Flexing fingers for micro-robotics: Scientists create a powerful, microscale actuator

Dec. 17, 2012 ? Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an elegant and powerful new microscale actuator that can flex like a tiny beckoning finger. Based on an oxide material that expands and contracts dramatically in response to a small temperature variation, the actuators are smaller than the width of a human hair and are promising for microfluidics, drug delivery, and artificial muscles.

"We believe our microactuator is more efficient and powerful than any current microscale actuation technology, including human muscle cells," says Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley scientist Junqiao Wu. "What's more, it uses this very interesting material -- vanadium dioxide -- and tells us more about the fundamental materials science of phase transitions."

Wu is corresponding author of a paper appearing in Nano Letters this month that reports these findings, titled "Giant-Amplitude, High-Work Density Microactuators with Phase Transition Activated Nanolayer Bimorphs." As often happens in science, Wu and his colleagues arrived at the microactuator idea by accident, while studying a different problem.

Vanadium dioxide is a textbook example of a strongly correlated material, meaning the behavior of each electron is inextricably tied to its neighboring electrons. The resulting exotic electronic behaviors have made vanadium dioxide an object of scientific scrutiny for decades, much of it focused on an unusual pair of phase transitions.

When heated past 67 degrees Celsius, vanadium dioxide transforms from an insulator to a metal, accompanied by a structural phase transition that shrinks the material in one dimension while expanding in the other two. For decades, researchers have debated whether one of these phase transitions drives the other or if they are separate phenomena that coincidentally occur at the same temperature.

Wu shed light on this question in earlier work published in Physical Review Letters, in which he and his colleagues isolated the two phase transitions in single-crystal nanowires of vanadium dioxide and demonstrated that they are separable and can be driven independently. The team ran into difficulty with the experiments, however, when the nanowires broke away from their electrode contacts during the structural phase transition.

"At the transition, a 100-micron long wire shrinks by about 1 micron, which can easily break the contact," says Wu, who has a dual appointment as a professor in UC Berkeley's department of Materials Sciences and Engineering. "So we started to ask the question: this is bad, but can we make a good thing out of it? And actuation is the natural application."

To take advantage of the shrinkage, the researchers fabricated a free-standing strip of vanadium dioxide with a chromium metal layer on top. When the strip is heated via a small electrical current or a flash of laser light, the vanadium dioxide contracts and the whole strip bends like a finger.

"The displacement of our microactuator is huge," says Wu, "tens of microns for an actuator length on the same order of magnitude -- much bigger than you can get with a piezoelectric device -- and simultaneously with very large force. I am very optimistic that this technology will become competitive to piezoelectric technology, and may even replace it."

Piezoelectric actuators are the industry-standard for mechanical actuation on micro scales, but they're complicated to grow, need large voltages for small displacements, and typically involve toxic materials such as lead. "But our device is very simple, the material is non-toxic, and the displacement is much bigger at a much lower driving voltage," says Wu. "You can see it move with an optical microscope! And it works equally well in water, making it suitable for biological and microfluidic applications."

The researchers envision using the microactuators as tiny pumps for drug delivery or as mechanical muscles in micro-scale robots. In those applications, the actuator's exceptionally high work density -- the power it can deliver per unit volume -- offers a great advantage. Ounce for ounce, the vanadium-dioxide actuators deliver a force three orders of magnitude greater than human muscle. Wu and his colleagues are already partnering with the Berkeley Sensing and Actuation Center to integrate their actuators into devices for applications such as radiation-detection robots for hazardous environments.

The team's next goal is to create a torsion actuator, which is a much more challenging prospect. Wu explains: "Torsion actuators typically involve a complicated design of gears, shafts and/or belts, and so miniaturization is a challenge. But here we see that with just a layer of thin-film we could also make a very simple torsional actuator."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal References:

  1. Kai Liu, Chun Cheng, Zhenting Cheng, Kevin Wang, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Junqiao Wu. Giant-Amplitude, High-Work Density Microactuators with Phase Transition Activated Nanolayer Bimorphs. Nano Letters, 2012; 12 (12): 6302 DOI: 10.1021/nl303405g
  2. Zhensheng Tao, Tzong-Ru Han, Subhendra Mahanti, Phillip Duxbury, Fei Yuan, Chong-Yu Ruan, Kevin Wang, Junqiao Wu. Decoupling of Structural and Electronic Phase Transitions in VO_{2}. Physical Review Letters, 2012; 109 (16) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.166406

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/exTuB6Njwac/121217091554.htm

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2012 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards Winners

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926499/news/1926499/

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List Building Tips ? Product Launches

In this installment of List Building Tips, I?m going to discuss how you can use product launches to build your list quickly. In fact, this may be the fastest method that I know of if done properly. Keep reading to find out how.

Before I begin, let me say that I absolutely recommend that EVERY Internet marketer get a hold of Jeff Walker?s Product Launch Formula. If you ever wanted to do a product launch but weren?t sure how to go about it, Jeff spells it out in step by step detail.

While I can?t cover every aspect of the launch sequence in detail here, I am going to go over the parts that directly correspond to building your list. These are the things you ABSOLUTELY have to pay attention to if you?re going to get the results that you?re looking for. Even if the launch itself bombs (total sales) this process WILL build your list quickly.

First point of entry for your list is the launch video. This is what gets people all excited about your new product. You want it to be fun and exciting. The video serves two purposes. The first one is obvious, and that?s the prepare prospects for the launch date. But the second one is what builds your actual list.

At the end of the video (and this is CRITICAL) you want to make your prospects aware that the launch itself is for a short time ONLY at this price and that if they miss it, they?re out of luck. So, in order to make sure that they don?t miss it, direct their attention to the opt in box to the right (or left) and that they should sign up so that they are notified before anybody else when the launch is live.

Anybody who is TRULY interested in getting your new product at a reduced price is going to make sure that they sign up for the list announcing the launch date.

But you?re not done.

Another part of a successful launch is getting JV Partners to help you promote the launch. You want to send THEM an email with the URL of the video page so that they can send it to the people on THEIR list. If this is set up correctly, all of their list members who sign up for your list, will be given a special URL so that their referrers will get credit for the sale when the actual launch email goes out.

Yes, there is a lot of technical stuff that has to be worked out, but it?s worth doing. Your list grows and your JV Partners make commissions on every sale that goes through their link. Everybody is happy and your list has grown by leaps and bounds.

If you?re up for the amount of work that it takes to do a product launch (Jeff Walker makes it a lot easier) you can grow your list the size of Texas in literally a day.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want more great list building tips? Check out my review of Paul Myers? Profit Plan VI at Profit Plan VI and pick up 162 ways to build a large and responsive list.

Source: http://stevewagenheim.com/blog/internet-marketing/list-building-tips-product-launches.html

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Sengoku 2 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo) Review - Nintendo Life

Transformations and annihilations

SNK may have dedicated a large portion of their efforts to the one-on-one fighting genre, but occasionally they would branch out into other game types, sometimes with rather successful results. The original Sengoku was praised for its unique use of character transformations, but the play controls weren't always the most responsive. Enter Sengoku 2, a sequel that basically takes everything good about the original and fixes a few flaws along the way. While there are still fans of the first release that will always claim it to be the best, it's difficult to deny the more fluid gameplay and improved visual presentation that this unique sequel offers up.

The gameplay in Sengoiku 2 is somewhat similar to that of Golden Axe in its basic sense. You'll spend the majority of your time hacking and slashing with your sword as you defeat a set number of enemies in each section before being motioned on to the next part. But there are a lot of fun twists to the gameplay in the game that at least give it a nice way to stand out from the crowd.

Your basic abilities obviously revolve around your slash attacks. And while these are very effective if used correctly, you'll find that you'll need to make careful use of your dodge ability to tackle some of the game's stronger and more fierce enemies. Positioning is also an important part of manoeuvring through the various sections of the game, especially during boss fights.

Transformations are probably what most Sengoku fans remember the most about the game. The ability to switch into various characters - each with their own unit attacks and moves - does give the game a nice change of pace and also proves to be a very strategic part of the title's gameplay. Things might start out fairly easy, but you'll soon be facing a barrage of enemies and bosses that will test your basic character's limitations and it's at this point that you'll find these transformations handy. Even so, you do have to keep in mind that you do have a time limit on using them - yet another layer of strategy that must be factored into your plan.

Since the controls in Sengoku 2 were tightened up after the first release, the experience this time around is far more responsive and fluid. You'll still need some fast reflexes and a careful blend of strategy to make your way through the game, but at least this title gives you the proper controls with which to do it.

You won't find many Neo Geo titles as visually varied as that of Sengoku 2. The time travelling mechanic makes for some insane variations in locale and the developers put together some really striking and vibrant visuals to represent them. The characters, enemies, and bosses also show a huge amount of creativity not only in design, but also in their range of animation. While maybe not quite as detailed as some later Neo titles, it's still one of the best graphical presentations you'll find on the system.

Since the visuals got such a nice upgrade, it's only fitting that the musical score and audio got a kick up the behind as well. Not only will you find a great range of music from the various time periods the game features, but you'll also discover that these tracks are quite catchy and well composed, much more so that those found in the first release. The sound effects are also really well done and manage to sound great while still blending into the background and not interfering with the musical tracks themselves.

The game's biggest failing is something which impacts almost every example of the scrolling fighter genre: repetition. Although Sengoku 2 arguably offers more variety than most titles of this kind, the process of beating up an endless selection of foes eventually becomes slightly samey. The two-player mode manages to stave off boredom for a while, but you'll become disillusioned eventually. Like so many scrolling brawlers, this is best sampled in short bursts, like when you've got retro-loving friends round and you fancy some old-school scrapping.

Hack and slash fans should find a lot to like about Sengoku 2 and it's unique and intense gameplay system. The mammoth variety of backdrops do a nice job of giving the game a broad feel, but like any other beat em' up, repetitiveness is still the biggest drawback of the experience. There's still plenty of fun to be had and if you know what you're getting into, then you certainly should at least find enough meat on the bone to keep you slashing through to the end. It's not the most diverse game, but it is rather high in variety, especially for a hack and slash release from the early '90s.

Source: http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/vc/sengoku_2_neogeo

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Heroine Addict: A Q&A with author Kate Zambreno | Bitch Media

picture of Kate Zambreno

Kate Zambreno has had a busy couple of years. In 2010, she published her first novel, O Fallen Angel, followed by Green Girl a year later. Her latest book, the just-published Heroines, is a personal narrative woven with the rich and often overlooked history of a group of modernist women writers she calls ?a union of forgotten or erased wives.?

Zambreno carries readers through the lives of women like Zelda Fitzgerald, Vivienne Eliot, Jane Bowles, and Jean Rhys, using the lens of their experiences to dissect her own role as an emerging writer and a new wife, and challenging the negative stereotypes around women writing subjectively by doing just that. The result is a brave, enlightening, and brutally honest historical inquiry that will leave readers with an urgent desire to tell their own stories.

I recently caught up with Kate and asked a few questions about the way Heroines began, the stigmas around women writing memoir, and the challenges some women face trying to build and sustain communities.

Heroines was born from your widely read blog, Frances Farmer Is My Sister. Can you describe its genesis?

My somewhat tortured love affair with modernism began when I was working in a bookshop in London, reading these amazing women writers of that period who I had never heard of previously, obscure or minor or forgotten (Jane Bowles, Djuna Barnes, Jean Rhys, Olive Moore, Anna Kavan). I began to meditate on ideas of disappearance, on the canon as a memory campaign. Then I began to read and research the biographies of muses who were not as successful as writers, but who still wanted to write (Vivien(ne) Eliot, T.S. Eliot?s first wife; Zelda Fitzgerald, June Miller) and began to think about what would keep someone from writing.

About 7 years ago, when I returned from London, I began writing a work revolving around my obsession with these wives and writers and myths of modernism. The work for a while was a novel called Mad Wife, a fictional notebook playing on ?The Yellow Wallpaper? (anonymous writer-narrator, husband named John) about a woman possessed by these erased women. In some ways Heroines still is that novel. This was years before I began the blog, although the book was definitely impacted by what I was incubated on the blog as well as the experience of writing a blog, and Heroines ends with a meditation on contemporary literature, and the blog as form, tracing a genealogy from modernism.

You explore the issue of personal narrative and memoir being a stigmatized genre for women writers. How (if at all) did that negative stereotype challenge your writing?

I?ve definitely been called my share of names for writing a more explicit, emotional self on the blog?self-indulgent, narcissist, menstrual, navel-gazing. I think in some ways the theories behind Heroines [are] a way to counter this name calling, to identify how the institutions (of psychiatry, of literature) have historically disciplined women for being too full of ego, for taking up too much space.

A prominent thread in Heroines is the issue of community. While you seem incredibly connected to what you call the "invisible community of forgotten and erased wives," you also seem alienated from many of the women you interact with throughout the narrative. I think this kind of alienation is an issue for many women. In what ways do you think women can create or improve their "visible" communities?

That?s a good question. I?m not sure I have the answer except to say this is something very important! Part of the movement of Heroines is from this original invisible community, the mad tea party that helped me luxuriate in my feelings of alienation as an adjunct, as a newly displaced married person, as an unpublished woman writer, to another invisible community, the mostly women writers I met in the comments sections of my blog. I do document, as well, feelings of isolation?moving to Akron, Ohio, where my partner was a rare-books librarian, and then picking up not even two years later and moving to North Carolina, describing that desire to meet female friends who I could have tea or drinks with.

But I do think that this invisible community?the female safe spaces of the Internet, when we can find these spaces?is quite valuable and important, even if we might never meet our confidantes and intimates we discourse with in comments sections or over email. The solidarity and sense of community I felt in this subsubsubculture of girls and women who identify as writers on the Internet I think bolstered my own nerve and confidence, especially to finish the book. I have found real friendships with other writers to be sometimes difficult?writers can be prickly, very self-involved and sensitive sorts, speaking of myself most of all! But to be able to talk of solitude, to talk of writing?that has been very important. Writing can be an alienating occupation, to push oneself to persist while being unsuccessful in the eyes of most, not valued within capitalism. In Heroines I look at these earlier generations of women, who were often wives or mistresses of famous men, and meditate on how they were so often isolated from each other, competitive, turned away. Like Zelda with Hadley Hemingway. Or Vivien(ne) with Virginia Woolf, even though both suffered so intensely. Sometimes I wishfully think that real friendship with other women could really have saved many of them from losing themselves.

What advice can you pass on to women who are constructing their own personal narratives?

I like the advice of Mademoiselle Reisz to Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin?s The Awakening?feeling her shoulder blades for her wings, to be an artist one must be able to soar away from prejudice she says. (I?m rewording!) I like that. So I would say?be brave. Tell your true text. Don?t be mired in social expectations. And don?t expect to be accepted by the establishment, because you probably won?t be accepted, if you write against the culture. But also?there is a bravery in not being brave too, and documenting that, your true complicated self. I think the whole idea that a writer needs to get a thick skin is a problem. I don?t think we need to get thicker skins. I think it?s okay to be porous, to be sensitive, to be open. But we do need to write despite rejection. We need to write despite it all.

For more information on Zambreno and Heroines, visit her website, katezambreno.com

Source: http://bitchmagazine.org/post/heroine-addict-a-qa-with-author-kate-zambreno

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What We Know About Grand Theft Auto V: The Overview - Grand ...

Our 18-page cover story goes into great detail about the narrative, characters, mission structure, setting, and extracurricular activities, but if you?re looking for a brief overview on the game here is a concise summary.

The Characters

  • Building off the idea of multiple playable characters introduced in Episodes of Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto V stars three main protagonists.
  • Michael is a retired bank robber who is living a life of luxury thanks to a sweetheart deal with the FIB. But when his wife burns through all his money he is forced to get back in the game.
  • Trevor is a frequent drug user who is prone to violent outbursts. A former military pilot, he used to rob banks but now he scrapes to get by living on the fringes of Los Santos society.
  • Franklin is a hustler who works for an Armenian scam artist who sells young kids cars they can?t afford. When they default on the loans, Franklin repossesses the cars. He crosses paths with Michael when looking for a bigger score.
  • Players can switch between these characters at any time when they are off mission.
  • Rockstar says due to the heavy volume of voiceover recording sessions, celebrities don?t make sense as options for lead characters. Like Niko Bellic before them, Michael, Franklin, and Trevor will all have unknown voice actors.
  • Each main character has a few unique hobbies that only they can participate in.
  • Though Rockstar wouldn?t name specific characters, it confirmed that some familiar faces from Grand Theft Auto IV and Episodes From Liberty City may resurface in Los Santos.
  • Niko Bellic will not be one of the recurring characters.
  • Characters from the PS2 era of Grand Theft Auto games will not appear, either.

The Missions

  • The story missions feature a healthy variety of styles. Some feature one protagonist, while others have two or three participants.
  • When a mission features multiple protagonists, players are often given the option of switching between them at will in the middle of the job. Rockstar chose this approach to always keep the player in the action and eliminate the flat spots.
  • Each of the three main characters has a fully fleshed-out story arc, but instead of waiting for the finale to introduce complex missions, Grand Theft Auto V peppers several complicated, multi-tiered heists in the vein of Grand Theft Auto IV?s popular ?Three Leaf Clover? mission across the narrative. These missions will including prepping for the heists and the break-ins themselves.
  • The mission we watched during the live gameplay demo started with Trevor and Michael taking a helicopter to the IAA headquarters, which is the GTA equivalent to the CIA.
  • When they arrive at the skyscraper, Michael repels down the side of the building until he locates their target ? a person being interrogated that the FIB wants removed from the hands of the IAA.?
  • When Michael breaks through the glass and grabs the target, a switch option appears for the player. From here you could stay as Michael or switch to Franklin, who is positioned with a sniper rifle in an adjacent building, to take out the startled IAA agents. These changes happen instantaneously and smoothly, with cinematic angles that help you re-orient yourself in the new perspective.
  • Once the player clears the room of IAA agents and Michael safely makes it into the chopper with the extraction target, a helicopter chase ensures. During this sequence, the player can switch freely between piloting the chopper as Trevor and shooting out the back toward the tailing helicopters with either Franklin or Michael.
  • For the first time in a GTA game, Rockstar is using a score to bring some tension to the missions.

The World

  • Taking the interiors and exteriors into account, the world of Los Santos is bigger than the worlds of GTA IV, San Andreas, and Red Dead Redemption combined, with room to spare.
  • Grand Theft Auto V combines the best of both GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption, giving players the largest open-world playground in Rockstar history with a huge and diverse city serving as the epicenter.
  • Locations include beachfronts, wine country, a large wilderness area surrounding a fully explorable Mt. Chiliad, a region modeled after the Salton Sea called the Alamos Sea, a military base, and of course the sprawling suburban hills leading up to the bustling urban center of Los Santos. Bring your scuba equipment, too, because you can even explore the fully detailed ocean floor along the Los Santos coastline.

The Gameplay

  • Rockstar says it has rebuilt the shooting mechanics, driving, and melee combat from the ground up.
  • To encourage players to explore this vast expanse, Rockstar is giving them more vehicles than any other Grand Theft Auto to date.?
  • Confirmed vehicles include a BMX bike, mountain bikes, road bikes, dirt bikes, a huge variety of cars and trucks, helicopters, planes, ATVs, and Jet Skis. You won?t have to wait until the endgame to take to the skies, either. Since Trevor is a former war veteran with flight experience, you just need to find a plane to fly it.
  • Rockstar plans to blow out off-mission activities to an even greater degree with a variety of different side missions and more sophisticated minigames in the vein of Red Dead Redemption?s poker.?
  • Confirmed activities include yoga, triathlons, Jet Skiing, base jumping, tennis, and even a full-fledged golf game.
  • Because Michael, Trevor, and Franklin are fully fleshed-out characters with specific skill traits, Grand Theft Auto V does not have the RPG-style player customization so many people loved in San Andreas.?
  • However, you can still customize the look of the characters with different clothing.
  • The dating system is not returning to GTA V, which Rockstar says is due to the nature of the characters.
  • GTA V does not allow players to buy real estate, but Rockstar knows players didn?t have much to spend their money on toward the end of GTA IV so it plans to remedy this with the sequel.

If you want a deeper dive into the world of Grand Theft Auto V and give some context to these bullet points, find out how to purchase a copy of our December issue here. To discover new content throughout the month, please check back regularly by visiting our hub: ?

Source: http://www.gameinformer.com/games/grand_theft_auto_v/b/xbox360/archive/2012/11/12/what-we-know-about-grand-theft-auto-v-the-overview.aspx

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Ex-Malawi president's son leaves cabinet

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-malawi-presidents-son-leaves-cabinet-110212019.html

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Messi jumps back to top AP soccer rankings

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/messi-jumps-back-top-ap-soccer-rankings-130318325--sow.html

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5 Reasons to Use Display Ads | Business 2 Community

According to recent reports by Forbes.com, 90 percent of ad agencies and marketers believe that display ads are a great way to increase branding for your company. Here are the top five reasons why these types of ads work.

1. Brand awareness

Display ads help to increase brand awareness by getting images out to viewers when they are surfing the web. Even if they have never purchased the product before, potential buyers will remember the product from the ads they have seen, even offline. Recent studies have shown that these types of ads can help increase awareness of your brand by up to 63 percent.

It is arguable that display ads are the most cost-effective way to increase your brand awareness with internet users. Even if users do not click on the ads, they still end up having a positive impact on sales building familiarity with consumers. Seeing ads wherever they visit on the web helps them to feel familiar and loyal to your brand.

2. Increased site visitation

Recent studies have shown that banner advertising can increase traffic to a site by up to 300 percent. By increasing awareness of your brand through banner advertising, you can increase both online and offline sales without any actions needed from the user beyond just seeing your ad on sites they visit on a regular basis.

3. Increased offline sales

Current research shows that display ads can increase offline sales by as much as 43 percent. When visiting a store, consumers will often search out products that are familiar to them. When consumers see something online, they are much more likely to recognize it offline while shopping.

4. Increase in brand recognition

Display ads can increase the chances of a consumer recognizing your brand by up to 63 percent for some industries. When they see ads repeatedly on sites they visit, they are much more likely to remember and recognize the brand even if they have never clicked on any of the ads themselves.

5. Increased conversion rates

Recent trends in marketing have found that for every 100,000 viewers of an ad you are likely to get 160 conversions to your brand. Given the high traffic of most popular sites today, this can lead to numerous of conversions making display ads a great investment.

You must reach potential consumers where they spend the most time, and today that place is on the internet. If you have any questions about how these types of ads can help your business, please contact Vantage Local today.

Author: Leslie Van Zee???? Leslie Van Zee on the Web

Bio: Leslie Van Zee is passionate about entrepreneurship and understanding the customer perspective.? An avid fan of lean startups, she makes sure to get out of the building as much as possible in her role as manager of marketing communications for local online display advertising agency Vantage Local.?? View?full?profile

Source: http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/5-reasons-to-use-display-ads-0330236

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