Nandan Nilekani, head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, believes that the number can transform Indian politics by curbing theft and leakage of public funds.

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Gore's time in the number two post has helped transform it from a political backwater that one incumbent described as not being "worth a bucket of warm spit" to a position with serious responsibilities and clout.

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How complex are the analyses you have to run, the number of computing operations required to transform the data into actionable insights?

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But the question can also be posed in a different way: will the choice transform the way that the number one is seen?

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Brown's "I Can Transform Ya" with Lil' Wayne and Swizz Beatz is currently at number 24.

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"We are now trying to transform our cityscape to bring communities together, and the impact of the number of transfers that people have to do means that people are spending less quality time with their family, that they're spending more and more time in transit, affecting productivity, affecting the economy, " she says.

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To tackle these issues and continue to improve their ability to transform the unceasing torrent of data into real strategic advantage, there are a number of concrete steps that companies should consider taking.

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"We are delighted that HLF has joined the growing number of organisations and individuals which are supporting the Guild of Players in our project to transform the historic Theatre Royal into a theatre fit for the 21st Century, " he said.

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