He said micro-chipping would be part of a package of measures to address "what is an increasing problem", and would include plans to improve standards of dog ownership.

BBC: Mandatory micro-chipping for dogs planned

While CDFIs are not technically part of the micro-lending trend, they still provide small businesses with loans.

FORBES: The American Dream in Danger - Ideas From Starbucks And Howard Schultz

Meanwhile, Saint Louis University's part-time program launched a micro-scholarship program last year: Students can apply to have the cost of one course remitted by the school so they can stay enrolled.

WSJ: Part-Time M.B.A. Programs Lend Students a Hand in Hard Times

Another way of getting at the trends is census micro-data (ie, from detailed samples collected as part of the census).

ECONOMIST: International marriage

These ripples are part of Singapore's transformation from a micro-managed melting pot into a cosmopolitan city-state.

ECONOMIST: Singapore and immigration

There again, part of the problem is the instinct to micro-manage.

ECONOMIST: South Africa

While the amount of savings can differ greatly for a renter of a micro-unit versus a small-home owner, cost-effectiveness is definitely part of the equation in both models.

CNN: Tiny homes hit the big city

The rise of micro-transactions in video games can be traced to Asia, where they were introduced as part of efforts to combat piracy.

BBC: Dead Space cheat undermines in-game micro-transactions

The rear, made in part from soft plastic, covers slots for the microSD and SIM (not micro-SIM) slots, but there's no battery access.

ENGADGET: HTC One V review Mobile

In 2003, Nintendo released the completely redesigned Game Boy Advance SP which, most importantly, added a front-lit screen, attempting rectifying the one major problem people had with the original GBA. Recently, Nintendo released yet another GBA varient, the Game Boy Micro, with a small and sleek design aimed in large part at an older, iPod-totting audience.

ENGADGET: A Brief History of Handheld Video Games