USDA highlighted new methods of managing pests and diseases, composting and other topics of interest to the specialty crops industry that is leading to increased productivity, new technological advancements, and improved economic performance in today's agricultural sector. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan surveyed these developments and encouraged stakeholders to take their collaborative partnerships to the next level at a forum hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT).

"Today's forum affords a unique opportunity for growers and other valued members of Ohio's specialty crops community to learn first-hand about the latest research and technology transfer of interest to their industry," said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. "More broadly, today's event underscores how research strengthens the agricultural industry and supports jobs and growth in our nation's rural communities. By accelerating the transfer of this research to commercialization, we're helping private sector entrepreneurs to commercialize USDA innovations, which benefits producers and consumers alike."

In Texas, there are five health and human services (HHS) agencies -- the Department of State Health Services, the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, the Department of Aging and Disability Services, the Department of Family and Protective Services, and the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the administrative head of all five. In total, HHS employs 54,000 people and takes a bite out of 32 percent of the state’s budget.

With that many people, the agency leaves a large office space footprint. In September 2011, now-outgoing HHS Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs created a workgroup to determine whether allowing more employees to work virtually -- that is, from home or somewhere else outside the office -- could increase job efficiencies and reduce costs. Earlier this summer, the workgroup, which included supervisors of current virtual workers, returned its findings to Suehs and identified the risks, challenges and benefits for mobile workers and teleworkers.

Can you earn a healthy return on your investment and help change the world at the same time?

If you haven’t been paying attention, there are already thousands of entrepreneurs and investors betting that you can, with a multibillion-dollar market to show for it.

Technology is disrupting everything it touches, from arts to government. But with disruption comes an opportunity to innovate. And of all the places where innovation is overdue, government takes the top spot.

This episode of Revolution features Jay Nath, who serves as chief innovation officer for the City of San Francisco. Nath works with Mayor Ed Lee to embrace the city’s vast pool of technology startups and entrepreneurs in order to drive more innovation within the government.

More than half of small business owners say they don’t have enough time to do all the jobs they’ve assigned themselves. For the average small business owner, that can be between three to five roles.

It’s easy to see why one in four small business owners say they’d pay $500 for an extra hour each day. Time ranks ahead of resources, such as laptops and mobile phones, on lists of assets most valuable to a business. Mavenlink created this infographic, which explores just how little time small business owners have on their hands.

India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It also has a significant youth population. So why doesn't the country have a substantial number of entrepreneurs?

A 2011 Gallup study of 20 economic entities in Asia showed that India ranked in the bottom quartile on several important indicators of a well-functioning entrepreneurial ecosystem. Although cross-country comparisons may not be ideal because of Asia's economic, governmental, and cultural diversity, ranking in the bottom quartile across a majority of indicators does arouse major concerns.

If India is to tap the entrepreneurial talent of its people, its leaders must enact significant reforms that increase support for new businesses in the formal sector.

Singapore has produced an abundance of "wealth managers" and not enough "wealth creators."

In terms of supporting infrastructure, Singaporeans certainly are not facing the same challenges as Indonesians, for instance.

So lamented Ngiam Tong Dow, former permanent secretary of the Singapore Ministry of Finance and the prime minister's Office of the Government of Singapore. This is despite almost universal acclaim for the supportive business environment in Singapore. The World Bank has rated Singapore first out of 183 economies in its "ease of doing business" rankings and fourth for "starting a business" -- anyone can get a business going in just three days.

U.S. colleges and universities nationally are seeing increasing numbers of international students with a passion for entrepreneurship, and many of those students want to start new ventures in the United States. However, current immigration laws make it difficult – if not impossible – for these budding innovators to establish startups while in school, or to remain in the country after graduation to grow their companies and create jobs that could bolster the U.S. economy.

In the paper “Reforming Immigration Law to Allow More Foreign Student Entrepreneurs to Launch Job-Creating Ventures in the United States,” released today by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a team of law and entrepreneurship experts from the University of Missouri—Kansas City (UMKC) outline specific measures to modify U.S. immigration law in an effort to attract and encourage talented international students to launch job-creating ventures in the United States.

Starting and running a new business isn’t for everyone—but regardless of your career, there’s something to be said for the “entrepreneurial spirit.”

A little entrepreneurial zeal can give you a distinct advantage in your professional life, whether or not you think you’d ever strike out on our own. So how do you train your corporate mind to think more like a business owner? Try these five easy ways.

Get Passionate

Entrepreneurs tend to be immensely passionate about their work—and in the long-term, this is the key to career success and fulfillment in any field. So, if you’re spending most of the day dreaming about how you’d rather be doing something else, think about how you might be able to “pivot” your career. (Need help deciding if you’re on the right track? Answer these 15 questions to know for sure.)

Normally, we point at things to specify, or to emphasize, what we're talking about. But a project from several MIT researchers aims to make pointing a way to learn more about the world around you—with a special ring on your index finger and a smartphone in your pocket.

Called EyeRing, the finger-worn device allows you to point at an object, take a photo, and hear feedback about what it is you just focused on. The project is the brainchild of Pattie Maes, a professor in MIT's Media Lab who studies interfaces that let us interact with digital information in novel, intuitive ways. Initially conceived as a potential aid for the visually impaired, the EyeRing could also work as a navigation or translation aid, or help children learn to read, say the researchers involved. The group is interested in eventually turning it into a commercial product.

Everyone recognizes a great entrepreneur when they work with one, but most entrepreneurs don’t know what to look for in themselves that will drive that perception by others. In my experience, there is no magic gene involved, just simple good habits executed consistently and convincingly until everyone around you in a startup wants to follow your example.

This leading by example is easy to say, but not so easy to put into action. Most leadership gurus, including John Baldoni, have provided generic recipes, like his book from a while back, “Lead By Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results.” The points are great, but can be made even simpler and more actionable by adapting then to the world of the entrepreneur:

Not all the smart people work for your company. Henry Chesbrough explains how corporations can all benefit from open innovation. This is true both from the outside in – leveraging external ideas and technology to reduce costs and time spent in research and, more crucially, from inside out, making unused innovations more accessible to external users. To fully embrace open innovation, organizations need a change in mindsets and an acceptance that we live in a world of abundance of knowledge. It is possible to protect the original investors in research and development while still maximizing the fruits of this knowledge.

McDonald's has blanketed America with its restaurants, but opening new locations isn't the only way the fast food superpower can grow.

There's one untapped part of the U.S. market that the chain is now aiming for: the length of time between 2 A.M and 5 A.M.

Less than 1 percent of total fast food traffic comes in during the "last unconquered frontier" for quick-service restaurants, according to an NPD report cited by Burger Business.

For the first years of my business, summer slowed everything to a near halt. It seemed that so many people were taking vacations that they didn’t need much in the way of marketing. For some reason, that’s completely changed over the past few years. Summer has been busier than ever for me, and I’ll admit, I rather wish it wasn’t.

Make the Most of Your Time

If your business is a little slow this time of year, use this time productively. Consider all the projects you’ve been putting off, from organizing your desk (and the stack of papers on top) to tweaking your business or marketing strategy.

Young inventors in Frome are invited to enter a prestigious competition to find the innovators of the future, with a prize worth more than £50,000.

The National Science and Engineering Competition is challenging young people to submit their big ideas and represent rising talent in the region for the chance to compete for top prizes and international experiences.

To qualify, youngsters need to be aged between 11 and 18, come up with a novel idea, invention, concept or solution to a problem.

The market for wearable technology is expected to exceed $6 billion by 2016, according to a report from IMS Research, MobiHealthNews reports.

Much of the market centers around health care, medical, fitness and wellness products, according to the report. Such wearable devices transmit vital signs and monitor user performance (Dolan, MobiHealthNews, 8/9)

The beach is meant to be a public resort that is accessible and available to all. This is especially important in a small, crowded country like Israel. But despite the efforts of social activists and environmental organizations to maintain the seaside as a resource open to the public, the beaches' commercialization is continuing and various development plans threaten to gnaw and erode the sandy areas.

An examination conducted by the environmental association Zalul last week found that many Dan region beaches are controlled by franchise owners, who fill them up with beach umbrellas and chairs and charge money for their use. This considerably reduces the free area accessible to the public.

Several independent studies have provided strong evidence for the existence of cancer stem cells in some brain tumors, and potentially in skin and colon cancers as well. Like their powerful, healthy counterparts, the putative cancer stem cells have the ability to endlessly self-renew and produce progeny that can develop into all the different types of cells within a tumor. Some may even be resistant to many standard cancer therapies, and could be the cause of cancer relapse. But whether they actually exist in solid tumors is a controversial notion. Three studies published today won't end the debate, but they do lend greater credence to the theory, and could provide support for new approaches to cancer treatment.  

Extroverts suck up all the energy in many work groups, but when it comes to generating innovating ideas introverts may be on par. They just need a way to get their ideas across, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

"New ideas are only valuable if they're shared with others. If you're an introvert, you may not feel comfortable talking about your creative ideas.

Are you more like Howard Schultz of Starbucks, the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, Richard Branson of Virgin, or Tony Hsieh of Zappos? Knowing the answer could help you become more successful in your business.

Being aware of how your brain works can help you make better decisions as an entrepreneur, contend the authors of a new book, Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012). Business veterans Tony Tjan, Dick Harrington, and Tsun-yan Hsieh interviewed and researched more than 500 business leaders from young, upstart entrepreneurs to experienced CEOs and identified four character traits that define a business leaders' decision-making process.