Category: MENA

GMAC’s redesigned test continues to win trust from candidates, schools

RESTON, Va., Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — After nearly three months of successful delivery of the GMAT Focus Edition, Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) today confirmed that it has become the only version of the GMAT exam available to prospective test takers around the world. GMAC, a global association representing leading business schools, delivered the updated version of the most widely used business school exam last fall in parallel with the existing GMAT to facilitate candidates’ in-progress preparation and applications for business school.

First launched seven decades ago, the GMAT has been the gold standard by continuously evolving to ensure it maintains its psychometric rigor while remaining a highly relevant indicator of candidate preparedness for graduate business programs. The test was revamped last year with a more efficient test taking experience and flexible new features to better support candidates on their journey of business education and career.

“We have been reassured and encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive feedback we have received from many who have taken the latest edition of GMAT and gained newfound confidence to pursue advanced business education,” said Joy Jones, CEO of GMAC. “I believe that we have achieved what we set out to do at the inception of the redesign more than two years ago, allowing business school aspirants to best demonstrate their capabilities in the most relevant and in-demand skillsets like critical thinking and data intelligence. We are confident that business schools will benefit from the uptick of demonstrated interest and commitment from a more expansive and inclusive global applicant pool.”

GMAC revealed the GMAT Focus Edition after extensive research efforts involving hundreds of school professionals and in-depth concept testing with thousands of prospective students globally. With just three 45-minute sections, including the newly developed Data Insights section, it is nearly one hour shorter than the previous version of the GMAT and requires less content to prepare. While the previous version of the GMAT exam is no longer available, its scores continue to be valid for five years. Test takers and schools have been provided with helpful information so that they can readily make use of scores from both exam editions during this period.

“The redesign makes the exam more focused, more accessible, and less daunting. But more focused doesn’t mean easier or less valuable. It just means smarter,” said Rodrigo Malta, managing director of MBA recruitment and admissions at University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business.

Sun Long, executive director of international MBA program at China’s Fudan University, noted that his school is amongst the many top business schools around the world with a positive view of the latest iteration of GMAT. “It has helped bring us closer to meeting the needs of MBA program candidates while improving upon business schools’ talent selection in the ever-changing business environment.”

About GMAC

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is a mission-driven association of leading graduate business schools worldwide. GMAC provides world-class research, industry conferences, recruiting tools, and assessments for the graduate management education industry as well as resources, events, and services that help guide candidates through their higher education journey. Owned and administered by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) exam is the most widely used graduate business school assessment.

More than 12 million prospective students a year trust GMAC’s platforms, including mba.com, GMAC Tours, and BusinessBecause, to learn about MBA and business master’s programs, connect with schools around the world, prepare and register for exams, and get advice on how to successfully achieve their business education and career goals. GMAC is a global organization with offices in China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

To learn more about our work, please visit www.gmac.com

Media Contact:

Teresa Hsu
Sr. Manager, Media Relations
Mobile: 202-390-4180
[email protected]

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9030785

The excavation of the caverns that will house the gigantic particle detectors of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in Lead, South Dakota is complete. Final outfitting of the colossal caverns will begin soon and make way for the start of the installation of the DUNE detectors later this year.

Lead, South Dakota, Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Excavation workers have finished carving out the future home of the gigantic particle detectors for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Located a mile below the surface, the three colossal caverns are at the core of a new research facility that spans an underground area about the size of eight soccer fields.

Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, DUNE scientists will study the behavior of mysterious particles known as neutrinos to solve some of the biggest questions about our universe. Why is our universe composed of matter? How does an exploding star create a black hole? Are neutrinos connected to dark matter or other undiscovered particles?

The caverns provide space for four large neutrino detectors—each one about the size of a seven-story building (see 2-minute animation). The detectors will be filled with liquid argon and record the rare interaction of neutrinos with the transparent liquid.

Trillions of neutrinos travel through our bodies each second without us even knowing it. With DUNE, scientists will look for neutrinos and examine the behavior of a neutrino beam produced at Fermilab, located near Chicago, about 800 miles east of the caverns. This will be the world’s most intense neutrino beam and will travel straight through earth from Fermilab to the detectors in South Dakota. No tunnel is necessary for the neutrinos’ path.

“The completion of the excavation of these enormous caverns is a significant achievement for this project,” said U.S. Project Director Chris Mossey. “Completing this step prepares the project for installation of the detectors later this year and brings us a step closer towards fulfilling the vision of making this a world-class underground facility.”

 Engineering, construction and excavation teams have been working 4,850 feet below the surface since 2021 at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, home of the South Dakota-portion of DUNE. Construction crews dismantled heavy mining equipment and, piece by piece, transported it underground using an existing shaft. Workers then reassembled the equipment, and workers spent almost two years blasting and removing close to 800,000 tons of rock.

Workers will soon begin to outfit the caverns with the systems needed for the installation of the DUNE detectors and the daily operations of the research facility. Later this year, the project team plans to begin the installation of the insulated steel structure that will hold the first neutrino detector. The goal is to have the first detector operational before the end of 2028.

“The completion of the three large caverns and all of the interconnecting drifts marks the end of a really big dig. With no lost-time accidents in over three years, we reached a major achievement,” said Fermilab’s Michael Gemelli, who managed the excavation of the caverns by Thyssen Mining.

The DUNE collaboration, which includes more than 1,400 scientists and engineers from over 200 institutions in 35 countries, is eager to start the installation of the particle detectors. They have successfully tested the technology and assembly process for the first detector and preparations for the technology of the second detector is underway at the European research laboratory CERN.

Fermilab is America’s premier national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance LLC. Visit Fermilab’s website at www.fnal.gov and follow us on Twitter at @Fermilab.

The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

Attachments

• North cavern
• Bird’s eye view

Tracy Marc
Fermilab
2242907803
[email protected]

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9030228

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. is pleased to announce the establishment of its Canadian subsidiary, Sanborn Geophysics, ULC located just outside of Toronto. Sanborn Geophysics will focus on geophysical survey services and equipment sales, opening a new market to Sanborn.

With a commitment to advancing geospatial data collection and aerial survey capabilities, Sanborn Geophysics builds upon Sanborn’s extensive geospatial data expertise. John Copple, CEO of Sanborn, remarked, “The creation of Sanborn Geophysics expands Sanborn’s already extensive geospatial data collection and aerial survey capabilities. We’re uniquely positioned to not only collect specialized data but to do so with our own state-of-the-art equipment.”

Sanborn Geophysics was enabled by the purchase of assets from Nuvia Dynamics, Inc. Sanborn was also able to hire employees who have a proven track record in geophysics survey technology to staff Sanborn Geophysics. Some of Sanborn Geophysics employees have over 25 years of experience and previously worked for Nuvia Dynamics Inc (formerly known as Pico Envirotec Inc). Both prior companies have a distinguished record of accomplishment in developing geophysics survey technologies for mineral/oil exploration and geotechnical applications. Sanborn was supported by The Environmental Financial Consulting Group, LLC (EFCG). Terms were not disclosed.

“Sanborn Geophysics will create new opportunities for the company both domestically and internationally. This investment is to provide the best geospatial solutions for our clients,” said Copple.

About The Sanborn Map Company:
Sanborn’s leadership in the creation of high-quality spatial data began in 1866. Today Sanborn is at the forefront of spatial data collection and technology innovation and committed to offering clients the best in comprehensive state-of-the-art geospatial solutions tailored to their situation. As one of the largest providers of end-to-end GIS products and services in the U.S., Sanborn offerings include: oblique imagery, ortho imagery, lidar, sonar, geophysical, and hyperspectral data and mapping, secure data storage and streaming from our own data center, spatial analytics, custom application development, GIS-IT strategic planning and technical consulting, commercial data and cloud platforms, Sanborn SAAS geospatial solutions, staff augmentation, and GIS program managed services. The Sanborn advantage is to help customers identify the right data and tech, and to create solutions that match their needs, budget, and system requirements. Sanborn’s ISO 9001:2015 certification is a further demonstration of its commitment to quality.

For Media Inquiries:
Tom Harrington Jr, PhD
Chief Marketing Officer
[email protected]
(617) 413 7057

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9029925

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MGA Entertainment, Inc. (MGA), one of the largest and fastest growing privately held toy and entertainment companies in the world, announced today it has established four wholly-owned subsidiaries in the European Union (EU) to support its fast growing international business. The four subsidiaries – MGA Toys Iberia S.L. (led by Managing Director Mila Gonzalez), MGA Entertainment Greece (led by Managing Director Panos Kalogeropoulos), MGA Entertainment Italy SRL (led by Managing Director Andrea Signorelli), and MGA Toys France (led by Managing Director Thierry Thivolle) – will support marketing and sales administration efforts, staffed by employees who have worked for MGA Entertainment in each of the markets, now employees of their respective subsidiary in the same roles. This move demonstrates the company’s commitment to growing its businesses in those markets and to its international business overall.

“Our business outside of the U.S is strong and increasingly important to MGA Entertainment. Establishing these new subsidiaries will allow us to grow our business more quickly in these important markets,” said MGA Entertainment Founder & CEO Isaac Larian. “I look forward to working closely with the teams in each of these markets to continue to bring new, innovative, and fun MGA toys and products to consumers across the EU.”

MGA previously announced its plans to merge with Zapf Creation AG, Europe’s leading manufacturer of nurturing dolls. MGA’s wholly-owned German subsidiary has entered into negotiations of a merger agreement which is expected to close in late Spring 2024.

About MGA, Entertainment, Inc.
MGA Entertainment is one of the largest and fastest growing privately held toy and entertainment companies in the world. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices globally, the company creates innovative, proprietary, and licensed consumer products and entertainment properties, including toys, games, dolls, apparel, consumer electronics, home décor, stationery, sporting goods, movies, and television series. The MGA family includes award-winning brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes®, Rainbow High, Bratz®, MGA’s Miniverse, Fluffie Stuffiez, Na! Na! Na! Surprise, Micro Games of America, BABY born®, and Zapf Creation®. For more information, please visit us at www.mgae.com or check us out at LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram and Facebook.

Attachment

• Isaac Larian, Founder & CEO, MGA Entertainment

Alan Hilowitz
MGA Entertainment
+1.818.221.4431
[email protected]

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9030048

New report finds that the world averaged 8.4 new social media users per second over the past year

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Meltwater, a global leader in media, social and consumer intelligence, and We Are Social, the socially-led creative agency, have released Digital 2024, their latest annual report on social media and digital trends worldwide.

In a year full of digital milestones, Digital 2024 shows that active social media user identities* have passed the 5 billion mark (5.04 billion), equivalent to 62.3 percent of the world’s population. The global total increased by 266 million over the past year – an annual growth of 5.6 percent.

The typical social media user now spends 2 hours and 23 minutes per day on their social platforms of choice, and uses 6.7 platforms each month. TikTok has the highest average time per Android user of any social platform globally, clocking in at an impressive 34 hours per month – equating to more than an hour per day using the platform. In second place is YouTube, with the average user spending just over 28 hours per month on its Android app.

In terms of the world’s ‘favorite’ social platform, Instagram has taken the crown from last year’s winner, WhatsApp. Digital 2024 shows that 16.5 percent of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 consider Instagram their most loved platform, pushing WhatsApp into second place with 16.1 percent.

Digital 2024 is a 550+ page report that covers data points from across the entire online ecosystem, from social media to smart devices, gaming to social commerce.

Other key highlights from the report include:

• The typical internet user now spends 6 hours and 40 minutes online each day – up by 3 minutes per day, or 1 percent, year-on-year.
• Facebook – which celebrates its 20th birthday on 4th February – grew its global ad reach by more than 200 million over the past 12 months, delivering year-on-year growth of 10.5 percent.
• LinkedIn, Snapchat, WeChat, and Pinterest all reported strong user growth year-on-year.
• Digital ad spend grew by 10 percent year-on-year, with almost $720 billion spent on digital ads in 2023. Social ad spend increased by 9.3 percent to USD $207 billion, and investment in influencer activities increased by 17 percent.
• The typical internet user now spends 17 minutes per day less watching TV content than they did this time last year – a decline of 8.2 percent year-on-year.
• In a rich analysis of TikTok hashtags, Digital 2024 reports that TikToks tagged with #fyp (for your page) have amassed a total of 55½ trillion views – making it the platform’s top hashtag.

Alexandra Saab Bjertnæs, Chief Strategy Officer at Meltwater, said: “As social media enters its next chapter with five billion-plus users, understanding usage patterns, engagement, and emerging trends is crucial to helping brands find their unique voice amidst all the online chatter. The rise of TikTok, coupled with Instagram’s ‘favorite’ status and the growth of professional networking platforms like LinkedIn, paints a picture of evolving preferences. With so many platform choices, brands need to really understand where their target audience is going for information—and shape compelling narratives that engage them with unparalleled precision and authenticity.”

Nathan McDonald, co-founder and group chief executive at We Are Social, commented: “Social media continues to be a vital part of the way we connect with one another, from building communities to researching purchases and everything in between. TikTok’s continued popularity has changed the way that people behave online – social is not somewhere where a broadcast approach works for brands, and the importance of thinking social first has never been more important. It’s encouraging to see strong growth across multiple social platforms, each offering something different, whether that’s Pinterest for social commerce or Facebook for connecting with communities. For marketers, understanding platform nuances – and how to use social media to connect in culturally relevant ways – will be more crucial than ever.”

*social media user identities may not represent unique individuals

To view and download the report go to: https://www.meltwater.com/en/global-digital-trends

For more information, please contact:
Kelly Costello
[email protected]

About Meltwater
Meltwater empowers companies with a suite of solutions that spans media, social, consumer and sales intelligence. By analyzing ~1 billion pieces of content each day and transforming them into vital insights, Meltwater unlocks the competitive edge to drive results. With 27,000 global customers, 50 offices across six continents and 2,300 employees, Meltwater is the industry partner of choice for global brands making an impact. Learn more at meltwater.com.

About We Are Social

We are a global socially-led creative agency, with unrivalled social media expertise. With over 1,300 people in 19 offices around the world, we deliver a global perspective to our clients in a time when social media is shaping culture.

We make ideas worth talking about. We understand social behaviours within online communities, cultures and subcultures, spanning the social and gaming landscape. We work with the world’s biggest brands, including Adidas, Samsung, Netflix and Google, to reach the right people in a strategic, relevant and effective way.

We Are Social is part of Plus Company.

To learn more, visit www.wearesocial.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9029074