improvements in ability were still seen six months later, when subjects from an Oxford study were assessed (3)
• As this is fairly low tech, it could after further study, conceivably become widely available – and would undoubtedly spark ethical debates and concerns around who had access to the technology and what the wider implications are for society (2)
• Originally developed at the Oxford program to help patients suffering from brain injuries like stroke and learning difficulties, learning impaired adults and children may stand to benefit significantly from this technology, however, there may be significant ethical questions around the testing of this technology on those that are cognitively impaired (2)(3)
Source (1): Adee. February 2012. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328501.600-zap-your-brain-into-the-zone-fast-track-to-pure-focus.html?full=true
Source (2): Savulescu. January 2012. http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2012/01/transcranial-direct-current-stimulation-fundamental-enhancement-for-humanity/
Source (3): BBC. January 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16739645
Source (4): Gizmodo. February 2012. http://gizmodo.com/5882754/how-to-electrify-your-brain-to-be-smarter-with-a-9+volt-battery
(accessed 04/05 2012)
This could be the break through Managing Partners and Directors have been waiting for – so queue up here to buy this great little gadget. Oops check out point 2 – they are not quite sure, yet, just what this does to you longer term – but hey, it could be fun finding out – and if you are over 55 years old, maybe you have your day??
The Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (referred to by Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Futures, June 2012)
1. "In a society where both students and their professors take stimulant medications to meet their academic expectations, the potential pressure for the use of cognitive enhancing technologies of all types is very real“ says Roy Hamilton, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who believes we are seeing a new trend towards cosmetic neuroscience
2. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is one way to artificially enhance brain function and ability – and has a number of amateur fans who experiment at home DIY style, sometimes to their detriment
3. Essentially, tDCS works by running 9 volts of electricity through the brain. Why or how this works precisely, is unknown
4. The mild electrical shock, which is applied to the area of the brain associated with the skill which is being undertaken at the time, is meant to depolarise the neuronal membranes in that region, making the cells more excitable and responsive to inputs. This may accelerate the formation of new neural pathways during the time that the skill is being practised.
5. Another explanation is that as certain parts of the brain are stimulated, they repress activity in the prefrontal cortex - the area used in critical thought, creating greater focus and concentration (1)
6. The results of tDCS is a rapid increase in ability of complex tasks, such as mathematical skills, languages, problem solving, attention span, memory, movement, coordination, and marksmanship, which is why the US Army is pioneering and developing tDCS. Certain methods of tDCS can improve the speed with which a marksman can detect a threat by a factor of 2.3, and cuts drone remote-pilot training time in half (1)(3)(4)
• Those that receive tDCS often reports that time has passed unduly fast and focused calm concentration, it seems that there is such intense focus by the participant that time is forgotten (1)
• Importantly, these benefits remain, and improvements in ability were still seen six months later, when subjects from an Oxford study were assessed (3)
• As this is fairly low tech, it could after further study, conceivably become widely available – and would undoubtedly spark ethical debates and concerns around who had access to the technology and what the wider implications are for society (2)
• Originally developed at the Oxford program to help patients suffering from brain injuries like stroke and learning difficulties, learning impaired adults and children may stand to benefit significantly from this technology, however, there may be significant ethical questions around the testing of this technology on those that are cognitively impaired (2)(3)
Source (1): Adee. February 2012. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328501.600-zap-your-brain-into-the-zone-fast-track-to-pure-focus.html?full=true
Source (2): Savulescu. January 2012. http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2012/01/transcranial-direct-current-stimulation-fundamental-enhancement-for-humanity/
Source (3): BBC. January 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16739645
Source (4): Gizmodo. February 2012. http://gizmodo.com/5882754/how-to-electrify-your-brain-to-be-smarter-with-a-9+volt-battery
(accessed 04/05 2012)
12 June, 2012
SRA Approval of Partner Appointments
Fox Williams, one of our clients, is on the ball again:
A mere 22 days after the SRA first published its guidance on the pre-approval requirements for partner appointments, substantial changes have been introduced.
Prior to the changes, the SRA required firms wishing to appoint new solicitor partners to wait up to 30 days for SRA approval before doing so. Time periods for approval of Registered Foreign Lawyer, Registered European Lawyer and Exempt European Lawyer partner appointments were expected to be much longer, taking between 12 to 16 weeks and requiring a lengthy application form to be submitted with detailed supporting documentation.
For the full article, please click here.
A mere 22 days after the SRA first published its guidance on the pre-approval requirements for partner appointments, substantial changes have been introduced.
Prior to the changes, the SRA required firms wishing to appoint new solicitor partners to wait up to 30 days for SRA approval before doing so. Time periods for approval of Registered Foreign Lawyer, Registered European Lawyer and Exempt European Lawyer partner appointments were expected to be much longer, taking between 12 to 16 weeks and requiring a lengthy application form to be submitted with detailed supporting documentation.
For the full article, please click here.
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