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The amount of pets have been increasing over the years, but especially covid-19 accelerated the pet industry. For example in the US 70% of the households own a pet.

#weaksignal #group1

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Pet ownership in the U.S. has jumped significantly over the past three decades. As of 2022, 70% of U.S. households (90.5 million homes) own a pet.[1] That’s up from 56% in 1988, pet ownership statistics show. From companionship to emotional support, pets are a vital part of their owners’ lives. In f

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A staycation is a vacation where you stay at home! For some that means staying in and enjoying their local area during their vacation time, but for most, a staycation includes trips in and around your home country - including overnight stays.

#trend #group4

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Some companies are starting to have mandatory working days at the office as many people continue working remotely. Companies might require workers to come to the office anywhere between once a month to a couple of days a week. However, many employees are not liking it and might protest against the new regulations.

#group1 #weaksignal

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Since COVID-19 restrictions eased, many companies have been calling their employees back to the office.

Some executives and leaders believe productivity increases when workers are in the office together, while others hope to increase in-person collaboration. Some employers are taking extremes to get people back, tracking attendance or threatening to terminate workers who don't comply.

Most recently, Amazon's Andy Jassy issued a mandate for corporate staffers in a Feb 17 memo, and Salesforce's leadership has drafted a return-to-office policy, according to a draft of the company's strategic plan shared in an internal Slack message viewed by Insider.

Here's a list, in alphabetical order, of major companies requiring employees to return to offices. Insider will update this list regularly.

Jassy said in a February memo that he will require corporate employees to spend at least three days per week in the office beginning May 1. The CEO said he and Amazon's leadership team decided it would be easier for employees to collaborate and that in-person work would strengthen the company's culture.

In response, thousands of Amazon employees joined a Slack channel to share their thoughts about the company's surprise return-to-office mandate, with some even organizing to file a petition against the change, Insider's Eugene Kim reported.

In August, senior leaders told workers they had to return to the office at least three days a week. CEO Tim Cook said the decision was meant to restore "in-person collaboration." Employees fought back and issued a petition shortly after the announcement, arguing that staffers can do "exceptional work" from home.

Vaccinated Citigroup employees across the US were asked to return to the office for at least two days a week in March 2022, an internal memo obtained by Reuters said.

In a memo obtained by Insider, CEO Bob Iger told workers that starting in March, any Disney staff member working "in a hybrid fashion" will need to return to Disney's offices four days a week.

In March, CEO David Solomon told Fortune that the company was asking employees to return to the office five days a week. In October, he told CNBC that about 65% of staffers were working in the office.

Google employees in the San Francisco Bay Area and "several other US locations" were told to return to the office for at least three days a week starting in April 2022.

In August, CEO Jamie Dimon pushed back on remote work, saying it didn't work for an apprenticeship program or "spontaneous stuff," Yahoo Finance reported.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan asked half of its employees to return to the office five days a week and another 40% to go in a few days a week. The company has been collecting data on staff activity, including tracking attendance.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has made revisions to the company's annual strategic plan, including return-to-office mandates, according to a draft of the document shared in an internal Slack message viewed by Insider. In February 2021, Salesforce said workers could " work from anywhere."

The updated draft return-to-office policy would require three days a week in the office for nonremote employees and four days a week for employees in "non-remote" and "customer-facing" roles. Engineers would be required to work from the office 10 days per quarter, down from 20 in the initial draft, which was updated based on employee feedback.

In a memo to corporate staffers, CEO Howard Schultz said employees within commuting distance would be required to return to the office at least three days a week starting January 31. In August, Schultz said he was doing everything he could to get workers in the office.

After buying Twitter in October, Elon Musk told employees in November that not showing up to an office when they're able to was the same as a resignation, The Verge reported.

Musk also told staffers in an email that remote work was no longer allowed and that employees were expected to be in the office for at least 40 hours a week unless given explicit approval to work elsewhere.

In a memo obtained by Insider, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees that beginning in April 2022, Uber staffers in 35 of the company's locations were required to return to the office at least half the time. He added that on other days staffers were allowed to work remotely and that some could be entirely remote if they get clearance from their managers.
An earlier version of this story appeared on January 16, 2023.

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Here's a list of major companies requiring employees to return to the office

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Since COVID-19 restrictions eased, many companies have been calling their employees back to the office. Some executives and leaders believe productivity increases when workers are in the office together, while others hope to increase in-person collaboration. Some employers are taking extremes to get people back, tracking attendance or threatening to terminate workers who don't comply.

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As AI is taking over the internet, it has become easier to create fake videos. Spreading disinformation could be causing damage all over the world.

#group1 #weaksignal

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Opinion | Our Hackable Political Future (Published 2018)

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Imagine the day when operatives can create fake video of their enemies. That day is here.

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The online definition describes it as an approach to travel that emphasizes connection to local people, cultures, food and music. It relies on the idea that a trip is meant to educate and have an emotional impact, while remaining sustainable for local communities and the environment.

https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/what-slow-tourism

#group4 #trend

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The trend of "Slow Travel" has become increasingly popular over recent years, however through COVID19 it has accelerated immensely and has almost become a new norm without people even realising. Slow tourism is forecasted to continue to grow in popularity, becoming an alternative to more traditional holidays and is estimat ed to grow at a 10% compound annual growth rate. Now what is Slow travel, where did it come from and how could hoteliers adapt?
The trend of "Slow Travel" has become increasingly popular over the past years, however through COVID19 it accelerated immensely and has almost become a new norm without people even realising. The crazed race to visit as many places as possible, which was influenced through renowned books like "1000 Places to See Before You Die" or through movies such as "The Bucket List", is slowly becoming less popular. Slow tourism is forecasted to continue to grow in popularity, becoming an alternative to more traditional holidays with an estimated 10% compound annual growth rate.

What is Slow Travel?

The online definition describes it as an approach to travel that emphasizes connection to local people, cultures, food and music. It relies on the idea that a trip is meant to educate and have an emotional impact, while remaining sustainable for local communities and the environment.

Where did Slow Tourism come from?

This trend or better yet movement has been evolving through time and is connected to the Slow food movement. Slow Food was started by Carlo Petrini and a group of activists in the 1980s to resist the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome, with the initial aim to defend regional traditions, good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slow pace of life. The further popularity can be correlated with the growing focus on sustainability and self - care.

How can you travel "slower"?

Travelling slower involves transitioning from materialistic and consumerist luxury to wanting purposeful experiences and creating meaningful moments. People no longer want to have a schedule full of tours of classic sightseeing spots. They want to travel at their own pace while experiencing and tasting the local culture. A word used a lot when discussing Slow travel is "experience-based". Experience-based travel can be accomplished in different ways, such as connecting with people, creating a community, experiencing local culture and making conscious decisions. These conscious decisions impact one's own cultivation and regeneration as well as helping the environment by reducing your own global footprint.

"Slow tourism is characterized by reducing mobility and by taking time to explore local history and culture, while supporting the environment. The traveller's main goals are relaxation, self-reflection, escape, novelty seeking, engagement and discovery." - Journal of Travel Research

Prior to the pandemic global tourism hit record highs with 671 Million global international arrivals. Both the influence of the pandemic and these high numbers has motivated travellers to explore new destinations and lesser - known countries such as Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Georgia, Nepal and others.

How can hotels adapt to this movement?

There are simple approaches which both urban and rural hotels can adapt to enhance their guests experience through different hotel departments.

Food & Beverage: An already commonly practiced way is through F&B outlets, where the local culture can be easily incorporated by serving regional dishes with local and seasonal produce. A significant trend that many businesses have already adapted to is "going back to the roots". The more we learn about food, nutrition and the planet, the more it's understood that natural is best. Taking food back to its roots pays homage to local herbs, vegetables and as well as cooking practices. Teaching these cooking practices to guests also offers a way for guests to delve deeper into the local culture.

Wellness & Wellbeing: As everyday life continues to become more technology-driven, there is a strong desire for down-to-earth therapy and spa practices that use traditional foods, plant-based medicines, oils and ancient rituals.

Experiences & Activities: Transformational travel inspires travellers to disconnect from their busy day to day life, this includes learning new skills which will be a motivating force for future travellers. Experiences can allow guests to engage with the local community and interact with others to expand their cultural knowledge and understanding.

Off - Grid: Along with the movement of Slow travelling came the trend of Off - Grid travel, which is made possible by modern technologies. An example being solar power providing electricity anywhere, such as in mountain cabins, a boat or other remote locations. Both urban and rural hotels can adapt to travellers trying to get away from the hustle and bustle of their daily life, by offering digital detox experiences, which are becoming increasingly more popular.

Transportation: With sustainability being a priority for slow travellers, hotels should offer or organise different means of transportation to their guests. Bike rentals, walking tours or excursions by train are all attractive options for today's traveller.

To conclude, slow tourism is most likely the way our industry will cautiously but surely start to recover as soon as global travel is fully encouraged again.

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What is Slow Tourism? The next big hospitality trend

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What is Slow Tourism? And how has movement because one of the biggest hospitality trends of 2021 and beyond? Read on to find out.

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The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. The goal of the circular economy is to reduce waste to a minimum and extend the life cycle of products.

#group4 #trend

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Benefits: why do we need to switch to a circular economy?

To protect the environment

Reusing and recycling products would slow down the use of natural resources, reduce landscape and habitat disruption and help to limit biodiversity loss.

Another benefit from the circular economy is a reduction in total annual greenhouse gas emissions. According to the European Environment Agency, industrial processes and product use are responsible for 9.10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, while the management of waste accounts for 3.32%.

Creating more efficient and sustainable products from the start would help to reduce energy and resource consumption, as it is estimated that more than 80% of a product's environmental impact is determined during the design phase.

A shift to more reliable products that can be reused, upgraded and repaired would reduce the amount of waste. Packaging is a growing issue and, on average, the average European generates nearly 180 kilos of packaging waste per year. The aim is to tackle excessive packaging and improve its design to promote reuse and recycling.

Reduce raw material dependence

The world's population is growing and with it the demand for raw materials. However, the supply of crucial raw materials is limited.

Finite supplies also means some EU countries are dependent on other countries for their raw materials. According to Eurostat, the EU imports about half of the raw materials it consumes.

The total value of trade (import plus exports) of raw materials between the EU and the rest of the world has almost tripled since 2002, with exports growing faster than imports. Regardless, the EU still imports more than it exports. In 2021, this resulted in a trade deficit of €35.5 billion.

Recycling raw materials mitigates the risks associated with supply, such as price volatility, availability and import dependency.

This especially applies to critical raw materials, needed for the production of technologies that are crucial for achieving climate goals, such as batteries and electric engines.

Create jobs and save consumers money

Moving towards a more circular economy could increase competitiveness, stimulate innovation, boost economic growth and create jobs ( 700,000 jobs in the EU alone by 2030).

Redesigning materials and products for circular use would also boost innovation across different sectors of the economy.

Consumers will be provided with more durable and innovative products that will increase the quality of life and save them money in the long term.

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Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits | News | European Parliament

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The circular economy: find out what it means, how it benefits you, the environment and our economy.

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Hilton international hotel chain has partnered with IBM to incorporate new addition to their hotel staff. AI robot is able to understand and answer people's questions. Other than this, robots and AI can be seen these days also in airports and online as chatbots that assist customers.

#group4 #trend

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Meet Connie—The Hilton’s Newest Hotel Concierge

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Connie, a robo-concierge backed by IBM’s Watson, just joined the Hilton hotel workforce.

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Wellbeing at work means that work is safe, healthy, and pleasant. It stimulates good and motivated management and the workplace atmosphere and professionalism of employees. It also impacts on coping at work.

Wellbeing at work increases productivity and commitment to the job, and it reduces incidents of sick leave.

#group4 #trend

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Wellbeing at work means that work is safe, healthy, and pleasant. It stimulates good and motivated management and the workplace atmosphere and professionalism of employees. It also impacts on coping at work.

Wellbeing at work increases productivity and commitment to the job, and it reduces incidents of sick leave.

There is more than one correct definition for wellbeing at work. Wellbeing at work is an individual experience related to, for example, well-functioning personal relations at the workplace and employees' own vocational skills. Wellbeing at work helps a person to be enthusiastic and motivated and to take initiative. Therefore, wellbeing at work is directly connected with work productivity and with the competitiveness and reputation of the employer organisation.

Wellbeing at work is a joint effort

Promoting wellbeing at work involves employers and employees. Employers have to ensure the safety of the work environment, good management and the fair treatment of employees.

Employees also play a major role in maintaining their work ability and professional skills. Everyone is in a position to make a good workplace atmosphere. Wellbeing at work can be improved by developing working conditions and skills.

Further information

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Wellbeing at work - Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

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Wellbeing at work means that work is safe, healthy, and pleasant. It stimulates good and motivated management and the workplace atmosphere and professionalism of employees. It also impacts on coping at work. Wellbeing at work increases productivity and commitment to the job, and it reduces incidents of sick leave.

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Ikea has started to sell renewable energy to households, starting with home market in Sweden. Households are able to buy affordable renewable electricity from solar and wind parks, while tracking usage via app.

#group4 #weaksignal

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STOCKHOLM, Aug 17 (Reuters) - IKEA, the world's biggest furniture brand, is branching out into selling renewable energy to households, starting with home market Sweden in September.

Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA stores worldwide, said households would be able to buy affordable renewable electricity from solar and wind parks, and track their usage through an app.

Ingka's partner Svea Solar, which produces solar panels for IKEA, will buy the electricity on the Nordic power exchange Nord Pool and resell it without surcharge. Households will pay a fixed monthly fee plus a variable rate.

IKEA, which also sells solar panels for households in 11 markets, said those buyers would be able to track their own production in the app and sell back surplus electricity.

Jonas Carlehed, head of sustainability at IKEA Sweden, told Reuters he hoped to roll out the new renewable energy offer as well as IKEA's solar panel offering to all markets.

"We want to make electricity from sustainable sources more accessible and affordable for all," the company said in a statement.

"IKEA wants to build the biggest renewable energy movement together with co-workers, customers and partners around the world, to help tackle climate change together."

Ingka said the plan was to offer electricity from solar and wind parks five years old or less, as a way to encourage the building of more parks.

More broadly IKEA aims to be "climate positive" - reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than is eitted by the entire IKEA value chain, from raw material production to customers' disposal of their furniture - by 2030.

Carlehed said in an interview he saw the renewable energy offer to customers as contributing to reaching that target as well as being a potential new revenue stream.

"It will contribute indirectly (to the target). The link is that our customers' use of our products account for around 20% of IKEA's total climate footprint - from appliances, lighting and electronics such as speakers and so on."

Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by David Holmes

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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IKEA starts selling renewable energy to households in Sweden

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STOCKHOLM, Aug 17 (Reuters) - IKEA, the world's biggest furniture brand, is branching out into selling renewable energy to households, starting with home market Sweden in September. Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA stores worldwide, said households would be able to buy affordable renewable electricity from solar and wind parks, and track their usage through an app.

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Lego published a rainbow flag-coloured "Everyone is Awesome" set to celebrate diversity and equality with sexual and gender minorities.

#group4 #weaksignal

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Billund, May 20th 2021: The LEGO Group today announces LEGO® Everyone is Awesome, a set designed to celebrate the diversity of our fans and the world around us. The buildable display model is inspired by the iconic rainbow flag which is used as a symbol of love and acceptance by the LGBTQIA+ community, and features 11 monochrome minifigures each with its own individual hairstyle and rainbow colour.

Set designer Matthew Ashton, Vice President, Design said: "I wanted to create a model that symbolises inclusivity and celebrates everyone, no matter how they identify or who they love.

"Everyone is unique, and with a little more love, acceptance and understanding in the world, we can all feel more free to be our true AWESOME selves! This model shows that we care, and that we truly believe 'Everyone is awesome'!"

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Everyone Is Awesome - About Us - LEGO.com

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The LEGO Group today announces LEGO® Everyone is Awesome, a set designed to celebrate the diversity of our fans and the world around us. The buildable display model is inspired by the iconic rainbow flag which is used as a symbol of love and acceptance by the LGBTQIA+ community, and features 11 monochrome minifigures each with its own individual hairstyle and rainbow colour.

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Technology runs our life and our homes. We use apps to control devices or house lights. But what if your home is hacked? Risk of it is not a joke. Usually there is recognizable weak link in the system, which hackers are looking for.

#group4 #weaksignal

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Let's face it, technology runs our lives. We let it because it's pretty cool and convenient to click on an app and turn on our vehicles or change our home lighting to appear as though we are home.

But, then there is the dark side. Like all technology, our smart home systems can be hacked. Maybe you've seen the stories about people taking over baby monitors or home security software. None of us want to have our electronics compromised let alone those that keep our homes safe and secure.

The risk of getting your home hacked is no joke. Check out Feedback Friday episode 391 for a real-life example where one of our listeners had her home hacked by an ex-boyfriend. Here's what you can do if it's happened to you.

Only as Secure...

A security system is never more secure than its weakest link. Within your smart home system, there is that one device that is more vulnerable and offers a hacker the in that they are looking for. One a hacker gets in through a desktop, laptop, or home hub, they could start getting access to passwords, security certificates, and other devices on the local network regardless of how secure they are.

Just because a hacker found that weak link doesn't mean you are dumb. The reality is there are people out there who spend endless hours looking for these types of vulnerabilities. They get good at it. Meanwhile, you trust that tech companies are living up to their promise of unhackable devices. We all want to believe these companies, but they really shouldn't say what they know is impossible to do.

Action Plan for a Hacked Home

Okay, so your home was hacked, but this is not the time to feel dumb. It's time to take action.

Wipe vulnerable devices.

One of the first things you want to do is get the vulnerable device, such as a computer, wiped. Companies are available that also do what's known as "device hardening" where they wipe phones, laptops, and other devices completely clean. They also check the devices for rootkits, do a clean reimage, and perform a lockdown with all security patches.

Perform a security audit.

Google and Amazon allow you to audit the devices that connect to your account. Every device that logs into your Google, Amazon, and Microsoft accounts is issued a unique secure token that allows that device to keep connecting in without you needing to put your password into the device over and over. Frequently, these security tokens stay even after you change passwords. But, you can audit the devices on your account and de-authenticate tokens that you don't recognize. You can do this with most of your smart home devices, too.

Put Wi-Fi on pause.

Also, turn off Wi-Fi entirely in your house if you can for a few weeks. That's probably one of the hardest parts of this whole process. See if you can borrow your neighbor's Wi-Fi temporarily.

Another option is to use your phone as your Internet connection. If you're not streaming a bunch of stuff and just checking email, then this approach won't use a lot of your data. Also, when using your computer, you can use 4G to surf the web rather than Wi-Fi because it is far more secure than Wi-Fi. Or, use ethernet and hardwire your home office.

Secure devices and network first.

This is a good strategy for moving forward, but it doesn't solve the hacking problem. At the very least, once you wipe the computers and you're not using them, then you've made yourself a harder target. You can use a VPN, but it's not really going to help you in this situation. It will help after making sure your devices are wiped and secured and your network is secured. Otherwise, you're just the weakest link again.

Add MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication).

Password managers do help. However, multi-factor authentication (MFA) through an offline secure authenticator app is the most effective way to keep hackers out of your accounts. Two free examples include Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator. Avoid any MFA tools that need to send your phone a text message.

Enlist the neighbors' help.

If you suspect someone is also breaking into your home after hacking it, you can ask your neighbors if you can put a security camera in their window, facing your house. This way, if a device pops up on the hacker's network list, it will be the neighbor's and not yours (even though it actually is yours!). This can help you get the evidence you need to disprove the crazy theory.

Get expert assistance.

Some hackers have mad skills that just simply wiping your device won't address. Unfortunately, you may have to replace your devices. Or, if you can find a specialist with good computer knowledge, they may be able to uncover all the tricks of the trade and shut down access points you didn't realize the hacker created to regain control at any point.

Be covert.

It's a good idea to buy new devices and cameras from a store rather than your Amazon account. That's because the hacker could already have access to that and see exactly what type of security products and equipment you are ordering. It sounds like a science fiction or a spy movie, but it's better to be safe.

Follow an order of operations.

One of our listeners who has worked as a digital forensic investigator noted that your tactics for dealing for a hacked home must follow a certain order of operations as shown below:

1. Back up any important data to an external HDD. Phones can be backed up and cloud backups sometimes work, but it's best not to take a chance.

2. Get a new phone or, if you have the skills, securely wipe and reimage your old phone. Do not yet add your online accounts to this phone.

3. Install an Authenticator App.

4. On a new or clean computer, add MFA to your online accounts using the authenticator apps and change all your passwords for everything.

5. Go into Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft's online systems and disable all devices registered to your account. This will invalidate any tokens a hacker might be using to access your online accounts or devices. All of your phone, tablet, smart home, and laptop devices will stop connecting to your accounts.

6. Wipe and reimage all your computers (or buy new ones).

7. Using a new or clean secure computer, check your router, firewall, and devices for security updates.

8. Sign all your devices back into your accounts and provide the MFA codes using the authenticator app.

Lawyer up.

I'm not here to provide legal advice, but I do recommend that you take what evidence you have of the hacking and go to a lawyer with it. They can provide insights about how to get an order of protection or restraining order from the home hacker.

Take Back Your Home

Beat the hackers at their own game and get your smart home back!
[Featured photo by Bermix Studio]

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What to Do If Your Home Is Hacked | Jordan Harbinger

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Let's face it, technology runs our lives. We let it because it's pretty cool and convenient to click on an app and turn on our vehicles or change our home lighting to appear as though we are home. But, then there is the dark side. Like all technology, our smart home systems can be hacked.

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Toilet technology is being developed. Idea is to analyze waste with artificial intelligence, to track is there a need for health checkups. Toilets could also at some point give you lifestyle suggestions what diets to follow maintain health.

#group4 #weaksignal

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or the past 10 years, Sonia Grego has been thinking about toilets - and more specifically what we deposit into them. "We are laser-focused on the analysis of stool," says the Duke University research professor, with all the unselfconsciousness of someone used to talking about bodily functions. "We think there is an incredible untapped opportunity for health data. And this information is not tapped because of the universal aversion to having anything to do with your stool."

As the co-founder of Coprata, Grego is working on a toilet that uses sensors and artificial intelligence to analyse waste; she hopes to have an early model for a pilot study ready within nine months. "The toilet that you have in your home has not functionally changed in its design since it was first introduced," she says, in the second half of the 19th century. There are, of course, now loos with genital-washing capabilities, or heated seats, but this is basic compared with what Grego is envisaging. "All other aspects of your life - your electricity, your communication, even your doorbell - have enhanced capabilities."

The smart toilet's time has come and it is a potentially huge market - in the developed world, everyone who is able to uses a toilet multiple times a day. Grego adds that she can "certainly envision a world" in which a toilet that does more than flush excreta "is available to every household". There are numerous companies working on bringing that to market - a race to the bottom, if you will.

Smart toilet innovators believe the loo could become the ultimate health monitoring tool. Grego believes her product - which analyses and tracks stool samples and sends the data to an app - will provide "information related to cancer and many chronic diseases". For general consumers, it will provide peace of mind, she says, by establishing "a healthy baseline": "Having technology that tracks what is normal for an individual could provide an early warning that a checkup is needed." For people with specific conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, the device could provide helpful monitoring for doctors. "It's very difficult to know when to escalate or de-escalate treatment," she says. "Stool-based biomarkers can provide that information."

At some point, she thinks, a smart toilet could make lifestyle suggestions - it could tell you to eat more fibre or certain nutrients, for instance, or work out what kind of food triggered an uncomfortable gastric episode. "The science of nutrition is really moving in the direction of personalised nutrition," says Grego. "Our technology will be an enabler of this, because you have information of what you eat, but we can make seamless the obtaining of information of what comes out."

he toilet technology being developed by Joshua Coon's academic lab is focused on urine, because it is easier to sample and analyse. He describes himself as "a smart toilet enthusiast", rather than someone who is racing to get a product to market, although he says he is in talks with industry leaders. "There are several thousand known different small molecules that exist in urine and they give you insight into what's going on," says Coon, who is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In a small study he conducted, two people - one of whom was Coon - saved every urine sample for 10 days. "It turns out that you can detect compounds that are diagnostic of exercise [show you have done some]; you can see when an over-the-counter medication comes into the system and clears out; you can see molecules that correlate with how well you slept, how much fat you had in your diet, what your calorie intake was."

The study wasn't set up to look at long-term health, he says, but the implications are there. "Combining that with health records and lifestyle data, a lot of these molecules almost certainly could correlate with important disease risk and be able to much better predict a person's need for intervention. That's the vision, if one had the technical capability to make these measurements in a toilet."

Numi, an 'intelligent toilet' designed by the US brand Kohler, at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2020. Photograph: Steve Marcus/Reuters

Similar developments have been made elsewhere. In 2018, Panasonic launched a smart toilet in China that tested urine and tracked body fat. This year, at the influential annual Consumer Electronics Show, the Japanese manufacturer Toto announced its " wellness toilet " - a concept, but something it is working on (it previously developed a toilet that analyses urine flow). Its sensors - including one for scent - would aim to detect health problems and conditions such as stress, but also make lifestyle suggestions. In one image provided by the company, it envisioned the toilet sending you a recipe for salmon and avocado salad.

Researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine have been working on technology that can analyse faeces (including "stool dropping time") and track the velocity and colour of urine, as well as test it. An article this month in the Wall Street Journal reported that the researchers have partnered with Izen, a Korean toilet manufacturer, and hope to have prototypes by the end of the year. In order to differentiate between users, Izen developed a scanner that can recognise the physical characteristics of whoever is sitting on the toilet - or, in the words of the researchers, "the distinctive features of their anoderm" (the skin of the anal canal). Apparently, your "analprint", like your fingerprints, is unique.

Vik Kashyap says we are ready for it (well, perhaps not scanners - in Stanford's study of user acceptance, "the least favoured module is analprint"). Kashyap's company, Toi Labs, has been working in the smart toilet space for about two decades and has a longstanding interest in gut health (he successfully treated his own ulcerative colitis by ingesting parasitic worms). He has seen other companies' attempts at the smart toilet fail, but he thinks now may be the time. Not only has it become normal to track our data through wearables such as an Apple Watch or a Fitbit, but we are also less squeamish. Kashyap puts this down to the surge of interest and research in the microbiome and our gut health, including poo, which "has made this topic less of a taboo".

He also thinks the pandemic has accelerated matters - the run on loo roll highlighted the fact that people panicked about how they were going to wipe their bottoms, while laboratories have been testing sewage to track the virus. "And then, finally, the cost of delivering sensor-based Internet of Things systems at home has come down considerably. Products like Alexa are well established and people are beginning to realise that their home is going to evolve over time."

One company envisions its toilet sending you a recipe for salmon and avocado salad

Kashyap has developed a toilet seat, TrueLoo, which can be fixed to an existing toilet and recognises the user by their phone (one survey found that a majority of Britons take their phone to the loo) or a combination of physiological parameters: "What do they weigh? How are they sitting on the seat?" It then analyses excreta "using optical methods, looking at things like the volume, clarity, consistency, colour. It's essentially understanding when someone has abnormal patterns and then it's capable of documenting those patterns and providing reports that can be used by physicians to help in the treatment of a variety of conditions."

For now, TrueLoo is focused on the older adult market - people more at risk of genitourinary and gastrointestinal problems, such as those in residential care homes - but, Kashyap says, "we very much have an eye towards this being a consumer product that is going to be used by anyone who has a toilet".

When Kashyap started thinking about analysing waste, he thought he should go down the biochemistry route. "But I learned over the years there's a lot of amazing technology in the visual analysis realm," he says. It also comes at a much lower cost. "People think: 'We'll put all these very complicated sensors into a toilet, we'll do chemical analysis.' When you start doing that, you start increasing the cost. You can't tell someone: 'I'm going to replace your $20 toilet seat with a $2,000 toilet seat, or a $12,000 toilet,' that's not really viable."

Kashyap predicts (although he admits he is biased) that some version of the smart toilet "is going to be the most important home medical product in the future. There's a limit to what can be done with wearables, but the toilet is going to be a far deeper way to understand a person's health."

s all this - your analprint out in the world, the makeup of your bowel movements analysed - a privacy breach too far? "Can it be kept secure?" asks Eerke Boiten, a professor of cybersecurity at De Montfort University in Leicester. "What sort of organisation has this data? Who will they be sharing data with? What data will it get combined with? Will we have any transparency about where the data goes? This is an area where we don't even know fully what the risks are. We need significant research into this."

Many people "wouldn't, for very good reasons, like cameras pointing up their bottoms", says Phil Booth, the coordinator of MedConfidential, which campaigns for the confidentiality of medical records. That said, under the guidance of a medical professional, "there are not necessarily inherent privacy risks" in using a smart toilet as a medical device, he says. However, it might get interesting if the data created by general consumer use was owned by a company: "You may trust that particular company, but every company is pretty much buyable by Google or Facebook or Amazon. Then, what I thought was something for my own health monitoring has become fodder to business models I really know nothing about."

Smart toilets being assembled at a factory in Hangzhou, east China. Photograph: VCG/Getty Images

People bought Fitbits, says Booth, "thinking it was just a cool new item to monitor their exercise and, hey presto, Google buys it. All of a sudden, all that really rich data gets absorbed into a company that has other agendas." Google has had its eye on the multitrillion-dollar health market, with an attempt to become dominant in health data, for some time - controversially, it has had access to the health data of 1.6 million NHS patients and 50 million Americans. Is Google interested in your bathroom habits? Well, it patented a toilet seat sensor way back in 2016.

When it comes to information about your bodily waste, Booth says: "What data are companies linking together? What are they trying to analyse about you? Profile you for? You call them 'smart homes', but they're surveillance homes."

Information from stool and urine samples could provide all sorts of information - your risk of disease, your diet, your exercise level; how much alcohol you drink and whether you take drugs. Even tracking something as trivial as the time of day you use the loo - regularly in the night, for instance, indicating sleeplessness - could reveal conditions such as depression or anxiety.

Where does it end? Could the police or others involved in surveillance track you by analprint, via the public and home smart lavatories you visit? Might you be asked to provide a print at a police station?

What data are companies linking together? What are they trying to analyse about you? Profile you for?

Imagine a world where smart toilets in workplaces were able to tell which employees were pregnant, or taking drugs, or at risk of physical or mental ill-health, with the implication that they were potentially not as productive, or about to be absent from work. "Think about Texas," says Booth of that state's recently tightened abortion restrictions. "If you can tell if someone's pregnant from their poo, then all of a sudden the question is: 'Are they seeking an abortion?' That's Gilead level, that's science fiction, but it illustrates the risk."

It is not so wacky to imagine parents using the technology to check whether their teenage children are using drugs. "Once you start to measure something that is of the body, the privacy line is stepped over," says Booth. "If you don't measure what's going on with someone's bowel movements, the bowel movement is private."

This is an alarming thought - but, says Booth with a laugh, it is not as though governments will mandate smart toilets. He says there will always be people - those into the "quantified self" movement - who are happy to measure and track themselves. If smart loos are considered clinical devices collecting medical data, "then it's a straight medical breach risk - not special to toilets, but because you've turned the toilet into a medical data-generating experience. Are they managing those risks correctly?"

Coon is also mindful of the issues. "Do insurance companies get to know what's in your urine? You can imagine those hurdles, but if the technology exists, and there's benefit, people will figure out how to solve it." Kashyap says: "The way I look at it, this is basically part of your medical record. This would probably fall in the same category of risk - and, at least in the US, there is a lot of protection around medical records."

Will the smart toilet become a normal bathroom fixture? This question is applicable only in the developed world. If you want to talk toilet inequality, 3.6 billion people - nearly half the world's population - have no access to safe sanitation, let alone a loo that can track sleep quality and fibre intake. But those working on smart toilets are optimistic. "It's about figuring out how to get the technology we have in the laboratory into a toilet at a scale that's affordable and robust," says Coon. "That's the challenge. It could be 10 years out, or 30 years out, but I think it's something that's going to happen."

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The smart toilet era is here! Are you ready to share your analprint with big tech?

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or the past 10 years, Sonia Grego has been thinking about toilets - and more specifically what we deposit into them. "We are laser-focused on the analysis of stool," says the Duke University research professor, with all the unselfconsciousness of someone used to talking about bodily functions.

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Pandemic changed what we as homeowners want from our houses. Smaller rooms are added to the floorplan, rooms act as offices, playrooms and homegyms. Bathrooms are getting bigger since families stay at home more, and rooms are more wired for devices to work or attend to school from home. Also separated entrances for guests, and access to powder-room to wash hands are becoming more common.

#group4 #weaksignal

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The pandemic has changed what Americans want from their homes, and builders say they expect those changes to last.

The big picture: A ton of pandemic-era adaptations are becoming common fixtures in new homes. The model homes that builders are showing off today are meant for working, living and learning, not just coming home and crashing at the end of the day.

Details: Big pre-pandemic trends - open plans with big kitchen islands - aren't going anywhere. "My verdict is that people really like open floor plans, and they're here to stay," says Nancy K. Keenan, president of Dahlin Group Architecture and Planning, who helped conduct the America at Home Study of pandemic-era consumer tastes in home design.

But overall footprints are getting bigger as builders add on more smaller rooms, which may need to function as offices, play rooms, home gyms or dens, depending on the family.

Bathrooms are getting bigger, in part because we use them more often when we're home all day. And every room of the house is more wired - builders are adding power outlets and USB ports to accommodate the devices essential to working or attending school from home.

Some homes also feature separate entrances for guests, with easy access to a powder room for hand-washing.

"Flexibility is probably the most important thing. People want to be able to customize their home to the way they live," Keenan says.

Flashback: The "powder room" was originally born from the flu pandemic of 1918 - as were tiled bathrooms, as people replaced draperies and carpets that harbored germs.

'The question we get all the time is, how much of this do you think is really going to stick into the future?" Keenan tells Axios. "You don't realize that this sort of thing actually does create change."

Zoom in: Based on the results of the America at Home Study, Garman Homes of Raleigh, North Carolina, built a 2,600-square-foot concept home called " Barnaby" that reflects what consumers want, which includes more access to outdoor space and room to exercise.

Barnaby, with four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths, was designed for "a hypothetical older millennial family with two working parents, one who works from home and the other outside the home," per Builder, a home-building news site.

It includes "separate homeowner and guest entries, two dedicated office spaces, flex spaces, a guest suite with outdoor access, a larger family bathroom, multiple covered outdoor spaces, improved kitchen functionality, flexible storage, drop zones for package deliveries, and more."

Between the lines: "Homes are becoming more like office space," says Amit Haller, CEO and co-founder of the homebuilding company Veev. "There is the grand opening area with a very large countertop island that allows people to eat together."

From there, residents can carry their laptops to private rooms as needed.

"The bedroom is going to be literally like your conference room and your private space," Haller says.

By the numbers: The median size of a new single-family home has already grown by about 10% since 2009, and will likely keep growing.

More than a third of Millennials (36%) want larger homes as a result of the pandemic, a survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found.

Millennials and Gen Xers want more bedrooms, exercise rooms and home offices.

"The home building industry expects to see home sizes continue to increase due to a shift in consumer preferences as more activities are taking place in the home in the post-pandemic environment," NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter said in a press release.

Yes, but: Bigger houses are more expensive, and high interest rates will only make a mortgage even harder to afford.

What's next: Dedicated rooms are popping up for video games, golf simulators, Zoom calls or relaxation - so called "Zen rooms."

"Metaverse rooms" may be on the horizon, with some designers seeing the need for indoor space where people can wander around in virtual reality, per the Wall Street Journal.

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More rooms, more power outlets: The post-pandemic future of home design

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The pandemic has changed what Americans want from their homes, and builders say they expect those changes to last. The big picture: A ton of pandemic-era adaptations are becoming common fixtures in new homes. The model homes that builders are showing off today are meant for working, living and learning, not just coming home and crashing at the end of the day.

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Idea of platonic co-parenting with someone you don't romantic history with is a novel approach to parenting. You share a joint commitment to sharing emotional, physical and financial aspects of raising a child, without romantic involment.

#group4 #weaksignal

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The concept of co-parenting isn't anything new. Many separated or divorced couples choose to create or maintain a family dynamic for the sake of their children, even though they're no longer romantically involved. But the idea of platonic co-parenting-aka proactively starting a family and raising a child with someone you don't have a romantic or sexual history with-is a bit more novel.

There are lots of different paths to parenthood, and platonic co-parenting is one road you can explore. But while sharing kid-related responsibilities with a friend may sound like a win-win situation, establishing a parenting partnership comes with its own unique set of challenges. Curious if this type of family makeup is right for you? Read on to learn what platonic co-parenting involves.

What is Platonic Co-Parenting?

It has a lot of different names: Platonic co-parenting is also referred to as elective co-parenting, intentional co-parenting and conscious co-parenting. Whatever you call it, it's all about making a choice to start a family with someone based on a joint commitment to sharing the emotional, physical and financial aspects of raising a child without romantic involvement or marriage.

Along with egg and sperm donation, platonic co-parenting is on the rise in the LGBTQ+ community. But it's also becoming more common among heterosexual singles. "We've seen a seismic shift in how people define family," says Ivan Fatovic, founder and CEO of the "mating app" Modamily, which bridges the dating and fertility industries.

The family structure can vary quite a bit with platonic co-parenting. Often, longtime friends of opposite gender identities embark on a parenting partnership together-for example, a straight parent and an LGBT parent. (Of course, friends of the same gender identities can also choose to co-parent.) Sometimes, strangers meet and consciously build a platonic relationship with the specific intention of starting a family.

Structuring a family in this new, thoughtful way is still based on building a bond-albeit one with a different kind of chemistry. "Although there may not be romance involved, many opt to have children with their friend because it's a relationship that allows for love, intimacy and a deep connection," says Michelle Felder, LCSW, founder of Parenting Pathfinders, an online support service for parents and caregivers.

What to Consider Before Choosing Platonic Co-Parenting

Suffice it to say that elective co-parenting isn't something to rush into. Remember, you're committing to a lifetime of raising a child with your co-parent. "You'll want to start by having open and honest conversations about who you are and what your hopes are for your child and family," Felder suggests. Of course, that's just the jumping off point; next, you'll need to hash out the nitty-gritty details.

The logistics of co-parenting

Since romantic love isn't part of the equation, co-parenting offers more personal independence, but it also calls for a greater commitment to outlining responsibilities upfront. Platonic co-parenting is not a magical solution to utopian parenthood. People are complex and nuanced-and parenting, in and of itself, is an unpredictable rollercoaster. Felder emphasizes that you have to talk through the logistics and align on issues such as finances, lifestyle choices, religious beliefs, political leanings, vaccine stances and more. "Lay it all on the table and don't hold back," he says. "This step in the process can really solidify whether you're compatible and if creating a family together suits you both."

Of course, you'll also want to lay out expectations in terms of custody and time shared together and apart with your child. Another big question: Where will you live? Will you keep two separate households or remain under one roof? Talk through the potential arrangements-or consider pooling resources so you can both maximize time with your child.

Hurdles will pop up along the way in your co-parenting journey, but being proactive in the planning stage will help set you up for more successful outcomes.

Hypothetical situations

You need to be ready to expect the unexpected. Talking through hypotheticals now can save you trouble later, in the event of potential plot twists. Perhaps your co-parent will have an incredible job opportunity in a different state or country. Maybe one of you will fall in love and want to get married. How will you and your co-parent handle these changes? Are you both willing to be flexible?

Alternatively, it's important to know that a "platonic divorce" is an option. "If you're not working well together anymore, you can divide custody and support like divorced couples," says Amira Hasenbush, JD, MPH, a family formation lawyer in Los Angeles who focuses on working with LGBTQ+ families and non-traditional families. However, "Once you have a child together, you're attached to the child for life."

Options for conceiving

Figuring out how to bring a new baby into the world together is one of your earliest co-parenting decisions. Per Modamily's web site, there are several common options prospective co-parents turn to. For starters, there's natural conception (aka sex). Of course, if that's not an option for you and your co-parent, artificial insemination may be the next step. With Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), a male co-parent's sperm (or donated sperm) is placed in a female co-parent's uterus close to the fallopian tube to encourage fertilization. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a more involved process you might also consider. In this instance, a woman's eggs-or those of a donor-are fertilized in a lab by a male co-parent's sperm (or donor sperm). Surrogacy and adoption are also options to consider.

Next Steps to Move Forward With Platonic Co-Parenting

Communication is key-but talking about your approach to co-parenting will only get you so far. You'll also want to establish things from a legal perspective. Unlike a donor, who has no legal parental or financial responsibilities, a co-parent should be defined at conception. Depending on how your child is conceived, establishing parentage and/or adoption is of particular importance.

Work with a lawyer who understands complex parentage across state lines. "You want to have proof of intent going into co-parenting," says Hasenbush. "If you can, get a judgment after your second trimester to solidify who the parents are. If anything were to happen to the biological parent, without said judgment, the child could end up in custody of the next of kin, instead of the surviving co-parent." Additionally, if future co-parents don't have a long, pre-existing relationship as friends, both should undergo background checks and confirm that any prior marriages are fully dissolved. "If someone is separated but not divorced, the [legal] presumption could be that the spouse would be a parent," Hasenbush says.

Beyond establishing the initial legal framework of your parenting partnership, you'll want to lock in other important legal details: Draft a will, allocate distribution of assets like stocks and inheritance, determine financial responsibilities and health insurance and maybe even start a joint savings account for your child. Having this paperwork signed, sealed and delivered will ensure that you, your co-parent and your child are all financially protected. Co-parenting is not for everyone. But if you decide to embark on this journey with a friend-new or old-you'll need to lay out expectations and boundaries for the sake of your future child. There will be bumps along the road, but approaching challenges as a cohesive team will keep your family dynamic strong.

Ivan Fatovic is the founder and CEO of Modamily, a dating and co-parenting app that bridges the dating and fertility industries. He is a stepdad and lives in Los Angeles.

Michelle Felder, LCSW, MA, is a licensed social worker, play therapist and founder of Parenting Pathfinders, an online support service for parents and caregivers. She received her master's in Social Work from New York University and a master's in child development from Sarah Lawrence College.

Amira Hasenbush, JD, MPH, is a family formation lawyer and founder of All Family Legal in Los Angeles. She focuses on working with LGBTQ+ families and non-traditional family units and is a member of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association's Family Law Institute as well as the Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy.
Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances. Plus, more from The Bump:

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What to Know About Platonic Co-Parenting

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The concept of co-parenting isn't anything new. Many separated or divorced couples choose to create or maintain a family dynamic for the sake of their children, even though they're no longer romantically involved. But the idea of platonic co-parenting-aka proactively starting a family and raising a child with someone you don't have a romantic or sexual history with-is a bit more novel.

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 The erosion of nature’s carrying capacity

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 The erosion of nature’s carrying capacity

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The climate is heating, biodiversity declining and natural resources are overused while waste increases. Our own activity affects living and non-living nature that exceeds natures carrying capacity, which compromises the basis of our economy and well-being.  / Source: Megatrends 2023: these are the trends we cannot ignore

#group4 #megatrend

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This week, world leaders are gathered in Montreal to strike a global accord to halt and reverse nature loss.

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Sober curiosity is a movement where people experiment with sobriety for health reasons.

#trend #group4

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Do you like to have a glass of wine after work? How about a beer hanging out on the weekend with friends? For many of us, alcohol is a major part of our social lives. But for some, the idea of limiting alcohol content and reframing the stigma around not drinking is appealing. This trend, which has become increasingly popular, is called "sober curiosity."

In the "sober curiosity" movement, people experiment with sobriety for mental and physical health reasons. This also helps break a stigma long associated with sobriety-i.e., you don't have to be an alcoholic to be sober.

Alcoholism affects one in eight adults Americans every year, and for most, sobriety is the only option to overcome the disorder. You don't have to be struggling with addiction, however, to become curious about sobriety.

Functional medicine practitioner Lauren Grace at Sarasota Integrative Health weighs in on the trend.

How did the sober curious movement start?

It all began with a challenge called "Dry January" in 2014, trademarked by the Alcohol Concern charity in the United Kingdom. Participants would take a month-long break from alcohol.

Now, the millennial generation-ages 26 to 41-is sometimes referred to as ' generation sober' because of its sober-curious culture. The generation under that, Gen Z, drinks even less. Mocktails and non-alcoholic beers and kombuchas are extremely popular now, providing a chance for people to socialize over a drink without the potential harmful effects.

How does being sober, even for a short time, benefit someone?

"Alcohol like red wine can raise your estrogen levels, which can cause inflammation and, in the long-term, possibly increase your cancer risk," says Grace. "Alcohol in excessive amounts can also increase fungus called candida in your gut, which can cause bloating, digestive issues and depression."

Experts are also quick to point out that what matters even more than what you're drinking is how much you're drinking.

Reducing the amount of alcohol you drink can also improve focus and memory, sleep, energy and weight management. You may also notice healthier skin and improved mental health, including a feeling of overall wellbeing, relief from depression and anxiety, and increased confidence.

If you are going to drink, how can we reduce these negative effects?

Grace suggest limiting alcohol consumption to once per week, or an amount that is sustainable for you.

"Good-quality tequila is the 'healthiest' alcohol for you, without extra sugars and add-ins," says Grace. "So, if you are going to drink, tequila is the easiest for the body to digest."

If you're imbibing, she also recommends drinking an electrolyte packet that you can find at any drugstore and mixing into water. Taking a B12 supplement will also help reduce hangover effects.

How can you incorporate sober curiosity into your life?

Set a time-frame for not drinking. This could be two weeks, one month or even a year. Record the positive changes not drinking makes in your daily life.

Find social activities that don't involve drinking. Consider inviting friends for a walk, a trip to the beach or park or restaurant.

If you are in a setting where you'd normally drink, stop and weigh out your options. Maybe have one drink instead of your usual three-or let others know that you are participating in a sobriety challenge for your health.

Find a like-minded group of people. There are many sober social groups that gather online and in-person, and they're not necessarily for recovering addicts. Try a new sober-focused fitness class or meditation. Pick up a musical instrument or learn a new language.

Try non-alcoholic alternatives. The rise in popularity of non-alcoholic beers, spirits and mocktails make it fun to try out new drinks and local spots without alcohol involved.

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Being 'Sober Curious' Is a Health Trend to Try in 2022

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Do you like to have a glass of wine after work? How about a beer hanging out on the weekend with friends? For many of us, alcohol is a major part of our social lives. But for some, the idea of limiting alcohol content and reframing the stigma around not drinking is appealing.

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Soon we can take a flight with an electrical plane.
#trend #group 2

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Heart Aerospace aikoo saada 30-paikkaisen sähkölentokoneen kaupalliseen liikenteeseen vuonna 2028. Yhtiö rakentaa Göteborgiin uudet tutkimus- ja tuotantotilat.

Air Canada tilasi torstaina ruotsalaisyhtiöltä 30 sähkölentokonetta. 30-paikkaisten koneiden valmistus tapahtuu Göteborgissa.

Heart Aerospace on luopunut suunnitelmista rakentaa 19-paikkainen sähkölentokone. Sähkölentokoneesta tulee jo alkuvaiheessa 30-paikkainen, ja samalla sen kantama pitenee 800 kilometriin.

Päivitetty versio vastaa muotoilun ja matkustamon osalta nykyisiä lyhyillä lennoilla käytettyjä potkuriturbiinikoneita. Koneissa on enemmän säilytys- ja tavaratilaa, istuinten yläpuolelle tulee hylly vaatteille sekä käsimatkatavaroille. Lisäksi koneessa ovat wc- ja keittiötilat.

Matkustamoon saadaan lisää tilaa sijoittamalla akut rungon alle tulevaan erilliseen tilaan. Koneilla voidaan operoida kaikissa sääolosuhteissa.

Täyssähköisenä koneen kantama on parhaimmillaan 200-400 kilometriä, mutta siihen voidaan asentaa myös kaksi uusiutuvalla lentopolttoaineella toimivaa generaattoria tuottamaan virtaa akuille, jolloin koneen kantama pitenee 800 kilometriin.

- ES-30 on sähkölentokone, joka mahdollistaa lentoyhtiöille helpon siirtymisen vanhoista koneista uusiin sähkölentokoneisiin useilla eri reiteillä, sanoo Heart Aerospacen toimitusjohtaja Anders Forslund lentokoneen julkistustilaisuudessa.

Heart Aerospacen mukaan suunnitelmien muuttuminen lykkää sähkölentokoneiden tuloa markkinoille. 19-paikkaisen koneen piti aloittaa kaupalliset lennot vuonna 2026, mutta nyt yhtiö arvioi kaupallisten toimitusten alkavan vuonna 2028.

Lentoyhtiöt toivoivat suurempia sähkölentokoneita

Uusien suunnitelmien taustalla on lentoyhtiöiltä tullut toive. 30-paikkainen matkustajakone soveltuu paremmin useimpien lentoyhtiöiden lyhyille reiteille. Tällöin myös käyttökustannukset matkustajaa kohti jäävät alhaisemmiksi kuin pienemmillä koneilla operoitaessa.

Heart Aerospace ehti saada yli 200 tilausta 19-paikkaisesta koneesta. Forslundin mukaan tähän mennessä yhtiöt ovat tehneet uusia aiesopimuksia lähes sadasta ES-30-koneesta. Pohjoismaisista lentoyhtiöistä aiesopimuksen ovat tehneet Braathens, Icelandair sekä SAS.

- Kun saamme sähkölentokoneet laajasti käyttöön, lentoyhteyksien määrä kasvaa merkittävästi Ruotsissa. Samalla kuitenkin hiilijalanjälkemme pienenee merkittävästi, kuvailee Braathens Regional Airlinesin toimitusjohtaja Ulrika Matsqård.

Eniten sähköllä toimivia matkustajakoneita on tulossa alkuvaiheessa liikenteeseen Yhdysvalloissa. United Airlines ja Mesa AirGroup ovat tilanneet yli 200 sähkölentokonetta. Yhtiöt vahvistavat vaihtavansa tilauksen päivitettyyn ES-90-versioon.

Uusimpana asiakkaana Air Canada ilmoitti torstaina tilaavansa 30 sähkölentokonetta. Samalla yhtiöstä tuli Heart Aerospacen uusi vähemmistöosakas.

Suomessa sähkölentomatkustajakoneella voitaisiin lentää Helsinki-Vantaalta ilman välilaskua Rovaniemelle ja Kuusamoon asti. Koneen alhaisemmat käyttökustannukset tekisivät mahdolliseksi operoinnin myös vähäliikenteisiltä kentiltä, joihin ei tällä hetkellä kannata lentää kaupallisesti.

Kannattavaa lentoliikenne olisi siis myös tällä hetkellä valtion ostamilla lentoyhteyksillä kuudelle kentälle Suomessa.

Heart Aerospacen toimitusjohtaja Anders Forslund ES-30-sähkölentokoneen rungossa yhtiön tuotantolaitoksessa Göteborgissa. Yhtiö aikoo valmistaa koneita vuoden 2027 jälkeen 120 kappaleen vuosivauhtia. Kuva: Patrik Olsson / Heart Aerospace

Tutkimus- ja kehityskeskus Göteborgiin

Sähköisen lentämisen nopeaa kehittymistä vauhdittaa tutkimus- ja kehityskeskuksen Northern Runwayn perustaminen Säven lentokentälle Göteborgiin.

Kehitystyöhön on tulossa mukaan myös ruotsalainen puolustusteollisuusyhtiö Saab, josta on tullut Heart Aerospacen vähemmistöosakas. Yhtiöt ovat allekirjoittaneet yhteistyösopimuksen osajärjestelmien toimittamisesta sekä konetyypin sertifioinnista ja valmistamisesta.

Lentokoneiden valmistus alkaa Göteborgissa vuonna 2027, jolloin valmistuvat uudet kokoonpanotilat. Alkuvaiheessa koneita valmistetaan 120 kappaleen vuosivauhdilla.
Voit keskustella aiheesta 16.9. klo 23 asti. Lue lisää: Murros on tapahtumassa nopeammin kuin kuviteltiin: Sähkölentokoneet tulevat käyttöön jo lähivuosina - Lentohäpeä ja koronakriisi saivat lentoyhtiöihin vauhtia Tässä ovat ensimmäiset sähkölentokoneilla lennettävät reitit Suomessa - Lapissa lääkärimatka voi kutistua neljästä tunnista puoleen tuntiin

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Ruotsalaisyhtiö julkisti 30-paikkaisen sähkölentokoneen - koneilla voisi hoitaa suuren osan Suomen sisäisestä lentoliikenteestä

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Heart Aerospace aikoo saada 30-paikkaisen sähkölentokoneen kaupalliseen liikenteeseen vuonna 2028. Yhtiö rakentaa Göteborgiin uudet tutkimus- ja tuotantotilat. Heart Aerospace on luopunut suunnitelmista rakentaa 19-paikkainen sähkölentokone. Sähkölentokoneesta tulee jo alkuvaiheessa 30-paikkainen, ja samalla sen kantama pitenee 800 kilometriin. Päivitetty versio vastaa muotoilun ja matkustamon osalta nykyisiä lyhyillä lennoilla käytettyjä potkuriturbiinikoneita.

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#Group 1 #Wildcards Wild Virus and Pandemics

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#Group 1 #Wildcards Wild Virus and Pandemics

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Infectious and highly transmissible viruses and out breaks of pandemics are wild card events are bound to happen and happening more frequent than usual. the most recent of which is the ongoing Covid19 pandemic
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/03/10/1162169741/on-3-11-20-who-declared-a-pandemic-these-quotes-and-photos-recall-that-historic-

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Three years ago, on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was officially designated a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The novel coronavirus had fanned out across the globe, and the world had lost its ability to contain it. Countries reacted to the emerging disease with a mix of denial, incredulity and fear. Here's what global health officials and political leaders were saying in the weeks leading up to that WHO declaration.

Jan. 5, 2020: WHO issued an announcement that not quite a week prior, their China Country Office had learned of "cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. As of 3 January 2020, a total of 44 patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology have been reported to WHO by the national authorities in China."

January 9, 2020: WHO continued to share what they knew of events in China. "Chinese authorities have made a preliminary determination of a novel (or new) coronavirus, identified in a hospitalized person with pneumonia in Wuhan ... WHO continues to monitor the situation closely."

Jan. 14, 2020: In the early days, public health officials had little idea that this novel coronavirus would spread across the globe. Maria Van Kerkhove, the acting head of WHO's emerging diseases unit, told Reuters, "From the information that we have, it is possible that there is limited human-to-human transmission, potentially among families, but it is very clear right now that we have no sustained human-to-human transmission."

January 22, 2020: When CNBC asked President Donald Trump about any concern of an impending pandemic, he didn't hesitate: "No. Not at all ... We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine."

Jan. 23, 2020: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said in a statement that the coronavirus outbreak was not yet a public health emergency of international concern. He added, "Make no mistake. This is an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one."

Meanwhile, Wuhan was shutting down. The Chinese newspaper People's Daily tweeted: "No people in #Wuhan... will be allowed to leave the city starting 10 a.m. of Jan. 23. Train stations and airport will shut down; the city bus, subway, ferry and long-distance shuttle bus will also be temporarily closed."

Jan. 29, 2020: Warnings from global health officials were becoming increasingly dire. In Geneva, Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said, "The whole world needs to be on alert now. The whole world needs to take action and be ready for any cases that come from the epicenter or other epicenter that becomes established."

Jan. 30, 2020: "Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the emergence of a previously unknown pathogen, which has escalated into an unprecedented outbreak," Tedros said. He went on to declare "a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of novel coronavirus. The main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in China, but because of what is happening in other countries."

On the same day, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, remarked, "Given what we've seen in China and other countries with the novel coronavirus, CDC experts have expected some person-to-person spread in the U.S. We understand that this may be concerning, but based on what we know now, we still believe the immediate risk to the American public is low."

Feb. 3, 2020: Claiming early action around the novel coronavirus, Chinese President Xi Jinping, said, "I explicitly demanded Hubei province [where Wuhan is located] implement comprehensive and strict controls on the outflow of personnel on January 22."

Also on that day, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a speech in Greenwich, England. Partway through, he commented, "when there is a risk that new diseases such as coronavirus will trigger a panic and a desire for market segregation that go beyond what is medically rational to the point of doing real and unnecessary economic damage, then at that moment humanity needs ... some country ready to take off its Clark Kent spectacles and leap into the phone booth and emerge with its cloak flowing as the supercharged champion, of the right of the populations of the earth to buy and sell freely among each other."

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S.'s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was alarmed. He told CNBC: "It's escalating. The number of cases that increase from one day to another is clearly going up in a very steep slope."

Feb. 7, 2020: Dr. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist in Wuhan, died after contracting the novel coronavirus nearly a month earlier. He had gained attention by first sounding the alarm over the new virus and then being reprimanded by Chinese authorities. Li was forced to sign a statement saying he'd propagated a rumor, but in an interview with The New York Times a week before his death, he said, "I felt I was being wronged, but I had to accept it. Obviously I had been acting out of good will. I felt very sad seeing so many people losing their loved ones." He added, "If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier, I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency." Li was survived by his son and his wife, who was pregnant with their second child at the time.

Feb. 11, 2020: At a WHO briefing, Tedros officially christened the novel coronavirus. "We now have a name for the disease," he said. "COVID-19. I'll spell it: C-O-V-I-D hyphen one nine - COVID-19." The "19" refers to the year when the virus first surfaced - 2019. "Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing," Tedros continued, alluding to the use of nomenclature such as "Wuhan virus" and "China virus." He added, "It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks."

He used the same briefing to press world leaders to focus on containing the virus. "To be honest," he said, "a virus is more powerful in creating political, economic and social upheaval than any terrorist attack ... A virus can have more powerful consequences than any terrorist action .... If the world doesn't want to wake up and consider this enemy virus as public enemy number one, I don't think we will learn our lessons."

Feb. 22, 2020: "The increasing signs of transmission outside China show that the window of opportunity we have for containing this virus is narrowing," Tedros warned.

Feb. 23, 2020: In a speech, President Xi admitted, "This is both a crisis and a big test for us."

Feb. 25, 2020: CDC's Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the incident manager for the COVID-19 response, described in a telebriefing the likely possibility of canceling large gatherings and closing schools and workplaces. "I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming," she acknowledged, "and that disruption to everyday life may be severe."

Feb. 28, 2020: On this day, WHO raised the global risk of the coronavirus from "high" to "very high." In New Zealand, the Ministry of Health stated that, "The first case of COVID-19 is now confirmed in New Zealand in a person in their 60s recently returned from Iran." New Zealand, under the leadership of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, would go on to have one of the most effective early responses to the coronavirus, keeping the illness at bay by closing its borders and shuttering swaths of its economy.

March 3, 2020: Prime Minister Johnson said, "I was at a hospital the other night where I think ... there were actually coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you'll be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands." Just over a month later, Johnson would return to the hospital and require " liters and liters of oxygen" - 10 days after testing positive for COVID-19.

March 9, 2020: "In my understanding," said Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, "the destructive power of this virus is overestimated. Maybe it's even being promoted for economic reasons." At this point, Brazil had only registered 25 cases of COVID-19 and no deaths. Today, Brazil has had nearly 700,000 deaths due to the virus.

An early and widening outbreak in Italy led Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to lock down the country's north. It was an unpopular move. Conte remarked to La Repubblica newspaper that this was Italy's "darkest hour." He added, "It is not easy to change life habits from one day to the next and accept personal sacrifices in view of a collective good. [But] if we all respect the rules, the country will soon be able to raise its head again."

March 10, 2020: Despite outbreaks in Brazil, Italy and over 100 other countries - and clear evidence that the coronavirus was spreading within Washington state, after a meeting with Republican senators, President Trump announced, "It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."

March 11, 2020: In January, WHO had called COVID-19 a virus of concern. Now, in an announcement, Tedros upgraded it: WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock, and we are deeply concerned by alarming levels of severity and inaction. We have made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic."

COVID-19 went on to be responsible for the first pandemic ever caused by a coronavirus. More than three years in, there have been 759 million cases and almost 7 million deaths worldwide.

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On 3/11/20, WHO declared a pandemic. These quotes and photos recall that historic time

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Three years ago, on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was officially designated a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The novel coronavirus had fanned out across the globe, and the world had lost its ability to contain it. Countries reacted to the emerging disease with a mix of denial, incredulity and fear.

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natural disasters happens more frequently in different parts of the world. They tend to have impact on specific locations and generally the secondary effect reverberates around the world. Example volcanic eruption affects air travel around the world https:https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/apr/19/eyjafjallajokull-volcano-climate-carbon-emissions

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The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano is unlikely to have any significant impact on climate but has caused a small fall in carbon emissions, experts say.

Although large eruptions such as Mount Pinatubo in 1991 can spew out enough material to shade and cool the planet, recent activity in Iceland is very small in comparison. The ash cloud has not reached the high atmosphere, where it would have the most effect, and it contains little sulphur, which forms reflective droplets of sulphuric acid. The World Meteorological Organisation in Geneva says any cooling effect from Eyjafjallajokull will be "very insignificant".

A larger effect on the atmosphere, though still small in global terms, comes from the mass-grounding of European flights over the past few days. According to the Environmental Transport Association, by the end of today the flight ban will have prevented the emission of some 2.8m tonnes of carbon dioxide since the first flights were grounded.

The volcanic eruption has released carbon dioxide, but the amount is dwarfed by the savings. Based on readings taken by scientists during the first phase of Eyjafjallajokull activity last month, the website Information is Beautiful calculated the volcano has emitted about 150,000 tonnes of CO2 each day. Worldwide, the US Geological Survey says volcanoes produce about 200m tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

This article was changed on 21 April. It originally said the volcano has emitted about 15,000 tonnes of CO2 each day. Information is Beautiful has since corrected this figure to 150,000; we have updated our article to reflect this.

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Iceland volcano causes fall in carbon emissions as eruption grounds aircraft

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The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano is unlikely to have any significant impact on climate but has caused a small fall in carbon emissions, experts say. Although large eruptions such as Mount Pinatubo in 1991 can spew out enough material to shade and cool the planet, recent activity in Iceland is very small in comparison.

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As many simultaneous changes affect people’s daily lives: a population that is ageing, diversifying and becoming concentrated in growth centres, and increasing mental health problems.

#Group4 #megatrend

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What’s Causing the Increase in Mental Health & Well-being Challenges for our Maintenance Workforce? | Mainstream

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Mental health continues to be a major issue in the workplaces of our MAINSTREAM community. This rated as the #1 challenge in the annual MAINSTREAM State of Asset Management Report.

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Consumers are taking into consideration ethical process of products, for example, Ukraine war, climate change and food and water shortage.
Source: https://www.mintel.com/advertising-and-marketing-market-news/consumer-sustainability-barometer/?utm_term=sustainability%20trends&utm_campaign=SCH_(CP-LeadGen)_(G-LAR)_%7BIndustries%7D_(D-All)_E_&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=9603040692&hsa_cam=14322203207&hsa_grp=140257164156&hsa_ad=617239356698&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-298541009273&hsa_kw=sustainability%20trends&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=CjwKCAjw_MqgBhAGEiwAnYOAerC4oUbrNyl6eoG7hlYYH4ubAjP6FfCvw0b4O-UN9dp65uig-_YC1xoC6i0QAvD_BwE

#trend #group2

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The Mintel Consulting Sustainability Barometer features trended data and insight on consumers' sustainability attitudes and behaviours across 16 countries.

Following a tumultuous 12 months, it's understandable that companies and brands are struggling to know where to begin their journey of organising for sustainability or how to get internal stakeholders on board, as the arguments for sustainability could be in danger of slipping back into idealism. As ever, our aim at Mintel Consulting remains to offer guidance on how to ensure sustainable solutions for your organization - be they products, policies, campaigns or services - best resonate, and succeed, with consumers.

Current tumult - caused by (among other things) a disappointing COP26, conflict in Ukraine, broken supply chains, food shortages and record-breaking heat waves - makes it more crucial than ever that transitioning to clean energy and resilient, responsibly-sourced resources be communicated and quantified to consumers as a cost-saving exercise and one that delivers long-term return on investment for our stability, security and well being. That is going to put an onus on governments and companies to share those responsibilities and mobilise consumers in the process.

The 2022 edition of Mintel Consulting's Sustainability Barometer reflects that reality check from a consumer perspective, with concerns around climate change, water and food shortages being prioritised ahead of previous preoccupations with waste and plastic. All of this points towards the emergence of a more informed and hardened global consumer.

Download the 2022 Mintel Consulting Sustainability Barometer now to find out:

How consumer sentiment, behaviour and action has changed in the last year

Global consumers' leading environmental and social concerns

The degree to which companies, consumers and governments are most responsible for sustainability initiatives

Recommendations for activating consumers against the Sustainable Development Goals

Challenges facing brand sustainability initiatives, key takeaways, and the approaches for success

Download for free now and learn how your products, policies and services can be sustainable and profitable now and for years to come. If you have specific questions about how sustainability will shape the future, Mintel Consulting is here to take the guesswork out of your process, solve your business challenges and help you move forward, faster and with confidence. Get in touch today!

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Mintel Consulting Sustainability Barometer 2022 | Mintel

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The Mintel Consulting Sustainability Barometer features trended data and insight on consumers' sustainability attitudes and behaviours across 16 countries. Following a tumultuous 12 months, it's understandable that companies and brands are struggling to know where to begin their journey of organising for sustainability or how to get internal stakeholders on board, as the arguments for sustainability could be in danger of slipping back into idealism.

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#trend #group2

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Vety tekee vahvasti tuloa ilmailuun yhtenä keinona vähentää lentoliikenteen päästöjä. Ensimmäiset testilennot vetypolttokennokäyttöisillä matkustajakoneilla osoittavat, että fossiilinen polttoaine on korvattavissa.

Startup-yritys Universal Hydrogen 40-paikkainen Dash 8-300 -matkustajakone lensi torstaina Washingtonin lähellä Yhdysvalloissa 15 minuuttia kestävän testilennon. ZeroAvian 19-paikkaisella Dornier 228-lentokoneella tehtiin historiallinen lento tammikuussa Isossa-Britanniassa.

Molemmissa testeissä yksi potkuriturbiinimoottoreista korvattiin vetypolttokennoon ja sähköön perustuvalla voimansiirtolaitteistolla.

Ensimmäiset vetylennot tapahtuvat juuri koneilla, joihin on asennettu vastaava jälkiasennussarja. Esimerkiksi Universal Hydrogen kehittää sellaista ATR 72-potkuriturbiinikoneisiin. Yksi ensimmäisistä lentoyhtiöasiakkaista on on Suomessakin aiemmin lentänyt DAT, joka aloittaa vetylennot Tanskassa vuosikymmenen puolivälissä.

ZeroAvian ja Universal Hydrogenin tavoitteena on tuoda vetylentokoneet kaupalliseen käyttöön vuonna 2025. Koneet soveltuvat lyhyille alueellisille lennoille.

Universal Hydrogenin ATR 72-koneeseen lastataan kapseleita, joissa on paineistettua vetykaasua. Säiliöt vievät paljon tilaa ja vähentävät istuinpaikkojen määrää. Tekniikan kehittyessä koneissa siirrytäänkin käyttämään nestemäistä vetyä. Kuva: Universal Hydrogen

Finnair mukana uusien vetykoneiden määrittelyssä

Lentoyhtiöt ja koneiden valmistajat tekevät nyt pohjatyötä 2030-luvun puolivälissä käyttöön tuleville suuremmille vetylentokoneille.

Finnair osallistuu eri lentokoneidenvalmistajien kanssa keskusteluihin, joissa määritellään koneiden käyttäjävaatimuksia. Yhtiö ei kuitenkaan vielä hetkeen aio tehdä päätöksiä uusien koneiden hankinnasta.

- Lentokoneenvalmistajat ovat hyvin kiinnostuneita kuulemaan lentoyhtiöiden ja lentoasemien näkökulman siihen, että mitä ne vaativat koneilta, sanoo laivastohallinnan johtaja Riku Aho Finnairilta.

Eurooppalaisen Airbusin tavoitteena on tuoda markkinoille vetylentokoneet vuoteen 2035 mennessä.

Airbusin koneissa tullaan käyttämään vetykaasun sijaan energiatiheämpää nestemäistä vetyä tilan ja painon säästämiseksi. Koneissa ei ole polttokennoja, vaan vety-ilmaseos poltetaan suoraan koneiden kaasuturbiineissa.

Nestemäisen vedyn käyttäminen tekee mahdolliseksi pidemmän toimintasäteen, joten koneilla voidaan lentää Euroopan sisäisiä lentoja.

Finnairia kiinnostavat myös mannertenväliä lentävät vetykoneet. Tällaisten koneiden arvioidaan tulevan kaupalliseen liikenteeseen 2050-luvulla. Ulkoisesti ne muistuttavat enää hyvin vähän perinteisiä putkimaisia lentokoneita.

- Vedyn energiatiheys on tilavuusyksikköä kohden synteettisiä polttoaineita heikompi. Lentokone pitää rakenteellisesti suunnitella uudelleen, jotta vetyä voidaan varastoida lentokoneen rakenteisiin tarpeeksi paljon, sanoo Riku Aho.

Mannertenvälisillä kaukolentoja vetykoneet lentävät 2050-luvulla. Koneissa on suuret vetytankit, jotka mahtuvat pullean rungon sisälle.

Kovin nopeasti kaukoliikenteen koneet eivät kuitenkaan uusiudu. Nykyiset Finnairin Airbus A350-koneet ovat liikenteessä vielä parikymmentä vuotta, joten uusiutuvat polttoaineet tulevat olemaan aluksi keskeisin keino vähentää päästöjä.

- Biopohjaisista uusiutuvista polttoaineista siirrytään käyttämään asteittain enemmän synteettisiä polttoaineita, kun on varmistuttu, että ne toimivat nykyisissä lentokonemoottoreissa.

Rakennetaanko Helsinki-Vantaalle oma vetytehdas

Euroopan lentoasemille vetylentokoneiden tulo merkitsee suuria haasteita, kun rakennettavana on kokonainen vedyn jakelu- ja varastointijärjestelmä. Tulevaisuuden jakelutapaa mietitään myös Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemalla.

- Vety voidaan tuoda lentokoneille autoilla, kuten lentopolttoaine nykyisin. Vaihtoehtona on maanalainen putkijärjestelmä, sanoo johtaja Henri Hansson Finavialta.

Suomessa alkanut vetytalouden vallankumous helpottaa myös lentoasemilla uuden polttoaineen käyttöönottoa. Lentokoneissa käytettävää vetyä voitaisiin valmistaa jopa lentoasemilla, kun vetylentäminen yleistyy ja vedyn käyttö kasvaa.

Liikenne- ja viestintävirasto Traficomin teettämän selvityksen mukaan vetylentämisen yleistyessä Helsinki-Vantaalla voitaisiin tuottaa päivittäin noin miljoona litraa nestemäistä vetyä, mikä vastaa 250 000 litraa fossiilisia polttoaineita.

Finavia harkitsee maanalaisen putkijärjestelmän rakentamista vetylentokoneiden tankkaamiseen Helsinki-Vantaalla. Aluksi vety tuotaisiin koneille jakeluautoilla. Kuva: Janne Järvinen / Yle

Maakuntakentille nesteytettyä vetyä kuljetettaisiin autoilla ja varastoitaisiin säiliöissä, kuten lentokerosiinia nykyisin.

- Mitä suurempi lentoasema on, niin sitä kannattavampaa paikallinen tuotanto on, laskee Traficomille selvityksen tehnyt projektipäällikkö Riku Huhta Destialta.

- Polttotekniikalla tai elektrolyysillä tehtyä vetyä on täysin mahdollista tehdä, mutta viime kädessä kysymys on siitä, onko teknis-taloudellista mahdollisuutta skaalata sitä mittakaavaa niin isoksi, että se riittää palvelemaan isoja käyttäjämääriä, pohtii johtaja Henri Hansson.

Helsinki-Vantaalla vetyä on tarkoitus käyttää aluksi lentokenttäalueella liikkuvissa busseissa tai muussa maakalustossa.

- Näin voitaisiin testata uutta teknologiaa aluksi maakulkuneuvoissa, ja kun vetylentokoneet tulevat, niin pystytään helposti laajentamaan toimintaa, sanoo Riku Huhta.

Vastaavia hankkeita on käynnistymässä useilla lentoasemilla eri puolilla Eurooppaa. Esimerkiksi Ranskassa Toulouse-Blagnacin lentokentällä toimiva asema tuottaa päivittäin 400 kilogrammaa vetyä lentoaseman maakuljetusajoneuvojen käyttöön.

Toulouse-Blagnacin lentokentällä sijaitseva vetyasema, josta tankataan lentoaseman vetybusseja. Kuva: Hervé Goussé / Airbus

Lentoliikenteen päästökauppa vauhdittaa ilmailun vetysiirtymää

Vedyn käyttöönottoa kaupallisessa lentoliikenteessä vauhdittaa alalle tulossa oleva ympäristöön ja ilmastoon liittyvä sääntely. Ilmailualan maksuttomat päästöoikeudet lakkaavat asteittain, ja kaikki päästöoikeudet huutokaupataan vuodesta 2026 alkaen.

Erityisesti hiilidioksipäästöjen tuleva hinnoittelu tekee uusiutuvista lentopolttoaineista ja myöhemmin myös vedystä entistä houkuttelevampia energiamuotoja lentoliikenteelle.

- Viimeisen puolen vuoden aikana on kiihtyvään tahtiin käynnistynyt erilaisia ilmailun vetyprojekteja. Ilmailuun liittyvät vetyhankkeet koskevat maakaluston kehittämistä, erilaisia vetyteknologioita lentokonemoottoreissa, sanoo johtaja Riku Aho.

Yksi lentokonemoottoreiden kehityskohteista on selvittää, miten vedyn palamisessa syntyvää vettä voitaisiin hallita paremmin koneissa. Lentävä vetykone jättää taakseen vesihöyryä, joista syntyy keinotekoisia pilviä. Tällä on yhä vaikutusta ilmaston lämpenemiseen, vaikka hiilidioksidipäästöjä uusista vetykoneista ei enää tulekaan.
Aiheesta voi keskustella maanantaihin kello 23 saakka.

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Läpimurto päästöttömässä lentämisessä on lähellä - testilennot varmistavat, että vety sopii lentokoneiden polttoaineeksi

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Vety tekee vahvasti tuloa ilmailuun yhtenä keinona vähentää lentoliikenteen päästöjä. Ensimmäiset testilennot vetypolttokennokäyttöisillä matkustajakoneilla osoittavat, että fossiilinen polttoaine on korvattavissa. Startup-yritys Universal Hydrogen 40-paikkainen Dash 8-300 -matkustajakone lensi torstaina Washingtonin lähellä Yhdysvalloissa 15 minuuttia kestävän testilennon. ZeroAvian 19-paikkaisella Dornier 228-lentokoneella tehtiin historiallinen lento tammikuussa Isossa-Britanniassa. Molemmissa testeissä yksi potkuriturbiinimoottoreista korvattiin vetypolttokennoon ja sähköön perustuvalla voimansiirtolaitteistolla.

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#weak signal #group 2

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Heart Aerospace aikoo saada 30-paikkaisen sähkölentokoneen kaupalliseen liikenteeseen vuonna 2028. Yhtiö rakentaa Göteborgiin uudet tutkimus- ja tuotantotilat.

Air Canada tilasi torstaina ruotsalaisyhtiöltä 30 sähkölentokonetta. 30-paikkaisten koneiden valmistus tapahtuu Göteborgissa.

Heart Aerospace on luopunut suunnitelmista rakentaa 19-paikkainen sähkölentokone. Sähkölentokoneesta tulee jo alkuvaiheessa 30-paikkainen, ja samalla sen kantama pitenee 800 kilometriin.

Päivitetty versio vastaa muotoilun ja matkustamon osalta nykyisiä lyhyillä lennoilla käytettyjä potkuriturbiinikoneita. Koneissa on enemmän säilytys- ja tavaratilaa, istuinten yläpuolelle tulee hylly vaatteille sekä käsimatkatavaroille. Lisäksi koneessa ovat wc- ja keittiötilat.

Matkustamoon saadaan lisää tilaa sijoittamalla akut rungon alle tulevaan erilliseen tilaan. Koneilla voidaan operoida kaikissa sääolosuhteissa.

Täyssähköisenä koneen kantama on parhaimmillaan 200-400 kilometriä, mutta siihen voidaan asentaa myös kaksi uusiutuvalla lentopolttoaineella toimivaa generaattoria tuottamaan virtaa akuille, jolloin koneen kantama pitenee 800 kilometriin.

- ES-30 on sähkölentokone, joka mahdollistaa lentoyhtiöille helpon siirtymisen vanhoista koneista uusiin sähkölentokoneisiin useilla eri reiteillä, sanoo Heart Aerospacen toimitusjohtaja Anders Forslund lentokoneen julkistustilaisuudessa.

Heart Aerospacen mukaan suunnitelmien muuttuminen lykkää sähkölentokoneiden tuloa markkinoille. 19-paikkaisen koneen piti aloittaa kaupalliset lennot vuonna 2026, mutta nyt yhtiö arvioi kaupallisten toimitusten alkavan vuonna 2028.

Lentoyhtiöt toivoivat suurempia sähkölentokoneita

Uusien suunnitelmien taustalla on lentoyhtiöiltä tullut toive. 30-paikkainen matkustajakone soveltuu paremmin useimpien lentoyhtiöiden lyhyille reiteille. Tällöin myös käyttökustannukset matkustajaa kohti jäävät alhaisemmiksi kuin pienemmillä koneilla operoitaessa.

Heart Aerospace ehti saada yli 200 tilausta 19-paikkaisesta koneesta. Forslundin mukaan tähän mennessä yhtiöt ovat tehneet uusia aiesopimuksia lähes sadasta ES-30-koneesta. Pohjoismaisista lentoyhtiöistä aiesopimuksen ovat tehneet Braathens, Icelandair sekä SAS.

- Kun saamme sähkölentokoneet laajasti käyttöön, lentoyhteyksien määrä kasvaa merkittävästi Ruotsissa. Samalla kuitenkin hiilijalanjälkemme pienenee merkittävästi, kuvailee Braathens Regional Airlinesin toimitusjohtaja Ulrika Matsqård.

Eniten sähköllä toimivia matkustajakoneita on tulossa alkuvaiheessa liikenteeseen Yhdysvalloissa. United Airlines ja Mesa AirGroup ovat tilanneet yli 200 sähkölentokonetta. Yhtiöt vahvistavat vaihtavansa tilauksen päivitettyyn ES-90-versioon.

Uusimpana asiakkaana Air Canada ilmoitti torstaina tilaavansa 30 sähkölentokonetta. Samalla yhtiöstä tuli Heart Aerospacen uusi vähemmistöosakas.

Suomessa sähkölentomatkustajakoneella voitaisiin lentää Helsinki-Vantaalta ilman välilaskua Rovaniemelle ja Kuusamoon asti. Koneen alhaisemmat käyttökustannukset tekisivät mahdolliseksi operoinnin myös vähäliikenteisiltä kentiltä, joihin ei tällä hetkellä kannata lentää kaupallisesti.

Kannattavaa lentoliikenne olisi siis myös tällä hetkellä valtion ostamilla lentoyhteyksillä kuudelle kentälle Suomessa.

Heart Aerospacen toimitusjohtaja Anders Forslund ES-30-sähkölentokoneen rungossa yhtiön tuotantolaitoksessa Göteborgissa. Yhtiö aikoo valmistaa koneita vuoden 2027 jälkeen 120 kappaleen vuosivauhtia. Kuva: Patrik Olsson / Heart Aerospace

Tutkimus- ja kehityskeskus Göteborgiin

Sähköisen lentämisen nopeaa kehittymistä vauhdittaa tutkimus- ja kehityskeskuksen Northern Runwayn perustaminen Säven lentokentälle Göteborgiin.

Kehitystyöhön on tulossa mukaan myös ruotsalainen puolustusteollisuusyhtiö Saab, josta on tullut Heart Aerospacen vähemmistöosakas. Yhtiöt ovat allekirjoittaneet yhteistyösopimuksen osajärjestelmien toimittamisesta sekä konetyypin sertifioinnista ja valmistamisesta.

Lentokoneiden valmistus alkaa Göteborgissa vuonna 2027, jolloin valmistuvat uudet kokoonpanotilat. Alkuvaiheessa koneita valmistetaan 120 kappaleen vuosivauhdilla.
Voit keskustella aiheesta 16.9. klo 23 asti. Lue lisää: Murros on tapahtumassa nopeammin kuin kuviteltiin: Sähkölentokoneet tulevat käyttöön jo lähivuosina - Lentohäpeä ja koronakriisi saivat lentoyhtiöihin vauhtia Tässä ovat ensimmäiset sähkölentokoneilla lennettävät reitit Suomessa - Lapissa lääkärimatka voi kutistua neljästä tunnista puoleen tuntiin

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Ruotsalaisyhtiö julkisti 30-paikkaisen sähkölentokoneen - koneilla voisi hoitaa suuren osan Suomen sisäisestä lentoliikenteestä

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Heart Aerospace aikoo saada 30-paikkaisen sähkölentokoneen kaupalliseen liikenteeseen vuonna 2028. Yhtiö rakentaa Göteborgiin uudet tutkimus- ja tuotantotilat. Heart Aerospace on luopunut suunnitelmista rakentaa 19-paikkainen sähkölentokone. Sähkölentokoneesta tulee jo alkuvaiheessa 30-paikkainen, ja samalla sen kantama pitenee 800 kilometriin. Päivitetty versio vastaa muotoilun ja matkustamon osalta nykyisiä lyhyillä lennoilla käytettyjä potkuriturbiinikoneita.

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Fulfilling global needs GM products becoming popular worldwide.

https://allianceforscience.org/blog/2018/02/gmo-crops-increasing-yield-20-years-progress-ahead/

https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/food-genetically-modified

#trends #group1

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“The planet is in the midst of a biodiversity and climate crisis… and we have a last chance to act… A nature-positive future needs transformative - game changing - shifts in how we produce, how we consume, how we govern, and what we finance.”

#trend #group1

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Nature and Biodiversity

These six charts outline the scale of biodiversity loss - and what can be done to reach the nature-positive target. Image: Unsplash/Alenka Skvarc

Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

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6 charts that show the state of biodiversity and nature loss - and how we can go nature positive

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Charts from the WWF's Living Planet Report 2022 outline the scale of biodiversity loss - and suggest what can be done to become 'nature positive' by 2030.

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Russia can be a warning sign, why companies have to consider more in the future to what economies they want to contribute to by their investments.

#weaksignal #group1

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is china still a good investment amid covid and russia's war? - cnn

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Analysis: Foreign investors are ditching China. Russia's war is the latest trigger

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Investors are ditching China on an unprecedented scale as a cocktail of political and business risks, and rising interest rates elsewhere, make the world's second biggest economy a less attractive place to keep their money.

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# GROUP 1 life beyond earth / space force

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# GROUP 1 life beyond earth / space force

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Space Force  a new military unit being establish by united states and other life activities in space  beyond earth is  or are bound to change how we operate on earth and beyond. https://www.spaceforce.mil/

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The Official Website for the United States Space Force

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Decrease in creativity due to lack of boredom

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Decrease in creativity due to lack of boredom

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#weaksignal #group2

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Research Suggests We’re All Getting Less Creative and Scientists Think They Know Why

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Scores on standard tests of creativity have been declining for decades.

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"Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a vital tool in combating climate change. Achieving carbon neutrality – net zero carbon emissions through overall reduction and offsetting – is the world’s most urgent mission. "

#trend #group1

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Novata Team
February 22, 2022

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a vital tool in combating climate change. Achieving carbon neutrality - net zero carbon emissions through overall reduction and offsetting - is the world's most urgent mission.

Across the globe, regulators have expanded emission disclosure rules in both public and private markets and consumers are increasingly holding brands accountable. Young talent entering the workforce say they'll take a paycut to work at a sustainable company. Investors are increasingly scrutinizing whether companies are setting net-zero targets and in turn, studying progress toward meeting those commitments.

As the World Economic Forum notes, "CEOs that proactively address the changing landscape will be able to build a long-standing competitive advantage while playing a vital role in shaping a climate-safe global economy. Those who do not may disappear."

Major global brands, from General Motors and Amazon to Walmart and Starbucks, have made headlines announcing aggressive targets for carbon neutrality by 2030 and 2040. Private market players also have a fundamental role to play. But where do you begin?

Getting Started on Ambitious Net Zero Targets

Assess your current carbon footprint: Look at the data and determine the source of your emissions. Start with Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

Scope 1 emissions are generated directly from a business, think chemical production and vehicles.

University of Michigan identified its Scope 1 emissions to be from campus power plants, heating and cooling for buildings, and bus transport.
The University is committing to eliminating those emissions across its three campuses by 2040, establishing a revolving fund for carbon-neutrality efforts.

Scope 2 emissions are indirect, meaning they relate to emissions from energy that is purchased by the company, like employee commuting or electricity.

Identify areas for improvement: From there, identify where your company's greatest emissions come from and how to scale them back.

It is important to determine actual targets and the dates by which the company plans on meeting them.

While being energy efficient can be costly, companies can and do transition into net-zero models profitably.

Patagonia is one business pushing both long and short term models profitably. It has moved 87% of its fabric to recycled materials while committing to achieving carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain by 2025.

Set reasonable and measurable targets: Inauthentic action can come at a higher cost than no action at all.

Greenwashing, or using sustainability as a marketing ploy without real commitment to it, can be detrimental to an organization's perception and its bottom line. It can be avoided by setting and reporting on ambitious net-zero targets.

The Science Based Targets initiative is a helpful resource, providing a step-by-step guide on how to set science-based net-zero targets.

A recent report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) warns the climate crisis will have deeper consequences than previously reported, and we must adapt as a global society. Sustained and aggressive greenhouse gas reduction can limit further climate change and investment in climate action can help communities most at risk.

We will continue to see headlines about organizations making commitments to carbon neutrality. It's an urgent topic both for the environment and for business. Like any ESG initiative, success requires intentional action and data from which to measure progress. Private organizations, as well as GPs and LPs, can use data to set appropriate targets, measure progress and benchmark against peers.

At Novata, we believe committing to sustainability is a must for organizations of all sizes, and we are here to help you get started. Get in touch to learn more.

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Trending Topics in ESG: Carbon Neutrality | Novata

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Novata Team February 22, 2022 Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a vital tool in combating climate change. Achieving carbon neutrality - net zero carbon emissions through overall reduction and offsetting - is the world's most urgent mission. Across the globe, regulators have expanded emission disclosure rules in both public and private markets and consumers are increasingly holding brands accountable.

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https://www.euromonitor.com/article/megatrend-healthy-living
"As consumers begin to pay more attention to improving their physical well-being, they are also turning their attention to their mental well-being."
#megatrend #group3

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Healthy lifestyle habits are becoming the normal way of life as concerns over obesity, food sensitivity and people affected by disease continue to rise. However, perceptions of healthy living are shifting beyond just physical health to represent a much more holistic view, where food, exercise, mental well-being and broader lifestyle issues are seen as a whole entity.

This lifestyle shift provides a significant opportunity for businesses to diversify, tailor and differentiate their brands by weaving health into product and service concepts. The more of these healthy living attributes a brand can reflect and connect to, the stronger it will be and the deeper the relationship it can create with the health-conscious consumer.

Technology drives the shift towards healthy living

Technology plays a pivotal role in consumer decision-making and the ability of manufacturers and retailers to meet the needs of today's consumer. Advancements in technology are increasing the possibility of living longer and having more prosperous lives, as well as providing people with the means to autonomously manage their own well-being.

Devices, digital platforms and science evolution are facilitating health tracking, diagnosis, general health awareness and personalised prevention concepts. For example, Go Forward, Inc. is an integrated health subscription service in the USA that provides access to medical professionals on demand, providing health data via an app-based platform for consumers to track.

Consumers take control of their well-being

As consumers begin to pay more attention to improving their physical well-being, they are also turning their attention to their mental well-being. In this instance, self-improvement sits at the more manageable end of the spectrum as consumers take more responsibility for their mental health in their daily lifestyle choices.

The travel industry is an example of how businesses can take advantage of the shift towards self-care. Health and travel are closely connected, with resorts and hotel spas catering to travellers' mental and physical health. Yet more and more we see health and wellness becoming an integral part of all travel as consumers seek to escape busy lives, spend time in nature with family and friends and possibly even take the opportunity to have a "digital detox".

An example of this is InterContinental Hotels Group opening their EVEN brand, as the answer to travel stress. With 6 hotels in the USA, the brand focuses on conscientious travellers and offers exercise equipment in the room, a large fitness centre and healthy eating options and future design concepts of living and hospitality spaces aim to weave in well-being as a key attribute.

For more information on how to conduct megatrend analysis for your business and the top 8 megatrends that will have the most impact on your business, download our white paper Megatrend Analysis: Putting the Consumer at the Heart of Business.

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Healthy lifestyle habits are becoming the normal way of life as concerns over obesity, food sensitivity and people affected by disease continue to rise. However, perceptions of healthy living are shifting beyond just physical health to represent a much more holistic view, where food, exercise, mental well-being and broader lifestyle issues are seen as a whole entity.

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Rents are too high - more homeless people

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Rents are too high - more homeless people

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Living costs are so high that people can't afford a rental apartment nor a house of their own. They may live in communes or be entirely homeless. #weak signal #group 2

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Asunnot | Suomalaisten asumismenot kasvavat rajusti: Lapsiperheen kulut nousevat keskimäärin lähes 1 400 euroon kuussa

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”Herää kysymys, miten kotitaloudet pärjäävät”, sanoo Omakotiliiton toiminnanjohtaja Marju Silander.

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Metros and astroids  are wild cards that are boud to impact all when they enter orbit https://www.livescience.com/asteroid-feared-to-hit-earth-in-2046-will-almost-certainly-miss

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After a brief flirtation with doom, the newly discovered asteroid that was given a 1-in-600 chance of slamming into Earth on Valentine's Day 2046 is now highly unlikely to hit our planet, NASA announced.

The asteroid, which was first detected on Feb. 27 and named "2023 DW," measures about 165 feet (50 meters) in diameter, or roughly the length of an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Initially given a slim but possible chance of a direct impact by NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (opens in new tab), the threat posed by the asteroid generated a flurry of news coverage advising readers to reconsider any romantic plans made for 2046. Now, NASA has revised this estimate, putting the asteroid's chances of hitting Earth at around 1-in-770, meaning it has a 99.87% chance of missing us. The European Space Agency's (ESA) Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (opens in new tab) has also lowered its risk estimate - downgrading the impact odds from a 1-in-625 chance to around 1-in-1,584.

"It will go down now with every observation until it reaches zero in a couple of days at the latest," Richard Moissl (opens in new tab), the head of the ESA's planetary defense office, told Agence France-Presse (opens in new tab) on Tuesday (Mar. 14). "No one needs to be worried about this guy."

NASA tracks the locations and orbits of roughly 28,000 asteroids, following them with the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), an array of four telescopes that can perform a scan of the entire night sky every 24 hours. The space agency flags any space object that comes within 120 million miles (193 million kilometers) of Earth as a "near-Earth object" and classifies any large object within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of our planet as "potentially hazardous."

NASA has estimated the trajectories of all these near-Earth objects beyond the end of the century. Earth faces no known danger from an apocalyptic asteroid collision for at least the next 100 years, according to NASA (opens in new tab).

If 2023 DW did smash into Earth, it would not be a cataclysmic event like the 7.5-mile-wide (12 km) dinosaur-killing asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago. But this doesn't mean smaller asteroids of its size aren't dangerous. In March 2021, for example, a bowling ball-size meteor exploded over Vermont with the force of 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of TNT. Even more dramatically, a 2013 explosion of a 59-foot-wide (18 m) meteor above Chelyabinsk, Russia, generated a blast roughly equal to around 400 to 500 kilotons of TNT, or 26 to 33 times the energy released by the Hiroshima bomb, and injured around 1,500 people.

Space agencies around the world are already working on possible ways to deflect a dangerous asteroid if one were ever headed our way. On Sept. 26, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft redirected the non-hazardous asteroid Dimorphos by ramming it off course, altering the asteroid's orbit by 32 minutes in the first test of Earth's planetary defense system. NASA has since hailed the mission as a success beyond all expectations.

China has also suggested it is in the early planning stages of an asteroid-redirect mission. By slamming 23 Long March 5 rockets into the asteroid Bennu, which will swing within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million km) of Earth's orbit between the years 2175 and 2199, the country hopes to divert the space rock from a potentially catastrophic impact with our planet.

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Asteroid feared to hit Earth in 2046 will almost certainly miss, NASA says

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After a brief flirtation with doom, the newly discovered asteroid that was given a 1-in-600 chance of slamming into Earth on Valentine's Day 2046 is now highly unlikely to hit our planet, NASA announced. The asteroid, which was first detected on Feb.

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Massive data break-in

#wildcard #group4

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Small spikes of gratification brought by digital media have made many people addicted to their smart
phones. #weaksignal #group2

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ustin Rosenstein had tweaked his laptop's operating system to block Reddit, banned himself from Snapchat, which he compares to heroin, and imposed limits on his use of Facebook. But even that wasn't enough. In August, the 34-year-old tech executive took a more radical step to restrict his use of social media and other addictive technologies.

Rosenstein purchased a new iPhone and instructed his assistant to set up a parental-control feature to prevent him from downloading any apps.

He was particularly aware of the allure of Facebook "likes", which he describes as "bright dings of pseudo-pleasure" that can be as hollow as they are seductive. And Rosenstein should know: he was the Facebook engineer who created the "like" button in the first place.

A decade after he stayed up all night coding a prototype of what was then called an "awesome" button, Rosenstein belongs to a small but growing band of Silicon Valley heretics who complain about the rise of the so-called "attention economy": an internet shaped around the demands of an advertising economy.

These refuseniks are rarely founders or chief executives, who have little incentive to deviate from the mantra that their companies are making the world a better place. Instead, they tend to have worked a rung or two down the corporate ladder: designers, engineers and product managers who, like Rosenstein, several years ago put in place the building blocks of a digital world from which they are now trying to disentangle themselves. "It is very common," Rosenstein says, "for humans to develop things with the best of intentions and for them to have unintended, negative consequences."

Rosenstein, who also helped create Gchat during a stint at Google, and now leads a San Francisco-based company that improves office productivity, appears most concerned about the psychological effects on people who, research shows, touch, swipe or tap their phone 2,617 times a day.

There is growing concern that as well as addicting users, technology is contributing toward so-called "continuous partial attention", severely limiting people's ability to focus, and possibly lowering IQ. One recent study showed that the mere presence of smartphones damages cognitive capacity - even when the device is turned off. "Everyone is distracted," Rosenstein says. "All of the time."

But those concerns are trivial compared with the devastating impact upon the political system that some of Rosenstein's peers believe can be attributed to the rise of social media and the attention-based market that drives it.

Drawing a straight line between addiction to social media and political earthquakes like Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump, they contend that digital forces have completely upended the political system and, left unchecked, could even render democracy as we know it obsolete.

In 2007, Rosenstein was one of a small group of Facebook employees who decided to create a path of least resistance - a single click - to "send little bits of positivity" across the platform. Facebook's "like" feature was, Rosenstein says, "wildly" successful: engagement soared as people enjoyed the short-term boost they got from giving or receiving social affirmation, while Facebook harvested valuable data about the preferences of users that could be sold to advertisers. The idea was soon copied by Twitter, with its heart-shaped "likes" (previously star-shaped "favourites"), Instagram, and countless other apps and websites.

It was Rosenstein's colleague, Leah Pearlman, then a product manager at Facebook and on the team that created the Facebook "like", who announced the feature in a 2009 blogpost. Now 35 and an illustrator, Pearlman confirmed via email that she, too, has grown disaffected with Facebook "likes" and other addictive feedback loops. She has installed a web browser plug-in to eradicate her Facebook news feed, and hired a social media manager to monitor her Facebook page so that she doesn't have to.

"One reason I think it is particularly important for us to talk about this now is that we may be the last generation that can remember life before," Rosenstein says. It may or may not be relevant that Rosenstein, Pearlman and most of the tech insiders questioning today's attention economy are in their 30s, members of the last generation that can remember a world in which telephones were plugged into walls.

It is revealing that many of these younger technologists are weaning themselves off their own products, sending their children to elite Silicon Valley schools where iPhones, iPads and even laptops are banned. They appear to be abiding by a Biggie Smalls lyric from their own youth about the perils of dealing crack cocaine: never get high on your own supply.

ne morning in April this year, designers, programmers and tech entrepreneurs from across the world gathered at a conference centre on the shore of the San Francisco Bay. They had each paid up to $1,700 to learn how to manipulate people into habitual use of their products, on a course curated by conference organiser Nir Eyal.

Eyal, 39, the author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, has spent several years consulting for the tech industry, teaching techniques he developed by closely studying how the Silicon Valley giants operate.

"The technologies we use have turned into compulsions, if not full-fledged addictions," Eyal writes. "It's the impulse to check a message notification. It's the pull to visit YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter for just a few minutes, only to find yourself still tapping and scrolling an hour later." None of this is an accident, he writes. It is all "just as their designers intended".

He explains the subtle psychological tricks that can be used to make people develop habits, such as varying the rewards people receive to create "a craving", or exploiting negative emotions that can act as "triggers". "Feelings of boredom, loneliness, frustration, confusion and indecisiveness often instigate a slight pain or irritation and prompt an almost instantaneous and often mindless action to quell the negative sensation," Eyal writes.

Attendees of the 2017 Habit Summit might have been surprised when Eyal walked on stage to announce that this year's keynote speech was about "something a little different". He wanted to address the growing concern that technological manipulation was somehow harmful or immoral. He told his audience that they should be careful not to abuse persuasive design, and wary of crossing a line into coercion.

But he was defensive of the techniques he teaches, and dismissive of those who compare tech addiction to drugs. "We're not freebasing Facebook and injecting Instagram here," he said. He flashed up a slide of a shelf filled with sugary baked goods. "Just as we shouldn't blame the baker for making such delicious treats, we can't blame tech makers for making their products so good we want to use them," he said. "Of course that's what tech companies will do. And frankly: do we want it any other way?"

Without irony, Eyal finished his talk with some personal tips for resisting the lure of technology. He told his audience he uses a Chrome extension, called DF YouTube, "which scrubs out a lot of those external triggers" he writes about in his book, and recommended an app called Pocket Points that "rewards you for staying off your phone when you need to focus".

Finally, Eyal confided the lengths he goes to protect his own family. He has installed in his house an outlet timer connected to a router that cuts off access to the internet at a set time every day. "The idea is to remember that we are not powerless," he said. "We are in control."

But are we? If the people who built these technologies are taking such radical steps to wean themselves free, can the rest of us reasonably be expected to exercise our free will?

Not according to Tristan Harris, a 33-year-old former Google employee turned vocal critic of the tech industry. "All of us are jacked into this system," he says. "All of our minds can be hijacked. Our choices are not as free as we think they are."

Harris, who has been branded "the closest thing Silicon Valley has to a conscience", insists that billions of people have little choice over whether they use these now ubiquitous technologies, and are largely unaware of the invisible ways in which a small number of people in Silicon Valley are shaping their lives.

A graduate of Stanford University, Harris studied under BJ Fogg, a behavioural psychologist revered in tech circles for mastering the ways technological design can be used to persuade people. Many of his students, including Eyal, have gone on to prosperous careers in Silicon Valley.

Harris is the student who went rogue; a whistleblower of sorts, he is lifting the curtain on the vast powers accumulated by technology companies and the ways they are using that influence. "A handful of people, working at a handful of technology companies, through their choices will steer what a billion people are thinking today," he said at a recent TED talk in Vancouver.

"I don't know a more urgent problem than this," Harris says. "It's changing our democracy, and it's changing our ability to have the conversations and relationships that we want with each other." Harris went public - giving talks, writing papers, meeting lawmakers and campaigning for reform after three years struggling to effect change inside Google's Mountain View headquarters.

It all began in 2013, when he was working as a product manager at Google, and circulated a thought-provoking memo, A Call To Minimise Distraction & Respect Users' Attention, to 10 close colleagues. It struck a chord, spreading to some 5,000 Google employees, including senior executives who rewarded Harris with an impressive-sounding new job: he was to be Google's in-house design ethicist and product philosopher.

Looking back, Harris sees that he was promoted into a marginal role. "I didn't have a social support structure at all," he says. Still, he adds: "I got to sit in a corner and think and read and understand."

He explored how LinkedIn exploits a need for social reciprocity to widen its network; how YouTube and Netflix autoplay videos and next episodes, depriving users of a choice about whether or not they want to keep watching; how Snapchat created its addictive Snapstreaks feature, encouraging near-constant communication between its mostly teenage users.

The techniques these companies use are not always generic: they can be algorithmically tailored to each person. An internal Facebook report leaked this year, for example, revealed that the company can identify when teens feel "insecure", "worthless" and "need a confidence boost". Such granular information, Harris adds, is "a perfect model of what buttons you can push in a particular person".

Tech companies can exploit such vulnerabilities to keep people hooked; manipulating, for example, when people receive "likes" for their posts, ensuring they arrive when an individual is likely to feel vulnerable, or in need of approval, or maybe just bored. And the very same techniques can be sold to the highest bidder. "There's no ethics," he says. A company paying Facebook to use its levers of persuasion could be a car business targeting tailored advertisements to different types of users who want a new vehicle. Or it could be a Moscow-based troll farm seeking to turn voters in a swing county in Wisconsin.

Harris believes that tech companies never deliberately set out to make their products addictive. They were responding to the incentives of an advertising economy, experimenting with techniques that might capture people's attention, even stumbling across highly effective design by accident.

A friend at Facebook told Harris that designers initially decided the notification icon, which alerts people to new activity such as "friend requests" or "likes", should be blue. It fit Facebook's style and, the thinking went, would appear "subtle and innocuous". "But no one used it," Harris says. "Then they switched it to red and of course everyone used it."

That red icon is now everywhere. When smartphone users glance at their phones, dozens or hundreds of times a day, they are confronted with small red dots beside their apps, pleading to be tapped. "Red is a trigger colour," Harris says. "That's why it is used as an alarm signal."

The most seductive design, Harris explains, exploits the same psychological susceptibility that makes gambling so compulsive: variable rewards. When we tap those apps with red icons, we don't know whether we'll discover an interesting email, an avalanche of "likes", or nothing at all. It is the possibility of disappointment that makes it so compulsive.

It's this that explains how the pull-to-refresh mechanism, whereby users swipe down, pause and wait to see what content appears, rapidly became one of the most addictive and ubiquitous design features in modern technology. "Each time you're swiping down, it's like a slot machine," Harris says. "You don't know what's coming next. Sometimes it's a beautiful photo. Sometimes it's just an ad."

The designer who created the pull-to-refresh mechanism, first used to update Twitter feeds, is Loren Brichter, widely admired in the app-building community for his sleek and intuitive designs.

Now 32, Brichter says he never intended the design to be addictive - but would not dispute the slot machine comparison. "I agree 100%," he says. "I have two kids now and I regret every minute that I'm not paying attention to them because my smartphone has sucked me in."

Brichter created the feature in 2009 for Tweetie, his startup, mainly because he could not find anywhere to fit the "refresh" button on his app. Holding and dragging down the feed to update seemed at the time nothing more than a "cute and clever" fix. Twitter acquired Tweetie the following year, integrating pull-to-refresh into its own app.

Since then the design has become one of the most widely emulated features in apps; the downward-pull action is, for hundreds of millions of people, as intuitive as scratching an itch.

Brichter says he is puzzled by the longevity of the feature. In an era of push notification technology, apps can automatically update content without being nudged by the user. "It could easily retire," he says. Instead it appears to serve a psychological function: after all, slot machines would be far less addictive if gamblers didn't get to pull the lever themselves. Brichter prefers another comparison: that it is like the redundant "close door" button in some elevators with automatically closing doors. "People just like to push it."

All of which has left Brichter, who has put his design work on the backburner while he focuses on building a house in New Jersey, questioning his legacy. "I've spent many hours and weeks and months and years thinking about whether anything I've done has made a net positive impact on society or humanity at all," he says. He has blocked certain websites, turned off push notifications, restricted his use of the Telegram app to message only with his wife and two close friends, and tried to wean himself off Twitter. "I still waste time on it," he confesses, "just reading stupid news I already know about." He charges his phone in the kitchen, plugging it in at 7pm and not touching it until the next morning.

"Smartphones are useful tools," he says. "But they're addictive. Pull-to-refresh is addictive. Twitter is addictive. These are not good things. When I was working on them, it was not something I was mature enough to think about. I'm not saying I'm mature now, but I'm a little bit more mature, and I regret the downsides."

Not everyone in his field appears racked with guilt. The two inventors listed on Apple's patent for "managing notification connections and displaying icon badges" are Justin Santamaria and Chris Marcellino. Both were in their early 20s when they were hired by Apple to work on the iPhone. As engineers, they worked on the behind-the-scenes plumbing for push-notification technology, introduced in 2009 to enable real-time alerts and updates to hundreds of thousands of third-party app developers. It was a revolutionary change, providing the infrastructure for so many experiences that now form a part of people's daily lives, from ordering an Uber to making a Skype call to receiving breaking news updates.

But notification technology also enabled a hundred unsolicited interruptions into millions of lives, accelerating the arms race for people's attention. Santamaria, 36, who now runs a startup after a stint as the head of mobile at Airbnb, says the technology he developed at Apple was not "inherently good or bad". "This is a larger discussion for society," he says. "Is it OK to shut off my phone when I leave work? Is it OK if I don't get right back to you? Is it OK that I'm not 'liking' everything that goes through my Instagram screen?"

His then colleague, Marcellino, agrees. "Honestly, at no point was I sitting there thinking: let's hook people," he says. "It was all about the positives: these apps connect people, they have all these uses - ESPN telling you the game has ended, or WhatsApp giving you a message for free from your family member in Iran who doesn't have a message plan."

A few years ago Marcellino, 33, left the Bay Area, and is now in the final stages of retraining to be a neurosurgeon. He stresses he is no expert on addiction, but says he has picked up enough in his medical training to know that technologies can affect the same neurological pathways as gambling and drug use. "These are the same circuits that make people seek out food, comfort, heat, sex," he says.

All of it, he says, is reward-based behaviour that activates the brain's dopamine pathways. He sometimes finds himself clicking on the red icons beside his apps "to make them go away", but is conflicted about the ethics of exploiting people's psychological vulnerabilities. "It is not inherently evil to bring people back to your product," he says. "It's capitalism."

That, perhaps, is the problem. Roger McNamee, a venture capitalist who benefited from hugely profitable investments in Google and Facebook, has grown disenchanted with both companies, arguing that their early missions have been distorted by the fortunes they have been able to earn through advertising.

He identifies the advent of the smartphone as a turning point, raising the stakes in an arms race for people's attention. "Facebook and Google assert with merit that they are giving users what they want," McNamee says. "The same can be said about tobacco companies and drug dealers."

That would be a remarkable assertion for any early investor in Silicon Valley's most profitable behemoths. But McNamee, 61, is more than an arms-length money man. Once an adviser to Mark Zuckerberg, 10 years ago McNamee introduced the Facebook CEO to his friend, Sheryl Sandberg, then a Google executive who had overseen the company's advertising efforts. Sandberg, of course, became chief operating officer at Facebook, transforming the social network into another advertising heavyweight.

McNamee chooses his words carefully. "The people who run Facebook and Google are good people, whose well-intentioned strategies have led to horrific unintended consequences," he says. "The problem is that there is nothing the companies can do to address the harm unless they abandon their current advertising models."

But how can Google and Facebook be forced to abandon the business models that have transformed them into two of the most profitable companies on the planet?

McNamee believes the companies he invested in should be subjected to greater regulation, including new anti-monopoly rules. In Washington, there is growing appetite, on both sides of the political divide, to rein in Silicon Valley. But McNamee worries the behemoths he helped build may already be too big to curtail. "The EU recently penalised Google $2.42bn for anti-monopoly violations, and Google's shareholders just shrugged," he says.

Rosenstein, the Facebook "like" co-creator, believes there may be a case for state regulation of "psychologically manipulative advertising", saying the moral impetus is comparable to taking action against fossil fuel or tobacco companies. "If we only care about profit maximisation," he says, "we will go rapidly into dystopia."

ames Williams does not believe talk of dystopia is far-fetched. The ex-Google strategist who built the metrics system for the company's global search advertising business, he has had a front-row view of an industry he describes as the "largest, most standardised and most centralised form of attentional control in human history".

Williams, 35, left Google last year, and is on the cusp of completing a PhD at Oxford University exploring the ethics of persuasive design. It is a journey that has led him to question whether democracy can survive the new technological age.

He says his epiphany came a few years ago, when he noticed he was surrounded by technology that was inhibiting him from concentrating on the things he wanted to focus on. "It was that kind of individual, existential realisation: what's going on?" he says. "Isn't technology supposed to be doing the complete opposite of this?"

That discomfort was compounded during a moment at work, when he glanced at one of Google's dashboards, a multicoloured display showing how much of people's attention the company had commandeered for advertisers. "I realised: this is literally a million people that we've sort of nudged or persuaded to do this thing that they weren't going to otherwise do," he recalls.

He embarked on several years of independent research, much of it conducted while working part-time at Google. About 18 months in, he saw the Google memo circulated by Harris and the pair became allies, struggling to bring about change from within.

Williams and Harris left Google around the same time, and co-founded an advocacy group, Time Well Spent, that seeks to build public momentum for a change in the way big tech companies think about design. Williams finds it hard to comprehend why this issue is not "on the front page of every newspaper every day.

"Eighty-seven percent of people wake up and go to sleep with their smartphones," he says. The entire world now has a new prism through which to understand politics, and Williams worries the consequences are profound.

The same forces that led tech firms to hook users with design tricks, he says, also encourage those companies to depict the world in a way that makes for compulsive, irresistible viewing. "The attention economy incentivises the design of technologies that grab our attention," he says. "In so doing, it privileges our impulses over our intentions."

That means privileging what is sensational over what is nuanced, appealing to emotion, anger and outrage. The news media is increasingly working in service to tech companies, Williams adds, and must play by the rules of the attention economy to "sensationalise, bait and entertain in order to survive".

In the wake of Donald Trump's stunning electoral victory, many were quick to question the role of so-called "fake news" on Facebook, Russian-created Twitter bots or the data-centric targeting efforts that companies such as Cambridge Analytica used to sway voters. But Williams sees those factors as symptoms of a deeper problem.

It is not just shady or bad actors who were exploiting the internet to change public opinion. The attention economy itself is set up to promote a phenomenon like Trump, who is masterly at grabbing and retaining the attention of supporters and critics alike, often by exploiting or creating outrage.

Williams was making this case before the president was elected. In a blog published a month before the US election, Williams sounded the alarm bell on an issue he argued was a "far more consequential question" than whether Trump reached the White House. The reality TV star's campaign, he said, had heralded a watershed in which "the new, digitally supercharged dynamics of the attention economy have finally crossed a threshold and become manifest in the political realm".

Williams saw a similar dynamic unfold months earlier, during the Brexit campaign, when the attention economy appeared to him biased in favour of the emotional, identity-based case for the UK leaving the European Union. He stresses these dynamics are by no means isolated to the political right: they also play a role, he believes, in the unexpected popularity of leftwing politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn, and the frequent outbreaks of internet outrage over issues that ignite fury among progressives.

All of which, Williams says, is not only distorting the way we view politics but, over time, may be changing the way we think, making us less rational and more impulsive. "We've habituated ourselves into a perpetual cognitive style of outrage, by internalising the dynamics of the medium," he says.

It is against this political backdrop that Williams argues the fixation in recent years with the surveillance state fictionalised by George Orwell may have been misplaced. It was another English science fiction writer, Aldous Huxley, who provided the more prescient observation when he warned that Orwellian-style coercion was less of a threat to democracy than the more subtle power of psychological manipulation, and "man's almost infinite appetite for distractions".

Since the US election, Williams has explored another dimension to today's brave new world. If the attention economy erodes our ability to remember, to reason, to make decisions for ourselves - faculties that are essential to self-governance - what hope is there for democracy itself?

"The dynamics of the attention economy are structurally set up to undermine the human will," he says. "If politics is an expression of our human will, on individual and collective levels, then the attention economy is directly undermining the assumptions that democracy rests on." If Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are gradually chipping away at our ability to control our own minds, could there come a point, I ask, at which democracy no longer functions?

"Will we be able to recognise it, if and when it happens?" Williams replies. "And if we can't, then how do we know it hasn't happened already?"

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'Our minds can be hijacked': the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia

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The Google, Apple and Facebook workers who helped make technology so addictive are disconnecting themselves from the internet. Paul Lewis reports on the Silicon Valley refuseniks who worry the race for human attention has created a world of perpetual distraction that could ultimately end in disaster

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The usage of cell phones creates new physical and mental problems to peoples health.
#weaksignals #group3

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Table of Contents

Signs and Symptoms of Cell Phone Addiction

Physical Effects of Addiction

Psychological Effects of Cell Phone Addiction

Self-Assessment: Am I Addicted to my Smartphone?

The recent explosion of iPhones, Androids, and other smartphones has provided people with the ability to access the entirety of the Internet on-the-go and at any given moment. 90% of adults in America own a cell phone, ¹ and while this may not be a problem for many people, some individuals develop an addiction to their mobile devices.

90% of American adults own a cell phone.¹

Cell phones are constantly being improved by expanding upon their functionalities, which in turn increases the likelihood of overuse and addiction. According to the PEW Research Center, 67% of smartphone owners have admitted to checking their phone for calls or messages when their phone didn't vibrate or ring. ¹ This is one major sign of cell phone dependence and should serve as a warning to cell phone owners.

Signs and Symptoms of Cell Phone Addiction

Although cell phone addiction is not yet listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5 th Edition (DSM-5), research has compared it to gambling addiction, which has clearer diagnostic criteria and is included in the DSM-5.

At least 4 of the following signs and symptoms are thought to comprise criteria for cell phone addiction, and the problematic cell phone overuse must cause significant harm in the individual's life: 2,3

A need to use the cell phone more and more often in order to achieve the same desired effect.

Persistent failed attempts to use cell phone less often.

Preoccupation with smartphone use.

Turns to cell phone when experiencing unwanted feelings such as anxiety or depression.

Excessive use characterized by loss of sense of time.

Has put a relationship or job at risk due to excessive cell phone use.

Tolerance.
Need for newest cell phone, more applications, or increased use.

Withdrawal, when cell phone or network is unreachable.

If you or a loved one displays these signs and symptoms of cell phone addiction, help is readily available. Call the phone number above to speak with a treatment specialist about various recovery options.

Physical Effects of Addiction

Overuse of your cell phone or smartphone can result in a number of different physical problems that may cause permanent damage or be difficult to treat, including:

Digital eye strain.⁴

The pain and discomfort associated with viewing a digital screen for over 2 hours.

Eyes begin to burn and itch.

Blurred vision.

Eye fatigue.

Digital Eye Strain can cause headaches.

Neck problems.
Also known as "text neck," which refers to neck pain resulting from looking down at cell phone or tablet for too long.⁵

Increased illnesses due to germs.⁶

1 in 6 cell phones has fecal matter on it.

E. coli bacteria, which can cause fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, is found on many phones.

Phones have been found to be contaminated with MRSA.

Causes painful abscesses.

Life-threatening infections in bones, joints, surgical wounds, bloodstream, heart valves, and lungs.

Car accidents.

Many people believe that they can multitask and use their phones while driving, but this causes significant impairment and puts the driver and others on the road in danger.

Research has revealed that texting and driving can be just as dangerous as drinking and driving.⁷

Male infertility.
Preliminary studies have revealed that cell phone radiation may decrease sperm count, sperm motility and viability.⁸

Psychological Effects of Cell Phone Addiction

Sleep disturbances.⁹

Cell phone addiction has been linked to an increase in sleep disorders and fatigue in users.

Using your cell phone before bed increases the likelihood of insomnia.

Bright light may decrease sleep quality.

Smartphone use could increase amount of time it takes to fall asleep.

Light emitted from the cell phone may activate the brain.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.¹⁰

Relationship problems.
Offline relationships may suffer as a result of neglect in favor of excessive cell phone and social media use.¹¹

Anxiety.
Research has found that college students who use their cell phones the most are more likely to feel anxious during downtime.¹²

Am I Addicted to my Smartphone?

This self-assessment is not meant to officially diagnose you with cell phone addiction. If you are concerned about your problematic behaviors, speak to your doctor or mental health professional about possible treatment. ¹³

1. Do you find yourself spending more time on your smartphone than you realize?

2. Do you find yourself mindlessly passing time on a regular basis by staring at your smartphone even though there might be better or more productive things to do?

3. Do you seem to lose track of time when on your cell phone?

4. Do you find yourself spending more time texting, tweeting, or emailing as opposed to talking to real-time people?

5. Has the amount of time you spend on your cell phone been increasing?

6. Do you secretly wish you could be a little less wired or connected to your cell phone?

7. Do you sleep with your smartphone on or under your pillow or next to your bed regularly?

8. Do you find yourself viewing and answering texts, tweets, and emails at all hours of the day and night, even when it means interrupting other things you are doing?

9. Do you text, email, tweet, or surf the internet while driving or doing other similar activities that require your focused attention and concentration?

10. Do you feel your use of your cell phone actually decreases your productivity at times?

11. Do you feel reluctant to be without your smartphone, even for a short time?

12. When you leave the house, you ALWAYS have your smartphone with you and you feel ill-at-ease or uncomfortable when you accidentally leave your smartphone in the car or at home, or you have no service, or it is broken?

13. When you eat meals, is your cell phone always part of the table place setting?

14. When your phone rings, beeps, buzzes, do you feel an intense urge to check for texts, tweets, or emails, updates, etc.?

15. Do you find yourself mindlessly checking your phone many times a day even when you know there is likely nothing new or important to see?

If you or a loved one is concerned about maladaptive behaviors and feelings associated with cell phone addiction, don't hesitate to call to learn more about the treatment options available to you.

References

1. Mobile Technology Fact Sheet. (2013, December 27). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/

2. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. (5th ed.). (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.

3. Singh Bhatia, M. (2008). Cell Phone Dependence - a new diagnostic entity. Delhi Psychiatry Journal, 11(2), 123-124. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://medind.nic.in/daa/t08/i2/daat08i2p123.pdf

4. Digital Eye Strain Report 2015. (2015). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.thevisioncouncil.org/digital-eye-strain-report-2015

5. Hansraj, K. (2014). Assessment of Stresses in the Cervical Spine Caused by Posture and Position of the Head. (25), 277-279. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25393825

6. Health Risks of Using Mobile Phones. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://source.southuniversity.edu/health-risks-of-using-mobile-phones-137310.aspx

7. Dangers of Texting Whilst Driving. (2008). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.trl.co.uk/case-studies/behaviour-dangers-of-texting-whilst-driving/

8. Deepinder, F., Makker, K., & Agarwal, A. (2007). Cell phones and male infertility: Dissecting the relationship. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 15(3), 266-270. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1472648310603380

9. Patel, R. (2015, June 17). Cell Phone use before bedtime might impact sleep, and daytime tiredness. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2015/06/17/cell-phone-use-before-bedtime-might-impact-sleep-and-daytime-tiredness/

10. Babadi-Akashe, Z., & Zamani, B. (2014). The Relationship between Mental Health and Addiction to Mobile Phones among University Students of Shahrekord, Iran. Addict Health, 6(3-4), 93-99.

11. Andreassen, C. (2015). Online Social Network Site Addiction: A Comprehensive Review. Curr Addict Rep Current Addiction Reports, 2015(2), 175-184. doi:10.1007/s40429-015-0056-9

12. Lepp, A., Li, J., Barkley, J., & Salehi-Esfahani, S. (2015). Exploring the relationships between college students' cell phone use, personality and leisure. Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 210-219. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563214005822

13. Greenfield, D. (2013). Smartphone Abuse Test. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://virtual-addiction.com/new-smartphone-abuse-test-now-online/

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Signs and Symptoms of Cell Phone Addiction - PsychGuides.com

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Table of Contents Signs and Symptoms of Cell Phone Addiction Physical Effects of Addiction Psychological Effects of Cell Phone Addiction Self-Assessment: Am I Addicted to my Smartphone? The recent explosion of iPhones, Androids, and other smartphones has provided people with the ability to access the entirety of the Internet on-the-go and at any ...

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People are more willing to cycle in order to avoid public transportations due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/made-on-earth/the-great-bicycle-boom-of-2020.html

#weaksignal #group2

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Some changes seem like they may be built to last. Paris added hundreds of kilometres of pop-up cycle lanes along the Rue du Rivoli, while in London a designated bike lane now runs along Hyde Park. Increased access to bike paths creates more incentives for ridership, which in turn reduces traffic and emissions. Meanwhile, bicycle retailers cannot meet the current demand for road bikes in the $500-$1,500 (£380-£1,140) range, leading consumers to look online for used bikes, fix up their old two-wheelers, or shell out cash for more expensive models.

While buy-in from consumers, urban designers and elected officials may make it seem like a robust trend, some business leaders remain sceptical, wondering if it makes sense to invest in boosted bicycle capacity long term given the economic anomalies of 2020. "It's unlikely that this demand will keep up," says Girardi.

Of course, expanding bicycle ridership depends on more than just an expansion of manufacturers or even access to specific bicycle parts. There's another, overlooked aspect to the bike boom: the concurrent rise of e-cargo bikes, a phenomenon that has the potential to entirely remodel transportation. Known in the logistics industry as light electric freight vehicles (LEFVs), e-cargo bikes have electrical pedal assistance and can be ridden on roads and bicycle lanes, speeding goods and services to their destinations without getting caught in traffic or spewing emissions. In many cities, an LEFV can travel faster than a traditional delivery van because it can be ridden along bicycle bridges and other shortcuts.

For now, good old-fashioned cycling is enjoying a renaissance. Bicycles provide a socially distant way for essential workers and commuters to get around, a healthy alternative to gyms or subways, and a new vision of city streets. "Lockdown meant that suddenly the streets quietened, the air was clean and people felt safe," says Butler-Adams. "Yes, there was fear of public transport, but mostly it was the joy of experiencing cities as they could be."
The world's trading routes have seen a year like no other in 2020. Many industries, makers and markets have responded to the coronavirus pandemic with ingenuity. Made on Earth: Road to Recovery explores how the trades in eight everyday products are adapting - from bicycles to whisky, spices to semiconductors - and how resilience and innovation are redefining the way the world trades.

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Some changes seem like they may be built to last. Paris added hundreds of kilometres of pop-up cycle lanes along the Rue du Rivoli, while in London a designated bike lane now runs along Hyde Park. Increased access to bike paths creates more incentives for ridership, which in turn reduces traffic and emissions.

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Dangerous diseases spread by mosquitoes are spreading in Europe

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Dangerous diseases spread by mosquitoes are spreading in Europe

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Among others, dengue fever and malaria are starting to spread in Europe with global warming.

#weaksignals #group3

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Customers are seeking more personalized products, services, and content (in social media).

#trend #group1

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December 19, 2022 · 15 min read

The way that we consume the internet is changing drastically.

The way we consume products and services, the devices we use to do so, and even our own preferences are constantly changing at an exponential rate.

Personalized experiences are becoming an important part of the customer journey in this fast-paced change.

Brands that successfully meet personalization demands will be handsomely rewarded with increased loyalty and greater revenue in the years ahead. Because the more consumers interact with a company in a more personalized way, the more likely they are to buy from that company again.

Therefore, personalization will be even more critical in the future as technology advances and people become increasingly reliant on digital services for their daily lives.

In this blog post, we will explore 9 personalization trends that could become more popular in 2023. Some may seem obvious, but others may surprise you.

In the past, personalization failed because there was not enough data to support it. Additionally, it was difficult to track the customer journey, and there were time, resources, and technology constraints. However, with advances in technology and data collection, personalization is now possible and can be highly effective.

Personalization has failed in the past because there wasn't enough data to support it. Marketers didn't have access to the sophisticated data tools that are available today. They couldn't track customer behavior or identify patterns. As a result, they couldn't personalize messages or offers effectively.

Another reason why personalization has failed is that it was difficult to track the customer journey. In the past, there was no way to see how customers interact with your brand across different channels. This made it hard to create a seamless and personalized experience.

Finally, personalization has failed in the past because of constraints in time, resources, and technology. It was difficult to implement personalization effectively without these three things. However, advances in technology have made it possible to overcome these challenges.

With access to more data and better tools, personalization is now possible. Marketers can collect data about customer behavior and use it to create personalized messages that are relevant and effective. Additionally, they can track the customer journey across different channels and touchpoints to create a seamless experience. And with the right resources, they can implement personalization at scale.

The global personalization software market is expected to grow from $620 million in 2020 to $2.2 billion by the end of 2026.

According to BusinessWire, analysts forecast the global artificial intelligence-based personalization market to grow at a CAGR of close to 13% during the period 2018-2022, according to their latest market research report.

According to a report by IndustryARC, the recommendation engine market size is projected to reach $12.03 billion by 2025, up from $ 1.14 billion in 2018, with a CAGR of 32.39% during 2020 - 2025.

Personalization is no longer a pipe dream. It's a reality that can help you drive better results for your business.

Although there are more statistics similar to those presented above, there is no need to include more of them. The main point is that the number of personalization tools and their usage is increasing year over year.

The need to improve customer experience and AI/ML's increasing trend are major driving forces in demand for personalization platforms. Moreover, organizations will try innovative ways of using these technologies with advanced analytics so they can create relevant marketing activities tailored specifically towards customers' needs - providing better anticipation than ever before.

Brands are started to take a "one on one" approach with customers.

In the past years, this was just something that marketers talked about in prophecy, but it is no longer just talk. Brands have gone beyond using customer names or showcasing complementary products to previously purchased items by going further than ever before when making true 1:1 experiences come to fruition.

As technology advances, brands will have a higher chance of building personal connections with their customers.

After just a few interactions, they are more likely to form deeper relationships that last longer than before as 1:1 personalization becomes more common rather than the exception for those in need or wanting something specific from you.

Until now, we all have focused on web personalization.

However, personalization is beyond the web. There are other touchpoints such as email and mobile.

Mobile notifications, SMS, and in-app mobile customer experiences are the next focus point.

According to research by Appinventiv,

However, four-thirds of customers say that mobile shopping apps don't understand their shopping behavior and don't personalize the customer experience.

With the advancements in mobile personalization technologies and the majority of consumers using their mobile devices for shopping, there will be an increasing trend in mobile customer experience personalization in 2023.

One of the most popular trends in personalization right now is "image recognition capabilities," which allow companies to recognize specific colors and visual patterns within product images.

This technology could help drive richer, more personalized customer journeys by presenting shoppers with personal recommendations on what they might like based on their tastes and preferences.

This technology will make it easier for consumers to create their own look by searching for similar or matching products. The more granular recommendations are something that many people can appreciate.

There's increasing popularity for image recognition, and it will become more adopted in the near future.

Companies have been leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide personalized customer experiences for years.

One widespread use case is showing product recommendations based on previous data, but there's so much potential in AI that we're just scratching the surface.

In 2023, more companies will scale their efforts to use artificial intelligence and machine learning for personalization. Furthermore, it is likely that organizations will find innovative ways of leveraging these technologies beyond the traditional use cases in order for customers have even greater control over how they engage with you online.

As the competitive landscape evolves, one of the most important things for any company is staying ahead and anticipating each customer segment's needs. This means not meeting expectations but instead getting a jump on what they need before it becomes an issue. This also indicates the increasing importance of predictive personalization.

Data privacy, increasing use of first-party data, and cookieless personalization are going to be some of the major personalization trends we'll see in 2023 and beyond. These trends reflect a growing focus on personalizing marketing campaigns based on user preferences and behaviors rather than relying solely on generic marketing tactics like mass-broadcast advertising.

One key driver behind these personalization trends is the rise of data privacy concerns among consumers. Given recent high-profile data breaches and other privacy scandals, many users are increasingly wary about sharing their personal information with brands or other third parties.

The upcoming years are sure to be a roller coaster ride for data privacy.

As a result, businesses need to find new ways to collect user data that respect user privacy while still providing valuable insights into customer behavior.

As we see the changing landscape of data privacy, expect that there will be more maneuvering around this issue in the coming years. In recent years, browser restrictions increased, and Apple has updated its Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature.

Recent research found that 48% of consumers appreciate the convenience of personalization so long as their data is secure. This has led to an emphasis on using "first-party data," or personal information collected directly by brands and businesses through the customer experience, rather than relying on third parties for insights.

Another factor driving personalization trends is the increasing popularity of cookieless personalization techniques.

Cookie-based personalization has traditionally been a common method for tracking user behavior, but many users are now taking steps to block or disable these cookies in order to protect their privacy. As a result, many marketers are turning to more advanced techniques like behavioral fingerprinting, which uses unique patterns in a user's browsing history to infer their interests and preferences without requiring any personal information.

Whether you're a marketer looking to stay ahead of these personalization trends or simply trying to understand how personalization is changing the landscape of marketing, it's clear that data privacy, increasing use of first-party data, and cookieless personalization will be major trends in 2023 and beyond.

The digital world is evolving with the trend to give users more control over their data. As a result, companies might need to transition to a consent-based, opt-in approach to increase customer trust. Therefore, it will be essential to make sure your customers have a great personalized experience while also maintaining their trust.

The key to success will be finding a way to balance user privacy with valuable insights into customer behavior while leveraging emerging technologies like behavioral fingerprinting to deliver personal experiences that resonate with individual users.

To ensure a good customer experience, it's important that you stay up-to-date with changing data privacy regulations.

Personalization is a key marketing tactic that has been used for years. It allows marketers to understand their customers and better target them with ads and messaging. However, personalization will begin to expand into longer customer journeys as technology becomes more advanced and data sets grow larger.

This means it will be possible for marketers to create personalized experiences throughout the entire path of a consumer's journey, rather than just at specific points such as when the customer first visits the website or makes an online purchase.

As marketers begin to shift their focus from short-term customer experiences to long-term ones, the effects will be seen almost immediately with increased engagement rates and stronger relationships between brands and consumers.

In a world where customer loyalty is king, one bad experience can cost you business.

So it's no wonder that personalization will be key for companies vying to win back customers' trust and keep them coming back again and again.

Personalization will help companies win and maintain customer loyalty through empathy - helping close the "empathy gap" between brands and customers via better-serving customers' likes and dislikes.

The increase in focus on the digital customer experience will lead to more brands measuring loyalty as an important KPI for their business.

You should consider this when doing anything that involves personalization efforts, like measuring how satisfied customers are with you or what they think about your product/service.

To sum up, customer loyalty is becoming increasingly important to companies, especially with the growing number of competitors in every industry. While it can be difficult to maintain customer loyalty, personalization will be the key to keeping customers and increasing customer loyalty.

According to Google, an average person switches between an average of three devices to complete a task. And they use over 10 channels to communicate with businesses.

Although consumers are using about 3 devices and more than ten channels, only a handful of brands are ready to deliver an optimized, personalized omnichannel customer experience. Recent research found that less than 1 in 4 businesses say they are investing successfully in omnichannel personalization.

We must admit that online and offline worlds are coming together in an effort to serve customers better.

The idea of personalization is not new, but the way companies interact with their customers has changed. With more than two-thirds of consumers saying they want personalized experiences, it's clear that businesses need to adapt or risk being left behind.

The future of customer experience is more connected and personalized than ever.

Technology has made it possible for organizations to connect user data across every possible touchpoint.

Mobile or web is no longer enough to connect with consumers; brands need a presence across many touchpoints so they can craft exceptional omnichannel experiences that will revolutionize the customer experience.

The next step in personalization evolution is anonymous visitor personalization. It's still early days for this type of technology, but it will be a major trend in 2023.

The importance of anonymous visitor personalization is that not everyone signs in to their account when visiting a website. In reality, only a small fraction of users sign in to their accounts.

On the other hand, brands know the importance of a personalized customer experience. At the same time, more than 65% of consumers say they want personalized experiences. Moreover, according to another research, brands who personalize their web experiences see a 19% uplift in sales on average.

Although there is an increase in average order value, companies should also keep in mind that there is a fine line between personalized experience and being creepy with the personal information you know about them - specifically for the anonymous visitor personalization.

The way we interact with the world is rapidly changing. With technology becoming more and more sophisticated, the line between our physical and digital lives is becoming blurred. Personalization is no longer just about tailoring content to an individual's interests - it's about creating a seamless, integrated experience that feels natural and personalized to each individual.

One of the major shifts that is making personalization more individualized is the digitization of physical spaces. With the advent of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), we are now able to blur the lines between the physical and digital world even further. By overlaying digital content on top of the physical world or creating entirely immersive digital experiences, we can create tailor-made experiences that are deeply personal for each individual.

Another shift that is making personalization more individualized is the move from treating people as numbers to treating them as people. In the past, personalization was often about segmenting people into groups and delivering content that was tailored to those groups. However, this approach often led to experiences that felt impersonal and cold.

Now, with the help of data and technology, we are able to treat each person as an individual. By understanding their unique needs, wants, and desires, we can create personalized experiences that are deeply meaningful and engaging.

Finally, the third major shift that is making personalization more individualized is the composability of products to reach different touchpoints. In the past, personalization was often about creating a one-size-fits-all experience that was delivered through a single channel. However, with the rise of multi-channel marketing and the omnichannel customer journey, we now have the ability to create personalized experiences that are tailored to each individual touchpoint.

By using data and technology to understand the customer's needs at each stage of their journey, we can create a seamless, cohesive experience that feels natural and personalized at every step.

As digital experiences become more and more personalized, customers have come to expect a certain level of individualization from the brands they interact with. In order to meet these expectations, businesses need to invest in customer data and analytics foundations, build up agile capabilities, protect and respect customer privacy, and get started with some quick wins.

Investing in customer data and analytics foundations will give businesses the ability to collect, cleanse, and unify data from various sources. This will provide a complete view of the customer journey, which is essential for personalization. Additionally, businesses need to be able to quickly process this data and create actionable insights in order to make real-time decisions. Building up agile capabilities will allow businesses to move quickly and efficiently to implement these decisions.

Protecting and respecting customer privacy is essential for maintaining trust. Businesses need to be transparent about how they are using customer data and give customers the option to opt-in or opt-out of personalization. They should also provide clear and concise explanations of why certain data is being collected and how it will be used. Finally, businesses need to have security measures in place to protect customer data from unauthorized access.

Getting started with some quick wins is a great way to get buy-in from stakeholders and show the value of personalization. Identifying low-hanging fruit, such as areas where there is already a wealth of data available or simple changes that can be made to the user interface, can help businesses get started on the path to personalization.

By following these steps, businesses can turn the personalization trends into reality and create experiences that delight their customers.

The trend towards personalization is not new, but it's becoming an increasingly important part of businesses.

As consumers demand more experience optimization from brands and digital data becomes easier to access than ever before, organizations need a solution that will meet these needs without compromising on quality or functionality.

Therefore, it's time to get personalized!

To move quickly in this fast-paced environment, brands need to have the right personalization tool that is easy to use and comprehensive.

We all understand that personalization is becoming more and more important in the digital marketing world as more marketing personalization trends enter our lives. Still, it can be hard for companies of any size to know where to start when they are getting started with this new way of thinking about their customer base.

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9 Exciting Personalization Trends to Watch for in 2023

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December 19, 2022 · 15 min read The way that we consume the internet is changing drastically. The way we consume products and services, the devices we use to do so, and even our own preferences are constantly changing at an exponential rate.

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#wildcard #group4

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People nowadays are investing more in crypto money. The inflation and economical instability are the causes.

#weaksignals #group5

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As a result of climate change, malaria-carrying mosquitoes have spread to new areas and might also spread to parts of Europe.

https://www.sitra.fi/app/uploads/2022/02/weak-signals-2022_web-1.pdf

#weaksignal #group4

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There seems to be more and more very polarized political views globally.

#megatrend #group5

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Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

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How to Understand the Global Spread of Political Polarization

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Polarization is shaking societies across the world, from new democracies to long-established ones. Why are political divisions intensifying globally, and what can policymakers learn from other countries’ experiences?

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People are paying more and more taxes, not getting enough income to sustain their everyday needs. Can lead to the economical collapse in developed countries.

#weaksignals #group5

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New traveller types as "Bleisure" traveller

#weaksignal #group1

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From the digital nomad tapping out a blog post on a beach in Bali to the manager checking her emails on a Niseko ski lift, from the full-time freelancer in a coworking space to the engineer coding from his home office, technology has blurred the boundaries between work and play, professional and personal, career and down time. A creative agency might bat around ideas over the ping-pong table; an architectural firm might be at its most productive on retreat.

And as the lines between work and life blur, so do the distinctions between business and personal travel. It's a trend that goes way beyond the tried-and-tested formula of bringing your partner to a conference. Where destinations appeal, professionals around the globe are increasingly adding weekends, or even weeks, to work trips, whether solo, with a partner, or as a family. So established is this hybrid of business and leisure travel that it's acquired a portmanteau moniker - "bleisure travel".

"It's opportunistic: it depends if you're going to a place you like and that you want to spend time in."

Worldwide, more than one in three business travellers will add a leisure component to at least one of their business trips this year, said Jeanne Liu of the Global Business Travel Association. "It's people from all different levels: we thought it might be more entry-level, but we found managerial does it as well, although we did find millennials more likely to partake in bleisure than some of their older colleagues," she said. "It's opportunistic: it depends if you're going to a place you like and that you want to spend time in."

According to Liu, many employers are supportive of bleisure travel. "Travel wellbeing relates to job satisfaction, which means people stay productive and stay longer in their jobs," she explained. "Being able to take your kids or your family, to add some fun elements to a trip, makes that trip much less stressful."

Australians, who typically work longer hours and face higher travel costs and longer journey times than their peers in Europe, are becoming increasingly receptive to bleisure. Brent Howard and Ann Crowhurst relocated from Melbourne to operate Quest St Leonards, a business-oriented apartment hotel in a vibrant Sydney suburb replete with cafes and art. Crowhurst feels that guests seem more open to bleisure travel than when she first worked in hospitality. "We're probably starting to see more of a trend where the wife might fly up from Melbourne to spend the weekend here rather than the husband doing a quick trip home for the weekend," she said. "One guy stayed with us from Brisbane on a project for a year and his wife came down every month for three to five days."

Richard Tonkin, general manager of an environmental protection company, and regular guest of Quest Bundoora in suburban Melbourne, agrees. Tonkin is based in Newcastle but travels frequently both interstate and internationally. A keen photographer, he makes time wherever possible to explore a new destination and will always add at least a weekend to any long-distance work trip.

Tonkin researches cities thoroughly to ensure his leisure time isn't wasted. "One of the things I always do before I get to a big city or a new town is book a bike tour," he said. "It's a really great way to see a city quickly, and get you out of bed on your first day after a long flight. You get to see a lot more than you would on a walking tour, and you discover things to go back to in the following days."

Tonkin's wife, Enza, who works part-time and flexibly, recently joined him on a work trip to Chicago and Illinois. "She came with me to a little town in the Midwest where a key supplier is based and roamed the streets, then we had a long weekend in Chicago before a colleague and I went to a trade show, while she did her own thing, mainly shopping," he said. "Then she and I had a whole bunch of days: we did a cycling tour, hired a car and drove out into the country, went to the art gallery and tried out the local restaurants."

"The modern bleisure traveller tends to be culturally curious, not to mention interested in food."

According to Howard and Crowhurst, the modern bleisure traveller tends to be culturally curious, not to mention interested in food. So the couple make sure their front office staff stay abreast of not only on what's new in the local area, but exhibitions and shows around town, and use information sources that go beyond Google.

"When we've got longer-stay guests, we always buy them a Sydney guide, but one that's got stuff that's a little off the beaten track," said Crowhurst. "For a middle-aged couple from Canada, we bought a Sydney suburbs guide with the cafes and the quirky shops and the boutiques; one guest in his early 20s has just come in from Italy, so I've bought him one that's more about the bars and cafes you can find in Sydney."

For most business travellers, Liu's research found, there's only one element deterring them from bleisure: time. It seems ironic that for many individuals the same technology that frees them up to work while they play, and play while they work, also limits their leisure time.

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Business travel + leisure travel = bleisure travel. It's a hybrid that's growing in popularity as work-life boundaries blur. Advertisement Feature, presented by Quest Apartment Hotels.

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With continuing growth of information abundance online, the distinctive value of independent journalism is being growing.

#weaksignals #group5

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Download

The trends in media independence in a nutshell:

Strains on business models mean more dependence on outside influence, although media institutions - as well as Internet companies - are giving greater attention to self-regulatory standards.

Why?

The polarization of public life, observed in parts of all regions covered by this study, highlights the need for independent and professional journalism that is able to provide verifiable information as a common content currency to serve effective and open public debates. Yet, in continuity with the trends highlighted in the first World Trends Report, published in 2014, media independence is under increased pressure, due to complex interconnections between political power and regulatory authorities, attempts to influence or delegitimize media and journalists, and shrinking budgets in news organizations. This deterioration of media independence is reflected in a number of indicators.

There is declining public trust in news media reported across most regions. Disruptions in business models have been seen as contributing to increasing dependence on government and corporate subsidies in some circumstances, and thereby raising concerns about potential impacts on editorial independence. In some cases, there has been an increase in highly antagonistic criticism, including from leaders, about media and the practice of journalism. These criticisms are seen to carry the danger of promoting intolerance of expression, and undermining the credibility of all journalism, irrespective of its authenticity. Across all regions, the autonomy of independent regulators has faced pressure. Across large parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, licensing of broadcast operators lacks transparency and continues to be driven by political and commercial rather than public interest. Self-regulatory bodies, which can support the exercise of professional standards while maintaining editorial independence, have received increased interest in countries with growing media sectors. However, in addition to the difficulty of establishing and maintaining independence in a sustainable way, press councils have faced digital-era challenges, such as the moderation of user-generated comments.

At the same time, there are positive developments for the independence of journalists to make editorial decisions. In Africa, the Arab States and the Asia Pacific region, journalists have self-reported substantial increases of journalistic autonomy. Such changes have also encouraged alternative and often influential outlets for journalists, including on digital media, as well as international investigative journalism collaborations. With continuing growth of information abundance online, the distinctive value of independent journalism is being underlined. Journalism education, which reinforces independent professional standards in the media, has seen a notable growth in the availability of online resources. However, donor support for independent NGOs doing media development has fluctuated, posing significant sustainability challenges, particularly in parts of Africa and Central and Eastern Europe. These groups are also impacted by growing legislation that restricts foreign funding.

In the context of increasing pressure to respond to content on social media that incites violence or hatred, internet companies have launched self-regulatory initiatives to counter hate speech, violent extremism, misogyny, racism and so-called 'fake news'. Tools have included media and information literacy campaigns; partnerships with fact-checking and research organizations; support to journalists; and removing advertising from sites that generate such content. In the face of fabricated and counterfeit news reports, many news media brands are using the opportunity to show their unique value-add as reliable sources of information and commentary.

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The polarization of public life, observed in parts of all regions covered by this study, highlights the need for independent and professional journalism that is able to provide verifiable information as a common content currency to serve effective and open public debates.

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With Endorse media you can own a piece of your favourite creator and collect earnings when they grow bigger. E.g finnish tiktok-creator is listed here, and you can buy one share of her for 47 dollars. In total she is worth of 750 pieces and one share is 0.012% of her.

#weaksignal #group4

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Endorse allows you to invest in content creators and their social platforms. As an investor, you will receive a share of the yearly profits the content creator makes on their social platforms, sharing the success and growth of their careers.

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Sugar-free, gluten-free, keto, low carb, less salt... A word of warning when it comes to food and nutrition trends: while there are some trends that are fantastic and are certainly worthwhile adding to your repertoire – others are utter nonsense and should be avoided if possible.

#weaksignal #group4

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Newest Diet Trends For 2023

The new year is a time for reflection and setting goals, often including weight loss resolutions. It can be hard to keep up with the latest diet trends, but we've got you covered! This year, the trend is to ensure you keep that weight off while adding years to your life!

Last years saw the rise of transparent diets like "veganism" and "paleo." Both were viewed as a healthy lifestyle, but could also be considered fads due to their limited food options. However, this year's top diet trends are not only easy-to-follow diet plans, but they focus on your overall health rather than just the number on the scale.

A healthy lifestyle is about making little changes that make a big difference. It's not about being perfect or having zero fun, either. Eating healthy can be doable with these diets if you have the right mindset!

A recent study has shown an association between a healthy diet and increased lifespan. Not only do these diets keep your weight down, but they are also packed with nutrients that are essential to good health. The National Institute of Health claims a 22-year study showed that people who ate a healthy diet lived an average of seven years longer than those who didn't. So let's see the list of diets trends for 2023.

Newest Diet Trends for 2023

1) The Mediterranean diet. This diet is based on the traditional eating habits of people in countries around the Mediterranean Sea. It is high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish, and olive oil, and low in saturated fat. Studies have shown that the Mediterranean Diet can reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and help you lose weight.

2) The ketogenic diet is still popular but is being tweaked. The original keto diet was high in fat and low in carbohydrates, but health experts are now recommending a moderate amount of carbohydrates, as well as protein, to maintain the benefits of the keto diet while avoiding potential problems like constipation and bad breath.

3) Another trend is intermittent fasting. This involves fasting for certain periods of time on a regular basis. Some people fast for 18 hours a day, going without food from 8 p.m. to noon the next day. The 5:2 Fast Diet involves splitting those 36 total hours into two fasting periods - one off-and-one on - during each week, as an alternative to daily calorie restriction.

4) A vegan diet is also gaining popularity as more studies confirm its health benefits, and it becomes easier to find tasty alternatives to meat and dairy products. Vegans avoid eating all animal products, including meat, eggs, buttery, and animal byproducts such as gelatin, honey, and some wines.

5) Everyone knows you should eat your fruits and vegetables. So why are so many Americans still deficient in vitamin D? To answer this question, researchers have developed a pill containing concentrated amounts of the "sunshine vitamin." This pill is being touted as a way to improve overall health and lower the risk of chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

6) The good old low-carb diet is still around. It's popular with many people who try it on their own and don't necessarily subscribe to either of the two new diets mentioned above. That being said, more than half of Americans are not meeting dietary guidelines for vegetables, so health experts encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables while following any type of diet.

7) The DASH diet. This is a dietary approach to stop hypertension, lower blood pressure and lose weight. It's based on research from the National Institute of Health, and it includes lots of fruits, vegetables, grains, and low-fat dairy products with limited amounts of lean meat, poultry, and fish. Despite being high in potassium and magnesium, the DASH diet is low in sodium.

8) The Paleo diet is still popular and is based on the idea that humans are genetically adapted to eat the foods available during the Paleolithic era, which was before agriculture. This means eating primarily fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, and seeds, but avoiding dairy, grains, legumes, and processed foods. Critics say that this diet is too limited and may not provide all the essential nutrients.

9) The final new dietary trend for 2023 is a diet high in protein, with the idea that it keeps you feeling full longer. Meat and dairy are still popular sources of protein but come at a cost to your health. There are also vegan protein powders for those who can't or don't want to eat meat. Finally, there are egg white protein powders made from pasteurized liquid egg whites.

* Please do adequate research before trying any of these nutrition trends and diets, and always speak to your doctor before making a huge lifestyle change.

Although these are currently the most popular new diets for 2023, there may be more in the coming years as researchers continue studying what nutrients are essential for our health and how they affect our bodies when consumed through food vs. when taken in pill form. Whatever the diet trend of 2023 is, one thing's for sure: it will be important to eat your fruits and vegetables every day to achieve a healthy lifestyle!

A balanced diet is essential for visibly beautiful and healthy skin. The skin is an organ that requires special care, and even if you are already nourishing your skin from the inside, it is important to nourish it from the outside as well. Get topical nutrition here.

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Newest Diet Trends for 2023 - 9 Complete Diets - AETHEION®

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The new year is a time for reflection and setting goals, often including weight loss resolutions. It can be hard to keep up with the latest diet trends, but we've got you covered! This year, the trend is to ensure you keep that weight off while adding years to your life!

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Four-day work week/five-hour work day #trend #group2

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Yksittäiset firmat eri puolilla maailmaa kokeilevat uusia työaikaratkaisuja. Kaikkien kokeilujen perustavanlaatuisessa filosofiassa näyttävät korostuvan muut kuin työelämän kovat arvot.

Erilaisia työaikaratkaisuja kokeillaan yrityksissä laajasti. Tulokset ovat vaihtelevia. Kuva: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle

Elettiin vuotta 2019, kun Suomen silloinen liikenne- ja viestintäministeri Sanna Marin (sd.) heitti ilmoille ajatuksen neljän päivän työviikosta ja kuusituntisesta työpäivästä.

- Mielestäni ihmiset ansaitsevat enemmän aikaa perheidensä, harrastusten ja muunkin elämän parissa, sivistyksen parissa. Tämä voisi olla se seuraava askel meille työelämässä, Marin sanoi tuolloin.

Tiedotusvälineet kirjoittivat Marinin unelmista ja Suomen talousviisaat kritisoivat ehdotusta.

Keskustelua lyhennetystä työviikosta käydään tasasin väliajoin, mutta kokeilut nelipäiväisestä työviikosta tai lyhennetystä työpäivästä leimataan usein utopistisiksi.

Kuitenkin yritykset eri puolilla maailmaa rikkovat kahdeksan tunnin normia jo tällä hetkellä, kertoo amerikkalainen talouslehti Forbes. (siirryt toiseen palveluun)

Tulokset ovat olleet jopa yllättäviä

25 tunnin työviikko johti irtisanoutumisiin

Amerikkalainen talouslehti Wall Street Journal (siirryt toiseen palveluun) kertoi vuonna 2019 saksalaisyrityksestä, joka päätti ravistella pinttyneitä työaikakäsityksiä.

Kaikki alkoi toimitusjohtaja Lasse Rheingansin teoriasta. Hän uskoi, että jos työntekijä keskittyy työhönsä ilman häiriötekijöitä, tehtävät hoituisivat viidessä tunnissa.

Niin alkoi kokeilu, jossa työaikaa lyhennettiin viiteen tuntiin. Vastineeksi 16 hengen viestintäyrityksen kaikkia työntekijöitä pyydettiin luopumaan henkilökohtaisista puhelimistaan työpäivän ajaksi. Sosiaalisen median käyttö kiellettiin työpäivän aikana ja viestisovellukset mykistettiin.

Rheingans ajatteli, että jos työntekijät aloittavat työnsä kello kahdeksan ja lähtevät kotiin yhdeltä, heillä olisi runsaasti aikaa rentoutua työn jälkeen ja palautua niin, että he olisivat seuraavana päivänä virkeitä ja tuottavia.

Kokeilun aikana työntekijät raportoivat paineesta suoriutua töistä lyhyemmällä ajalla. Stressiä aiheutti myös puhelinkielto ja se etteivät he pystyneet ottamaan yhteyttä perheeseen työpäivän aikana.

Kaksi työntekijää irtisanoutui.

Toimitusjohtajan mukaan viisituntinen työpäivä (siirryt toiseen palveluun) ei sopinut kaikille. Työpäivästä karsiutui esimerkiksi kokonaan jutustelu työkavereiden kanssa.

Vähemmällä enemmän aikaan

Viisituntisesta työpäivästä kirjan kirjoittanut toimitusjohtaja Stephan Aarstol uskoo, että mitä vähemmän aikaa työn tekemiseen annetaan, sitä tuottavampi henkilö on.

- Se, että istuu työpöydän ääressä kahdeksan tuntia, ei tee ihmisestä tuottavaa, hän kirjoitti Thrive Global (siirryt toiseen palveluun) julkaisussa vuonna 2018.

Aarstolin mukaan viiden tunnin päivässä on kyse tehokkaammasta ajankäytöstä.

Aarstol kokeili viiden tunnin työpäivää yrityksessään ja yllättyi.

Hänen mukaansa kokeilu oli aluksi menestys, mutta sitten työntekijöiden lisääntynyt vapaa-aika alkoi aiheuttaa yritykselle ongelmia.

Kolme ihmistä irtisanoutui. Aarstolin mukaan se johtui lyhyistä työpäivistä, joiden vuoksi työntekijät eivät olleet yhtä sitoutuneita yritykseen kuin pitkien päivien aikana.

Kun ihmisillä oli enemmän vapaa-aikaa, he alkoivat myös miettiä, mistä todella pitävät.

Ranskassa työviikko rajattiin 35-tuntiseksi vuonna 2000. Le Reflet -ravintolan työntekijät valmistivat mukaan otettavia aterioita opiskelijoille helmikuussa 2021. Kuva: Christophe Petit Tesson / EPA

Nelipäiväinen työviikko jo todellisuutta Ranskassa

Eri puolilla maailmaa on kokeiltu nelipäivästä työviikkoa.

Espanjassa alkaa syksyllä kolmivuotinen kokeilu, (siirryt toiseen palveluun) jossa on mukana 200 yritystä ja jopa 6 000 työntekijää. Yritykset voivat tahtoessaan siirtyä nelipäiväiseen työviikkoon. Työntekijöiden palkkojen on määrä pysyä ennallaan.

Ranska on lyhyiden työviikkojen pioneeri. Vuonna 2000 työviikko rajattiin maassa 35-tuntiseksi. Kuukausipalkat pysyivät lyhyemmästä työajasta huolimatta ennallaan. Muutos on kompensoitu vähentämällä työnantajien sosiaaliturvamaksuja.

Tanskan Odsherredin kunnassa lähes 300 kunnan työntekijää tekee nelipäiväistä viikkoa.

Britanniassa Unilever-yhtiö siirtyi nelipäiväiseen työviikkooon (siirryt toiseen palveluun) pandemian aikana. Palkkaa maksetaan viidestä päivästä. Australialaisyhtiö puolestaan teki keskiviikoista (siirryt toiseen palveluun) vapaapäiviä.

Japanin työkulttuuri tunnetaan pitkistä päivistä, mutta vuonna 2019 Japanin Microsoft päätti tehdä täyskäännöksen. Se tarjosi 2 300 työntekijälleen erilaisia mahdollisuuksia järjestää työ- ja perhe-elämä kunkin työntekijän elämäntilanteen mukaan, kertoo BBC. (siirryt toiseen palveluun)

Myös työtunteja karsittiin. Johdon tavoitteena oli selvittää, kasvaako tuottavuus, kun työtunteja vähennetään.

Kokeilun tulokset olivat positiivisia. Microsoftin mukaan työntekijöiden tuottavuus kasvoi 40 prosenttia ja he tunsivat itsensä onnellisemmiksi.

Johtajat epäilivät, että työntekijät yrittivät olla ahkeria tarkoituksella, jotta nelipäiväisestä työviikosta tulisi pysyvä. Johtajien pelkona oli, että 40 prosentin tuottavuus romahtaisi heti, kun lyhennetystä työviikosta tulisi normi.

Lyhyt työviikko jäi vain kokeiluksi.
Korjaus 9.7.2021 kello 11.50: Jutussa väitettiin aiemmin virheellisesti, että rahat Espanjan lyhennettyyn työviikko -kokeiluun tulisivat EU:n elpymisrahastosta. Lue lisää: Lyhyempi työaika lisää hyvinvointia ja motivaatiota, silti siihen suhtaudutaan varauksellisesti Huomasitko? Työaika lyheni jo: Suomalainen uhraa elämästään työlle nyt selvästi pienemmän osuuden kuin 90-luvulla Kuuden tunnin työpäivä paransi tuottavuutta ja hyvinvointia, muistaa pääluottamusmies - kysyimme, mitä 16 vuoden kokeilusta opittiin vaasalaisyrityksessä Sanna Marinin ehdotus nelipäiväisestä työviikosta on jo osin totta Tanskassa - "Nämä uudet vapaapäivät ovat minulle kuin terapiaa"

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Kelpaisiko nelipäiväinen työviikko? Entä viisituntinen työpäivä? Lyhennetty työaika on buumi maailmalla ja tällaisia tuloksia siitä on saatu

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Yksittäiset firmat eri puolilla maailmaa kokeilevat uusia työaikaratkaisuja. Kaikkien kokeilujen perustavanlaatuisessa filosofiassa näyttävät korostuvan muut kuin työelämän kovat arvot. Elettiin vuotta 2019, kun Suomen silloinen liikenne- ja viestintäministeri Sanna Marin (sd.) heitti ilmoille ajatuksen neljän päivän työviikosta ja kuusituntisesta työpäivästä. - Mielestäni ihmiset ansaitsevat enemmän aikaa perheidensä, harrastusten ja muunkin elämän parissa, sivistyksen parissa.

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The ice cover is shrinking in the region of the North Pole, and according to estimates, the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free in the 2030s.

#weaksignals #group3

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New, sustainable materials for skis, smart gadgets that make fun on and off the slopes even safer. Nature and the outdoors are incredibly important, especially in a crisis, as a counterbalance to all the stress and uncertainty. Ski brands have long since responded to the ski touring hype. The recycling boom has also gripped winter sports. More and more equipment manufacturers are breathing new life into discarded material in new collections.
Source: https://www.ispo.com/en/transformation/5-winter-sports-trends-how-our-winter-sports-are-changing
#trend #group4

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Start-ups for pilotless plains to make flying cheaper for some.

#weaksignal #group1

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Would you trust this self-flying plane with your life?

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A US start-up has developed software that can integrate with existing flight-control systems to make standard aircraft capable of flying unmanned.

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Word-of-mouth communication is the most popular tool for promotion and became one of the megatrends.

https://crystallize.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing

#megatrend #group1

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People are looking for more authentic ways to travel and experience the culture. Traveling like a local is one way to do so.

#trend #group1

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The local experience trend means many tourists now want to travel like locals, and to immerse themselves in the culture, traditions, and language of a place. As more and more people grow tired of resorts and standard vacations, there has been a shift towards wanting to see the "real" side of the destinations they visit. And this is a trend that is only going to continue growing. One way tour operators can tap into this market and meet this growing demand is through offering authentic tours and experiences. It's time to move away from cookie cutter tours, and to show visitors what it is like to be a local in their chosen destination.

So, as a tour operator, how can you do that?

Go off the beaten path

One of the biggest mistakes tour operators make is ONLY taking their guests to attractions and landmarks that they could visit themselves. Offering sightseeing experiences is fine, and in some cases exactly what your target market is looking for, but people who want unique experiences tend not to care about tourist traps. Some tour operators might also take these travelers to international restaurants. Again, this is completely fine if it is what your customer is looking for, but the type of traveler that is interested in a local experience doesn't want or need that. Instead, find a place where the locals eat and take your travelers there. The food will be more authentic and they might even get the opportunity to speak to some of the locals, which is exactly the type of experience many guests now expect.

Remember, it's all about experiences, so as an extra bonus why not offer a local cooking class, dance class, or even give them a quick language lesson? These are the types of experiences that guests remember, and that make your company stand out from the crowd.

Update your marketing

Since your offerings now incorporate more local experiences, you'll have to update your marketing efforts to reflect that. You should start with your most used marketing channel, whether it's your website, social media platforms, or any other channel. Keep in mind that authentic, local experiences take a bit longer to create as you have to think outside of the box, but they are well worth it. And after putting so much effort into creating unique experiences for your guests you'll need an awesome online presence(opens in a new tab) to match.

First and foremost, use strong images to showcase your offerings. People should be able to see what they will experience and great images certainly help sell a destination. You can also shoot short videos of guests enjoying your experiences as a way to truly bring your travelers a piece of your destination.

Another great tip is to implement different marketing strategies across your various platforms. Social media can be hugely beneficial as a branding tool(opens in a new tab) , whether your platform of choice is Instagram(opens in a new tab) or Facebook(opens in a new tab) . While you can certainly spend too much time divided between different platforms, the ideal situation is that you choose a couple and do them well. Keep them updated with your latest news, blog posts, reviews, images etc. According to Sally Elton, a travel blogger at LastMinuteWriting(opens in a new tab) and DraftBeyond(opens in a new tab) , "you have to work on all fronts to get some real engagement. Display an offer on your website, share about it on social media many times in many different ways, inform people through email and brochures, your sales agents and so on".

Be in the right place

People who like to travel like locals and truly experience a destination often purchase their tours from specialized websites. As this can be the first place they look for trips, this is where you have to be if you want to capture their interest. So, seek out specialized websites where you can advertise your offers. For this to work you need a clear understanding of your target audience and their needs/interests. Some tour operators do not want to go through the research process, instead choosing to advertise on every site and platform they can find. Keep in mind that this can waste a lot of your valuable time and cost you more money than expected.

Tour operators need to realize the potential that exists within the experience market and how they can utilize it for their own benefit. People are tired of mass tourism and they want real, local experiences when traveling. The above guidelines are a great place to start if you want to tap into this market and benefit from this new trend. No matter the type of tour business you run, if you craft a unique experience, have a solid online presence, and know where to find your customers you're already ahead of the rest.

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Make the Most of the Local Experience Trend | Tourism Tiger

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The local experience trend means many tourists now want to travel like locals, and to immerse themselves in the culture, traditions, and language of a place. As more and more people grow tired of resorts and standard vacations, there has been a shift towards wanting to see the "real" side of the destinations they visit.

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tourismteacher.com

#trend #group3

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Reading time 5 minute read

Nature tourism is a fantastic type of tourism and it is on the rise! But what is it and why is it so popular? Read on to learn more...

What is nature tourism?

Nature tourism is all about visiting natural areas and is closed aligned with the concept of rural tourism. Places that nature tourists might visit include might include beaches, forests or national parks. Activities focus on the natural environment rather than visiting man-mad features; think stargazing and hiking, for example. There are locations right across the globe which are perfect for nature tourism.

The CBI (Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries) in the Netherlands define nature tourism as follows:
Nature tourism, also called nature-based tourism, is tourism based on the natural attractions of an area. It consists of responsible travel to experience natural areas and their landscape, flora and fauna, protecting the environment and improving the quality of life of locals.
Why is nature tourism important?

Nature tourism is important as it allows people to see and appreciate the beauty of our natural environment. Through this kind of tourism, we are able to escape the pollution and pressures of city life - it is good for our physical and mental wellbeing to be out in nature, breathing in fresh air and seeing lush greenery or sparkly blue seas. Nature tourism also encourages visitors to take an interest in the natural environment, which may then translate to them making a more conscious effort where environmental issues are concerned. With climate change being an ever-present and ongoing issue, this is definitely a good thing.

Following on from this, nature tourism gives land owners, local communities and local governments more reason to preserve and take care of natural areas. If they know people will come to visit, it is in their best interest to look after these places and is a great incentive for developing their sustainable tourism provision. Visiting tourists can do wonders for local community pride this way.

As with all tourism, nature tourism brings in money. This economic boost trickles down through a whole community; people need places to stay, and food to eat, and they want to buy souvenirs. Hikers may need to buy replacement walking boots, and weary explorers will always need somewhere to rest their heads at night. Jobs are created and economies are boosted through natural tourism, in the surrounding areas of the specific locations too.

What is the difference between nature tourism and ecotourism?

Is nature tourism different from ecotourism? Put simply, yes. They are very similar, but ecotourism is perhaps a more specialised branch of nature tourism if we were looking to clearly define the difference in some way. Nature tourism is about visiting an area - responsibly, yes - rather than actively aiming to learn about the environment and participating in its protection. A nature tourist might visit a beach and admire its beauty, while an ecotourist might join in with a beach clean-up. The lines are blurred, of course, as they so often are when we try to differentiate between types of tourism.

Types of nature tourism

There are different types of nature tourism. This is where we will see similarities with another kind of tourism: adventure tourism. You can read all about adventure tourism here if you're interested! However, the similarity is that both can be split into two 'types': hard and soft.

Soft nature tourism might involve bird watching, visiting a beach to sunbathe, gentle walks through country parks and so on. Hard nature tourism is a bit more tough going: mountain climbing, bush walking and scuba diving, for example. Below I'll go into some of these specific examples, so you can see how diverse nature tourism is!

Nature tourism examples

There are many examples of nature tourism to be found. Keep reading to see what they are, and whether they fall into the hard or soft category.

Bird watching

Bird watching is an example of soft nature tourism. People of all ages and abilities can do this, with or without a guide. You just need some background knowledge of bird species (or a book explaining them) and perhaps some binoculars. the Gambia is a hotspot for bird watching!

Scuba diving

This is more of an example of hard nature tourism. It's much more adventurous, and requires specialist equipment and a guide or a lot of training/experience. Head under the water to see what kind of nature is on display down there: coral, fish, shells and so much more. It's subjective, but Barracuda Point in Malaysia is apparently the most beautiful place in the world to scuba dive... and I am a big fan of diving in Dahab, Egypt too!

Scenic driving

This is another 'soft' activity in that it is low-risk and doesn't require physical exertion. The North Coast 500 in Scotland is an example of a famous scenic drive - this is a great way to experience nature. From rolling hills to winding rivers, there is so much to see out of the window from the comfort of your car. Another fantastic example is the Kings Highway in Jordan, where you will see endless desert, canyons and incredible rock formations.

Camping

Camping is, again, an example of soft nature tourism. While it's a little more 'involved' than scenic driving, for example, it is still relatively low risk and most of us are able to participate. Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand is said to be one of the most beautiful places in the world to camp, with its green landscapes and snowy mountain scenery. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro gives you some fantastic camping opportunities too- just make sure you buy the best wild camping tent!

Hunting

While controversial, hunting tourism is an example of nature tourism as it takes place in natural spaces. It is definitely one for the hard category, as you need special equipment to do so and it can obviously be quite dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. It is also often a discussion point for ethical tourism.

Stargazing

For the most part, this is a very safe activity and therefore falls into the soft category again. Guided tours are available in all of the very best stargazing locations, such as El Teide National Park in Tenerife, and it has even spawned its own branch of tourism. This is known as dark sky tourism, and there are many examples of activities that fall within this. They include stargazing, of course, alongside seeing the Northern Lights, watching an eclipse, astronomy tours and staying in accommodations that offer a clear view of the night sky such as glass domes.

Bush walking

This can be dangerous in that it is all about going off the beaten track, and walking through bushes/on rough ground. Therefore we can categorise this as hard nature tourism; it is something you would do when hiking, and gives you a bit of an adrenaline kick!

Visiting parks

One of the easiest and most common forms of nature tourism is simply visiting a park. Whether this is a UK national park or your local green space at home, visiting a park is a definite example of this type of tourism. You'll see birds, insects, flowers, trees, grass and more. Have a leisurely stroll, cycle through or sit and eat a picnic surrounded by nature.

Fishing

Fishing falls in the middle of the soft and hard categories. You do need specialist equipment, but with most types of fishing there is little to no risk to life involved. But you need to be in nature - by or even on a lake or river - to do it, so it definitely counts as a form of nature tourism. People have obviously been fishing for years as a source of food gathering, but it is also a recreational hobby enjoyed by many.

Kayaking

This is another middle of the road activity. Kayaking can be dangerous, although it usually isn't - you'll often have a guide with you, and of course specialist equipment (the kayak) is required. It's a really fun activity that many people enjoy!

Beaches

You can visit a beach and simply do... nothing! This is still an example of nature tourism, as beaches are natural environments. Bali has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and tourists flock there to relax and soak up the sunshine. Beaches are also usually near to bars and restaurants, and you might find people doing beach yoga or watching the sunrise/sunset. Thailand even has all-night moonlight beach parties. They are versatile and beautiful locations!

Cycling

Again, another activity that could be considered hard or soft. It depends where you go, really. A gentle bike ride along a specific cycle lane through a park is nothing like mountain biking in harsh terrains. It's all about the level of ability you have and what risks you're willing to take. But cycling is definitely a great way to get out and about in nature. It is also a low-cost and eco-friendly activity, which makes it a winner from many angles.

Nature tours

These tend to be a longer duration than many activities mentioned above, which you may do regularly but for a few hours at a time. Nature tours are days or even weeks-long trips, out into the wilderness with nature and wildlife experts. You might travel by air or train, or go on a cruise, and your guide will be on hand to point out every aspect of nature there is to see. These nature tours will take visitors to some of the most beautiful destinations on earth, such as trekking in Chiang Mai, Croatia, seeing the glaciers in Iceland and Alaska, and gazing at the best waterfalls in Finger Lakes. They'll set you back a fair bit, but the memories you'll make seeing bears and waterfalls and glorious sunsets will more than make up for it!

Nature tourism- further reading

If you enjoyed this article, I am sure that you will love these too!

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What is nature tourism and why is it so popular? - Tourism Teacher

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Reading time 5 minute read Nature tourism is a fantastic type of tourism and it is on the rise! But what is it and why is it so popular? Read on to learn more... Nature tourism is all about visiting natural areas and is closed aligned with the concept of rural tourism.

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#Group5 #trend

Secondhand Clothing Is Becoming the Fashion Industry's Hottest Trend - Brightly

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Shopping secondhand is one of the most sustainable ways to shop. From eliminating production pollution to creating a circular economy, secondhand clothes are fashion's hottest trend-especially among Gen Z. And lucky for us (and the planet), we'll be seeing an increase in the secondhand merchandise market.

According to thredUP's 2021 Resale Report, the secondhand market is expected to double within five years-reaching $77 billion. Additionally, 76% of 2020's 33 million first-time buyers of secondhand apparel plan to increase spending on secondhand in the next five years.

And thredUP isn't the only one predicting secondhand fashion's explosion. According to a report from GlobalData, the resale market has increased by 53.3% in the last five years. By 2030, American consumers are predicted to spend about $353.9 billion on secondhand merchandise.

From thrift stores in every city to online secondhand retailers, it's easier than ever to get your hands on preowned apparel. And Liz Power, the owner of Awoke Vintage in Brooklyn, New York, says the secondhand fashion industry has changed mainstream fashion for the better. Even the most popular brands are also taking part in the trend.

"The more players we can get to support and throw light into the industry, hopefully, that means a decrease in demand for newer unnecessary items in the world," Power says. "In recent years we've seen big players like ASOS, Urban Outfitters, and Nordstrom enter the secondhand space. And even a flow-on effect into non-fashion industries, Ikea, Ford, and Disney have all launched lines to promote the circular economy."

Power also says she's noticed a change in the way people talk about secondhand fashion. When Awoke Vintage first opened in 2012, customers would leave when they found out the merchandise was preowned. Fortunately, today's conversation is more positive, and secondhand fashion is no longer taboo -especially among younger generations.

"Thankfully a lot has changed since then," Power says. "I'm so grateful for the next generation as they embrace secondhand and thoughtful consumption much more than their generational counterparts."

And as secondhand fashion continues to go mainstream, it's also going digital. Power says Awoke Vintage utilizes Instagram to make most of its sales-especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We used to be mainly in-person buys only," she says. "But the pandemic changed that. We really ramped up our 'Instagram Story Sales.' We post 50-70 items a day to our Instagram Stories and customers DM us if they want to purchase them. Some days this makes up the majority of our sales!"

Needless to say, the secondhand fashion industry is still growing-so much so that it may have the power to knock fast fashion out of the game. According to thredUP's report, the resale market is predicted to grow 11 times faster than retail clothing within the next five years.

This means we're not only seeing a change in fashion, but we're also seeing major environmental benefits. Secondhand fashion promotes a circular economy. This closes the loop and eliminates the need for unsustainable materials like synthetic fibers and toxic chemicals that lead to air and water pollution.

Could secondhand fashion be the future of fashion everywhere? Vote with your dollars to find out.

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Secondhand Clothing Is No Longer Taboo-It's the Fashion Industry's Hottest Trend

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Shopping secondhand is one of the most sustainable ways to shop. From eliminating production pollution to creating a circular economy, secondhand clothes are fashion's hottest trend-especially among Gen Z. And lucky for us (and the planet), we'll be seeing an increase in the secondhand merchandise market.

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By 2025 wealth in Asia excluding Japan could outstrip the US, while China's share in the region has moved up to almost 46%.

#weaksignals #group5

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#trend #group5

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It's time "to view these types of attacks, ransomware attacks on hospitals, as threat-to-life crimes, not financial crimes," said John Riggi, the national adviser for cybersecurity and risk at the American Hospital Association. Ransomware attacks - in which hackers encrypt networks and demand payment to unlock them - have been some of the most common strikes against medical facilities.

While numbers for cyberattack-related hospital deaths are hard to come by because of the variety of contributing factors and the fact that deaths can occur weeks or months after an interruption in care, there are some deaths that have been directly attributed to a cyberattack.

A 2021 study from Proofpoint and the Ponemon Institute, which surveyed more than 600 health care facilities, found that mortality rates increased at a quarter of the facilities following a ransomware attack. In 2020, a ransomware attack forced a hospital in Düsseldorf, Germany, to close its emergency department, and a patient died in an ambulance while being rerouted to another hospital. In 2020, a woman sued an Alabama hospital after the death of her newborn baby, alleging that doctors failed to carry out critical pre-birth testing due to a cyberattack on the hospital, which meant the baby was born with the cord around its neck. This led to brain damage and - a few months later - the baby's death, she argued.

And the pace of such cyberattacks has been increasing.

"Unfortunately, 2022 appears to be another record year in terms of the volume of attacks against U.S. health care and the volume of sensitive patient information which has been either stolen or compromised by these foreign-based cyber adversaries," Riggi said.

The most immediate damage from most cyberattacks in the U.S. is still to businesses' profits or people's data - which hackers often steal. But the government also has a list of 16 "critical infrastructure" categories, including health care, where a cyberattack attack could cause major disruption to civilian services.

The Biden administration is not standing by idly, and plans to make hospital cybersecurity a key priority in the new year. A senior administration official, granted anonymity in order to provide details, said that this could include issuing executive orders to require certain health care cybersecurity standards, or supporting legislative efforts on this topic.

"Hospitals are a very targeted sector ... it's something we're significantly concerned about," the official said.

Nitin Natarajan, the deputy director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, warned in an interview that there's an increasing need to focus on cybersecurity at hospitals over the next few years and "as time goes on."

Even without figures that attribute deaths to hacks, it's clear that attacks on hospitals have disrupted care at increasingly dangerous levels. In 2022, an attack on CommonSpirit Health, the nation's second largest non-profit health system, compromised the personal data of over 600,000 patients, including electronic medical records, which allegedly caused one child to be accidentally given five times the amount of medication needed. An attack in November on three hospitals in New York forced doctors to move to paper charts, delaying care.

According to data from the CyberPeace Institute, the average cyberattack on a health care system leads to 19 days of patients unable to receive some form of care. In one case, a cyberattack led to around four months of disrupted medical care.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at cybersecurity company Mandiant Consulting, said his company is currently working to help several hospitals recover from cyberattacks. He noted that "it can often take weeks for the organizations to recover their IT systems and have their caregiving operations return to normal."

The problem is global. A ransomware attack last year on Ireland's health care services agency led to a disturbance in patient services for months, including the cancellation of cancer treatment and maternity appointments and of Covid-19 vaccinations. And earlier this month, a hospital in the suburbs of Paris was forced to transfer neonatal and intensive care patients to other facilities after its phone and computer systems were encrypted.

And it's a dynamic that could come into play as the U.S. and its allies try to figure out how to weigh cyberattacks in war.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year raised fears about the potential that Moscow would launch devastating cyberattacks against Ukraine that would spill into neighboring NATO countries. That could trigger NATO's Article Five clause - which states that an attack against one member would be considered an attack against all. So far, a cyberattack has never led to this clause being used, but an attack on a health care facility that caused loss of life or serious human suffering could easily build a case for this.

"If a hostile nation state intentionally took down our grid or intentionally targeted hospitals to cause physical harm, then I think at that point all options would have to be explored and all responses to impose consequences on the nation-state involved," Riggi said of the potential for a cyberattack on health care centers to trigger Article Five.

So far, most attacks against hospitals have been linked to cybercriminal groups, often based in Russia, but not directly to government hackers. Russian cybercriminal group Conti, for example, regularly uses hacks to extort money from hospitals, according to data from the CyberPeace Institute. Conti has connections to the Russian government, but not official ties.

Hospitals and health care groups are aware of the easy target they pose in cyberspace. The Hospital for Sick Children noted that it had prepared for a cyberattack of this nature, which made the response to last week's attack faster. On an international level, the European Union's Agency for Cybersecurity held an exercise earlier this year that simulated an attack on a health care system in order to evaluate the EU's health sector's attack readiness, similar to an exercise Estonia's cybersecurity agency held this year.

Natarajan of CISA, who previously served as a director at HHS overseeing critical infrastructure programs, noted that when he originally started working in the hospital cybersecurity space 15 years ago, this was not a topic the health sector was eager to hear about.

"We'd knock on doors and they got slammed shut in our face," Natarajan said. "I think if we look from there to where we are today, there has been a drastic movement."

But much still needs to be done. Health care groups and hospitals aren't always able to fully address cyber threats to their systems and to legacy medical devices.

The senior administration official placed the blame for this on a lack of cybersecurity mandates in this space, and the overall "sector under stress."

"There's definitely more awareness," the official said. "What we haven't seen that translate to is fundamental cybersecurity improvements."

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The mounting death toll of hospital cyberattacks

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It's time "to view these types of attacks, ransomware attacks on hospitals, as threat-to-life crimes, not financial crimes," said John Riggi, the national adviser for cybersecurity and risk at the American Hospital Association. Ransomware attacks - in which hackers encrypt networks and demand payment to unlock them - have been some of the most common strikes against medical facilities.

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Using e.g TikTok trends to cook easy and fast recipes at home

#weaksignal #group4

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One major source of inspiration for fun food and drink ideas this year has been TikTok. The online video platform has seen people sharing all manner of exciting recipes, from cakes and cookies to everything in between! Whether you're a beginner who wants to perfect the basics or you're keen to go all-out with some truly creative - and delicious - bakes, you'll find plenty of sweet and savoury trends to try yourself at home.

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One major source of inspiration for fun food and drink ideas this year has been TikTok. The online video platform has seen people sharing all manner of exciting recipes, from cakes and cookies to everything in between!

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People are working more and more remotely and all over the world without place dependence.

#megatrends #group4

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In 2007, I had just finished up a freelance telecommunications project in Australia. My next client was based in Europe, but instead of hopping on the first plane home, I decided to start working on the project remotely from Southeast Asia. It was my first experience with digital nomadism - and it wouldn't be my last. Today, I continue to embrace the digital nomad lifestyle, working and living along with my family all around the world.

But what exactly is a digital nomad? Well, it depends on who you ask. For me and my family, being digital nomads means we have a home base in Spain, but we take frequent two-to-three-week "work-cation" trips as well as longer working trips of up to three months at a time, enabling us to have worked and lived in more than 60 countries over the last 15 years. It also means we are location independent: If needed, we can leave our home base at any time; we're not tied to any one place with a mortgage or other major commitments. Other nomads travel for shorter or longer stretches, on their own, with a partner, with a group of friends, or even with pets. Some embrace the van life, some follow a passion like surfing or chasing an eternal summer, and some even develop entire travel-based educational programs for their children.

Over the years, I've met countless digital nomads of all shapes and sizes. I've learned about the wide variety of ways in which digital nomadism can work for people in different careers and life stages, and I ended up becoming a fierce advocate for the work-from-anywhere way of life. Based on this experience, I created a LinkedIn Learning course on digital nomadism, as well as a series of Digital Nomad Stories highlighting successful nomads from around the world. Most importantly, I've discovered that nomadism can be for anyone: Young or old, single or with a family, full-time employee or contractor, the digital nomad life - whether on a temporary or permanent basis - is likely more accessible than you might think. So, if you've ever thought about truly putting the "remote" in remote work, read on for a beginner's guide to becoming a digital nomad:

Step 1: Choose the Right Destination for You

Iceland or Indonesia? Portugal or Panama? There is a literal world of choices, so before you embark on your digital nomad adventure, you'll have to determine the best destination (or destinations) to meet your unique needs and preferences.

Somewhere you're legally allowed to go

First and foremost, it's critical to make sure you've chosen someplace where you're legally allowed to go. I've compiled some basic information below, but since every situation is different, you should definitely do your own research and potentially consult a professional regarding passport limitations, visas, health insurance, taxes, and any other legal requirements you may face.

Passports: If you want to travel outside of your country, you need a valid passport. And make sure to check the expiration date well in advance of your planned departure, so you'll have time to renew it if necessary!

Visas: Depending on the destination and length of stay, you may need a special visa. In some cases, a simple tourist visa is sufficient, some countries now offer specialized digital nomad visas, and in some cases, a work visa may be the way to go.

Health insurance: Some countries require health insurance coverage for visitors, either through an international plan or a local provider. Make sure that you have the coverage you need lined up, so you don't run into issues when you arrive.

Taxes: Most tax policies simply are not built for location-independent workers. In the EU, for example, even if you travel a substantial portion of the year, you'll still need to choose a "Tax Residency" - that is, a location where you spend the majority of your time, own a house, or have some other large asset or interest. You'll also need to make sure you're appropriately classified as a full-time, self-employed, or contract employee, as these classifications can impact your tax status. As a digital nomad, it's your responsibility to make sure you're fulfilling your obligations (and giving your employer the information they may need to fulfill theirs).

Somewhere that's safe for you

Even if you're legally allowed to travel and work in a given destination, it's important to consider other factors that may affect your safety. For example, one digital nomad I spoke with shared his experience traveling internationally as a gay man, explaining that there were certain locations he just wouldn't feel comfortable visiting with his husband. While many places in the U.S., Western Europe, and other regions generally protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people, other areas are far less welcoming. In some places, there are explicit laws criminalizing certain activities or statements, while in others, discrimination can be subtler (though no less dangerous).

Similarly, there are many destinations that may feel less safe for solo female travelers. For example, women on one online forum reported feeling unsafe while traveling alone in certain areas in Africa, Central and South America, and Asia.

Of course, traveling always comes with some risk. But it's important to be aware of the particular challenges you may face due to your gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, political opinions, or other aspects of your identity. That means looking into relevant regulations, making sure you're aware of local cultural norms, and perhaps even talking to friends or family to learn more about their travel experiences.

Somewhere you want to be

Finally, once you've determined the options that are safe and legally available to you, it's time for the fun part: Where would you like to go? Do you dream of days at the beach, on mountaintops, in bustling cities? Somewhere where you speak the language fluently, where you could get by without much work, or where communication barriers might be more challenging? Is there a particular type of food you like (or don't like)? Certain types of entertainment or social activities you're looking for?

This is a very personal choice, and there's no right answer. It's all about figuring out what really matters to you. Some people may choose a location based on a hobby or interest they want to pursue, like surfing, yoga, or learning a language. Others may be looking for a location with a strong existing nomad community, perhaps opting for a famously digital-nomad-friendly destination such as Croatia, where the government has organized a variety of events and initiatives specifically designed to support remote workers. Yet others may hope to participate in specific cultural events or festivals, like Octoberfest, the World Cup, or Chinese New Year. This is your chance to do some soul searching and figure out what kind of place would be the best fit for your unique priorities.

Step 2: Get Your Boss on Board

So you've decided you want to give the digital nomad life a try, and you've determined that it's safe and legal for you to do so. The next big hurdle to clear is getting your boss on board (whether that's a traditional employer or freelance clients).

Making the case for remote work

If you don't currently work remotely, you'll need to start by determining whether any form of remote work is feasible for your role. And if you think it is, don't just rush into your boss's office or send off a hastily written email. Carefully prepare your argument and a detailed plan, and then ask for a face-to-face meeting to share it with your boss and any other relevant colleagues.

In this conversation, start with an overview of the benefits of remote work to both you and your organization. Research industry norms, including whether competitor organizations offer remote work options, and have examples on hand. Then, dive into your own situation, and explain how working remotely would be effective in the specific context of your job and performance. Would it enable you to do your work better? Would your productivity increase? Present a solid case, complementing personal perspective with clear data and quantitative evidence on how allowing you to work remotely could benefit the entire organization. Finally, make sure you've put together a detailed plan for your remote work arrangement, including your schedule, any equipment you'll need, and how you'll track and report on your progress - and be prepared for your boss to offer feedback.

Making the case for work-from-anywhere

Next, remember that even if you already work remotely, it doesn't mean that whoever's signing your paychecks is necessarily okay with you doing that work somewhere else. For example, if your role requires a lot of synchronous communication, it may be necessary for you to be in the same time zone as your team or clients. Some organizations that work with government contracts or sensitive information may have policies against taking company equipment abroad, or other legal requirements limiting employees' travel. There may also be tax and compliance considerations at play, internal company policies against working from certain locations due to local labor laws or security concerns, or your boss may simply feel uncomfortable with the idea due to their own fears or misconceptions about digital nomadism.

Some of these challenges can be overcome, while some are trickier to address. But you won't know which are which until you try - and that means talking not only to your supervisor, but also to HR, legal, IT, and any other departments within your organization that may have an interest in where you do your work. Do your best to genuinely understand their concerns and find creative ways to respond (whether through a convincing argument, or a change to your own proposal). For example, if time zones are an issue, perhaps you could choose a destination with a similar time zone, or commit to staying up late to enable synchronous work? If a supervisor is nervous about a three-month stay, would they be more comfortable with six weeks? Or if international travel is off the table, perhaps a domestic trip could be a good compromise?

Many people are able to arrive at a solution that works. But if you just can't get your employer on board, that leaves you with a choice: Abandon your digital nomad aspirations, or look for a new role that allows you more flexibility. That can mean a new job at your current organization, a new employer altogether, or even a switch to freelance work. Indeed, going freelance is an increasingly common option among digital nomads - but no matter how you structure your job, you'll still need buy-in from whoever's paying the bills. Whether it's a client, a boss, a partner, or anyone else, you'll need to take a proactive approach to managing expectations and developing a plan to navigate your transition into this new way of working.

Step 3: Don't Forget About the Details

Big-picture factors like safety, legality, and whether you'll be able to do your job at all are non-negotiables - but there's a lot more to consider when it comes to setting yourself up for success as a digital nomad. So once you've got a general sense of when and where you plan to go, start thinking about the following tactical and logistical steps you'll need to take to meet your unique personal and professional needs:

Workspace

As a speaker and lecturer, I often give online keynote presentations and training sessions. So for me, a reliable internet connection, dedicated work area, and quiet, private meeting rooms to deliver talks and discuss confidential work plans are paramount. Other people may have other needs, such as an ergonomic chair, a standing desk, noise-canceling headphones, or lighting equipment. If you use any specialized software or equipment, check with your IT department to ensure your tech stack will work abroad, and consider bringing backups of devices or chargers. Every role (and individual) has different needs - so think about what you need to do your job well, and then determine what you can bring with you and what you'll need to find there.

Internet

For most digital nomads, reliable internet connectivity is critical. If possible, test the Wi-Fi at the place where you'll be staying with a virtual live speed test, and look into coworking spaces and cafes nearby in case the Wi-Fi in your lodging has issues. You can also buy a local sim card to make calls and access data, and especially if you plan to use public Wi-Fi networks at cafes, airports, etc., make sure to set up a virtual private network (VPN) to keep your internet traffic secure.

Money

What will you do if your wallet is stolen, or your credit card stops working? Without a plan, a situation like this can be really scary - so it's important to come up with backup options in advance. Talk to your bank about its travel policies, explore options for an additional card you can keep somewhere safe, or consider bringing some emergency cash. You can also do some research to see whether your bank has any partnerships with local ATMs to help you avoid transaction fees, as well as whether apps like Apple Pay or Alipay are common in your destination.

Health

Beyond whatever is necessary to meet bare minimum legal requirements, you may also want to consider additional health insurance. Different travel and health policies include very different services and terms, and some providers are now offering policies specifically designed for digital nomads and frequent travelers. Think carefully about whether you have any specific needs, such as English-speaking doctors or specialist care, and do your own research to ensure those needs will be met. Relatedly, if you take any medications, make sure to pack as much as you need, and if you plan to refill a prescription at your destination, confirm that you'll be able to do so at local pharmacies. And remember that even common, over-the-counter items in your home country may be hard to find elsewhere - so when in doubt, bring a little extra of whatever you'll need.

Step 4: Find Your Community

It's easy to get caught up in the many legal and logistical challenges associated with becoming a digital nomad. But one of the biggest (and least talked about) challenges of this lifestyle is the loneliness and isolation. Finding like-minded people to connect with while abroad can be hard, so it's important to be intentional about participating in organized groups and activities, proactively attending events, or even just engaging in chance encounters.

Online platforms like meetup.com, Nomad List, or local social media pages can be a good place to start, but don't be afraid to initiate events, create groups, and host get-togethers yourself as well. Consider learning a new hobby or sport as a way to meet people, and check whether local coworking spaces or other community groups are hosting any events or offering any resources to help connect digital nomads.

To be sure, there are plenty of benefits to being a solo nomad. There's no way to replicate the sense of independence and adventure you get when you're truly on your own, and no better way to develop razor-sharp problem solving and communication skills. But there's also a lot to be gained by building connections and a network of mutual support and comfort. Especially since my daughter was born nine years ago, it's been important for me to actively seek out communities at each new destination we visit, both to connect with other families and to ensure my daughter has peers her own age to socialize with. Of course, connection looks different for different people - but we all need it, in one form or another. So reflect on the kinds of communities that you value most, and identify opportunities to connect with people in whatever way will feel meaningful to you.

Step 5: Give Back

Finally, remember that it's not all about you. When you travel, you leave your mark on the local environment - and it's your responsibility to make sure you give back more than you take. Find ways to reduce your carbon footprint, and connect with locals to identify effective avenues to support the local community. For example, Mita Carriman, Founder and CEO of the digital nomad support startup Adventurely, advocates for a more sustainable approach, sharing that for her, "shopping local, minimizing plastic consumption when possible, and giving back to locals through charitable donations or volunteer work are some ways I consider the planet when I travel as a digital nomad."

When done right, digital nomadism can be a major force for good. Some governments are even taking steps to attract and retain remote workers through new visas and incentives, recognizing that digital nomads can provide a much-needed boost to local economies. However, without active effort to engage with locals, co-living and coworking spaces may run the risk of becoming a bubble, benefiting digital nomads by exploiting local communities.

To make sure you're not contributing to the problem, choose your destinations and activities carefully. Rather than visiting a popular destination that's already overrun with tourists, consider rural options. Many off-the-beaten-path co-living spaces offer a wonderful way to experience a new culture while bringing economic benefits to communities that really need them. For example, I spent a month with a co-living program in rural Spain that's specifically designed to help participants integrate with a local village community and revitalize its economy. You don't have to make any grand gestures to make a difference. You don't even have to speak the language to communicate on a human level. Just show that you're interested in learning more about people's culture and needs, and you'll be surprised at how profoundly you can connect.

. . .

It's easy to romanticize the digital nomad life. Who doesn't want to work while sipping mai tais on the beach, taking Zoom calls between scuba lessons and spa sessions? Of course, the reality is a lot more complicated, as the many benefits of digital nomadism are accompanied by their fair share of hurdles and risks. But if you're ready to take on the challenge, the freedom and adventure of truly remote work is more accessible - to more people - than ever before. So ask yourself: Are you ready to take the leap?

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If you could work from anywhere, where would you go? For more and more people, it's not a hypothetical question: Young or old, single or with a family, full-time employee or contractor, the digital nomad life is more accessible than ever before. But of course, becoming a digital nomad isn't without its challenges and risks.

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People decide to live a more balanced, meaningful life through slowing things down and appreciating both the world around them and what they have.

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Renewable energy is energy from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale.
#megatrend #group5

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Slow travel is an approach to travel that emphasizes connection: to local people, cultures, food and music. It relies on the idea that a trip is meant to educate and have an emotional impact, in the present moment and for the future, while remaining sustainable for local communities and the environment.

#weaksignal #group3

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Is it just us, or is travel, and the desire to travel, everywhere? Travel has become a ubiquitous part of life for so many people, particularly now that technology has made it seem much more accessible. Take a look online. Instagram is full of travel-focused accounts showcasing the world's most beautiful places. YouTube gives adrenaline-junkies a perfect platform to share their adventures. Airbnb provides stunning, photo-ready accommodations accessible at every price point. One study even showed that people were more likely to travel somewhere if they thought it would result in an increase in their social media following and engagement.

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Seeing travel as a way to keep up with trends and become more popular online can actually stop you from experiencing the true benefits of getting out of your own bubble. The people who are leaving behind slow travel in favor of quick trips to stunning and inspiring places rack up more "likes", so it can feel like we're missing out if our own experiences don't stack up against theirs.

Talk about FOMO.

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If you find yourself making an extensive list of the places around the world that you want to check off of your bucket list, it may be time to take a step back and think about the reason behind your desire to travel. What do you want out of your travels? A fast and furious tour seeing 'everything there is to see', changing locations every 2-3 days? Or do you want to feel like a local, spending leisurely days strolling off the beaten path? If you're craving a more authentic experience, one that leaves you with a feeling that you truly got to know the places, people and cultures that you've encountered on your travels it could be time to s l o w down. Learn more about this lifestyle by reading our guide on how to become a digital nomad.

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Join a community of like-valued professionals on a work and travel program
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What is Slow Travel?

Slow travel is an approach to travel that emphasizes connection: to local people, cultures, food and music. It relies on the idea that a trip is meant to educate and have an emotional impact, in the present moment and for the future, while remaining sustainable for local communities and the environment.

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Heard of the slow food movement? It originated in Italy in 1986 and aimed to preserve regional cuisine, local farming and traditional cooking methods through education of tourists and local residents. People were realizing that increased tourism was changing the way that people were eating, bringing larger, chain-based restaurants to major cities and taking away profits from family-owned establishments. The slow food movement worked to draw business back to traditional restaurants by touting the benefits of using regionally-sourced ingredients and stimulating local economies.

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Different industry, same concept. Where travel is considered, a "slow" mindset urges tourists to take a step back from their to-do lists and Instagram-worthy photo ops and simply embrace what the local community has to offer. Instead of making sure you hit the "hot spots" outlined in a travel guide, focus on things that locals do everyday, things that excite them and give them joy. The impact that these connections have on you will last a lot longer than the memories that you have of racing from tourist attraction to tourist attraction.

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This is not just a way to travel, it's a mindset. It's the outlook that the quality of your experience is more important than the quantity of your experiences when you travel.

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You can wake up without plans for the day, unsure of the adventures that await you, but with the knowledge that what you'll experience will mean so much more than a post to social media could convey.

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Many travelers like to use the phrase "there's always another trip" to convey that it's impossible to see or do everything within a city in a short amount of time. It's okay to save some of the sights for another visit. Instead of racing to do it all, indulge in experience-based activities.

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When you visit a museum, give yourself enough time to fully immerse yourself in its artworks. Ponder the meaning behind a painting, or imagine the artist's thoughts as he or she sculpted an object from clay or stone. Lose yourself in the meaning behind the duality of identity in Frida Kahlo's self-portraits. Absorb and analyze the cultural impact of Salvador Dalí's surrealist works. Remember: you don't need to visit every wing or exhibit - you can always come back.

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What other impactful local activities could you only experience if you were traveling slowly? Imagine learning how to create handmade beads from a local artisan, heading out with a resident fishing crew to reel in the day's catch or getting to know the proper intricacies of drinking mate from a born-and-raised Argentinian.

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You want to find something on this trip that leaves a fingerprint on your soul. Whether it be an evening spent wandering through a local park, a day pondering artistic intention in a museum or an afternoon white water rafting in the mountains, Whether it be an evening spent wandering through a local park, a day pondering artistic intention in a museum in Paris, an afternoon white water rafting in the mountains or going on a day trip from Mexico City, you'll search for an adventure that will make you feel something.

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Benefits of Slow Travel

Slow travel has many benefits for the traveler and the community that they're visiting. In a way, it's a return to the reasons that people had traveled in the past, for a cultural experience or a chance to lose themselves in a new place without the need to document every moment. Here are a few reasons you should consider travelling slowly:

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Prevent "tourist burnout"

Have you ever left a trip more tired than when you arrived? That's a little thing that travelers call "tourist burnout". Trying to see or experience as many things as possible within a short period of time can be exhausting, and actually leave you with a negative view of your time on the road as a whole.

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Ditch your typical frenetic mentality and slip into the pace of the local culture. Instead of thinking of your trip as a list of as a checklist, reframe it as an opportunity for growth, education and development. That to-do list that you created doesn't need to be fully completed in order for your travels to have been successful. You can always head back to that destination later to see what you missed!

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Save money

Traveling slowly can be a more inexpensive option than a typical tourist jaunt. Chain hotels and big-name restaurants tend to be pricier, and they don't offer the type of charm or experience that a local spot would. Beyond the places that you'll visit during the day, you can save money on the space where you'll lay your head at night. Seeking out local Airbnb options or even homestay opportunities could be the key to a connected, life-changing experience on your next trip. If you have a kitchen in your accommodations, bonus! You won't have to eat out quite so often (though you may be tempted to with all of that amazing cuisine), and you can find regional ingredients with which to make a culturally-relevant meal with your own two hands.

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Make connections

We're going to let you in on a secret: you won't meet anyone who has the ability to change your life if your head is stuck inside of a tourist guide. Look up and look around. Learn a bit of the local language before you arrive so that you can engage in brief conversation with shop owners. A short conversation with a man working at a bakery could turn into an opportunity to learn how to make your own bread and, later, a traditional meal with his family where you can make even more connections. You never know what could happen when you take the time to slow down and get to know the people in the city that you're traveling in.

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Break out of your comfort zone

This way of travelling isn't always simple, planned or easy. It requires a certain level of confidence that things will work out, or that you will be able to figure them out along the way. There will be moments during your experience that scare you, but these are the moments that can teach you a lesson that you could carry with you for the rest of your life. You may need to overcome language barriers and differences in cultural customs. These experiences will make you a more knowledgeable traveler and give you global perspective. Unlike a tourist experience, where translated tours abound and Yelp directs you to a place where you'd most likely enjoy the food, a more authentic experience could end up with you tasting a scorpion for the first time in China. You'll also leave little to no negative impact on the local community because you won't be working with exploitative tour operators. That's what will make it one of your best trips ever.

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How to Slow Travel

All it takes is a shift in perspective and mindset to get started. Here are a few tips for turning your next trip into a more authentic experience:

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Live like a local

Talk to the people that you meet when you arrive at your destination and find out their favorite places to eat, relax, and learn. They know this city better than you do, so take their advice and run with it. That little hole-in-the-wall cantina might have the best guacamole that you've ever had.

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Don't try to see everything on your list or, better yet, don't make a list at all

Leave a few things up to chance for once. When every minute is planned to a tee, you don't leave room for surprise or happenstance. When you wake up on the first day of your travels, surrender to whatever the world has in store for you and live without fear of missing out.

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Get ready to grow

Traveling is not the time to seek out the ordinary. Embrace the feelings of discomfort and use your trip as a chance to grow and learn more about how people around the world. Haggle in a local market. Say 'yes' to an opportunity that you never would in your normal life. Arrange a homestay where you'll have to socialize with locals around the kitchen table on a daily basis. Whatever you do, don't hold yourself back because of worry or discomfort.

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Bring it on home

Finally, the idea of slow travel doesn't have to just apply to 'other' places. Once you have grasped this mentality, implement it in a place that you are familiar with, perhaps even your hometown. Have you been too caught up in everyday tasks and responsibilities to notice the little things? Do you frequent new, hip restaurants or do you try out places that have been around for generations? Is it a priority for you to make new connections within this city, or are you content with the relationships that you already have?

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Think of yourself as a tourist within your own city. This could be your chance to make your hometown feel new again, and create an emotional connection to this place that has felt too stagnant or comfortable for so long.

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It may not be for everyone or all types of trips (we don't blame you if you want to climb Machu Picchu or take a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower), but it is achievable. It doesn't take any extra effort or resources to do, just a change of mindset and an openness to its possibilities.

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With that subtle switch, travel again takes on a meaning. It can create memories that are more lasting than fleeting in an instantaneous world absorbed with the FOMO-inducing landscape of social media. As you consider your next travel experience, think about what you could take away from it if you implemented a slow travel mindset and remember, "there's always another trip".

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Is it just us, or is travel, and the desire to travel, everywhere? Travel has become a ubiquitous part of life for so many people, particularly now that technology has made it seem much more accessible. Take a look online. Instagram is full of travel-focused accounts showcasing the world's most beautiful places.

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Social media transforming the travel industry

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Social media transforming the travel industry

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#Group5 #trend

How Social Media is Transforming the Travel Industry (toppandigital.com)

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Social media has slowly but surely permeated its way into the marketing strategies of nearly every business sector and the travel industry is no exception.

From researching potential travel destinations, to discovering activities that can only be experienced in remote parts of the world, the way consumers use social media to inform their purchase decisions for goods and services has shifted considerably in the last 10 years.

With 97% of millennials posting photos or videos of their travel experience on social networks and popularity of third-party recommendation sites, the internet now serves as a visual and commentary hive of accessible and highly influential content to inspire travelers.

Real-time in-person experiences in the form of location check-ins, selfie photos, and perpetual status updates have forced the travel industry to navigate social media channels in order to meet customer expectations in innovative ways to increase revenue while leveraging themselves against competitors.

Social sharing fuels research

Travel and hospitality companies have been quick to turn to social media to market their brands and have become well versed in creating content to connect with potential customers.

As opposed to solely relying on promotional content, Hyatt Hotels relies on user-generated content (UGC) to garner social media engagement from its customers. Originally, the #InAHyattWorld campaign began as a way to highlight the hotel brand's values of hospitality - employees would perform random acts of kindness for guests and post their activity on the brand's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

With guests joining in the campaign and sharing their own experiences, the hashtag soon went viral across multiple platforms resulting in Hyatt developing a microsite dedicated to UGC.

The microsite serves as a perfect example of using repurposed content to build trust with existing customers, expand the brand's organic reach, and encourage a potential customer to make a booking.

Social sharing has undoubtedly led to the democratization of online reviews with 59% of US travelers using review sites such as Tripadvisor as a source for planning a holiday.

These third-party rating sites host a plethora of genuine and unbiased feedback from customers as opposed to the viewpoint of a particular brand.

By integrating with hotel and flight comparison sites such as Expedia, booking.com, and Skyscanner, popular third-party review sites also allow users to research and book holidays all in one place.

Travel and hospitality marketers looking for new channels to increase brand awareness and drive revenue are also tapping into partnerships with travel influencers.

Creating personal travel-based content focusing on individual experiences, these seasoned, relatable, and down-to-earth holiday-makers have become a popular source of discovery and inspiration among millennial travelers setting their sights on new experiences.

From affiliate marketing to authentically created sponsored Instagram campaigns, partnering with photo-centric travel influencers enables travel companies to tap into their highly engaged audiences.

Consumers have become increasingly aware of influencers who blatantly advertise products or services and can see through this disingenuous approach.

Authenticity was a vital prerequisite when The Hawaiian Tourism Board decided to partner with top Instagram travel influencers to showcase Hawaiian travel experiences.

Using the hashtag #LetHawaiiHappen highlighting themes including "off-the-beaten-path" and "secret spots" to first-time and experienced Hawaiian travelers, The Hawaii Visitors and Conventions Bureau collaborated with influencers such as Jordan Hershall and Forster Hunting who are known for traveling to some of the most scenic and breathtaking locations around the world.

The tourism department also collaborated with a network of brand ambassadors consisting of Hawaiian-based lifestyle influencers with a wealth of local expertise. This allowed the campaign to highlight unique locations and experiences to the island to inspire followers to visit and post images on Instagram using the hashtag.

RELATED: Trends in Global Social Media

The campaign resulted in nearly 100,000 Instagram posts - both from sponsored influencers and UGC - reaching 54% of US travelers through social media marketing and direct PR efforts. Importantly, 65% of people who viewed the campaign said they plan to visit Hawaii in the next two years.

Customer service

While the United Airlines incident in which a 10-month puppy died when stowed overhead is an extreme case, it's a clear example of how a negative customer experience posted online can prove costly for any travel business.

Millennial consumers are increasingly communicating with brands through channels they're more comfortable with - airing grievances directly with travel and hospitality companies on social networks is commonplace.

Travel brands are now extremely active on a handful social media channels and promptly reply to queries or complaints. The immediacy of social media engagement has helped travel companies maintain and develop genuine relationships with their customers much faster than phone or email alone.

Furthermore, maintaining these relationships online serves as strategic means to optimize customer retention rates as well as humanize a company's brand. This comes as no surprise as 53% of customers who ask a brand a question on Twitter expect an answer in less than an hour, rising to 72% if the query is a complaint.

For the travel sector, in particular, understanding brand perception and managing customer expectations in real-time has seen multilingual social media monitoring become a crucial industry practice in market research and customer relationship management.

When a guest attending the #PSEWEB conference at Delta Hotels tweeted his disappointment about the view from his hotel room, Delta Hotels quickly responded within an hour offering him a room with a better view.

As the guest refrained from using the Canadian-based hotel's Twitter handle, meticulous monitoring of #PSEWEB resulted in staff taking quick action to upgrade the guest. The guest in return published a blog post about his experience the same day.

Loyalty programs

As competition for price-sensitive consumers increases, customer retention becomes much more of a challenge. Providing extra value to customers with the use of loyalty programs is an important element of the travel business model and social media is playing a key role in its development.

Integrating social sharing and comments with existing loyalty programs has become a simple and effective way to increase brand exposure on multiple social platforms.

Marriott Hotels incentivizes members of its rewards program by awarding them with 2,000 bonus points for their hotels to family and friends. In turn, newly referred customers are then awarded 2,000 bonus points for each night referred for the first 5 days to encourage longer hotel stays.

In addition, using the social sharing platform Chirpify, members who connect their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts receive points for each account connected.

The social sharing extension allows Marriott to collect valuable insights of its most engaged users by rewarding members who share branded content - using relevant campaign hashtags - in exchange for bonus reward points.

International markets

Social media adoption and usage varies widely between different regions around the world. Outbound travelers from the Middle East have a totally different set of expectations compared to their Western counterparts - luxury experiences are prioritized amongst anything else so it's no surprise well-established homegrown luxury airlines rate highly for social media engagement in the region.

Qatar Airways have a strong focus on delivering news, events, and even upselling on their social media platforms especially on Twitter where the airline receives an average 25-30 retweets per post.

On Facebook, showcasing the brand experiences with high-quality images and videos is the basis of its strategy to engage with followers - engagement also doubles when promoting special offers for its loyalty program members.

Using local platforms such as VK.vom - Russia's most popular social media platform - the UK-based flight comparison site has established itself in a unique position to engage with its Russian audience with inspirational images, special prices on last-minute flights, and user generated content.

Chinese holidaymakers conduct a considerable amount of research online before finalizing their travel plans. Travel companies with localized websites therefore have the upper hand when it comes to successfully engaging with Chinese audiences.

Platforms including Facebook and Instagram are banned so understanding the right platforms to target the eager Chinese Free Independent Travelers (FIT) market is essential to the travel sector's success.

In 2014 the Tencent-owned messaging app WeChat partnered with Chinese online travel agency LY.com to include flight bookings into its popular mobile commerce feature.

What followed was a stream of airlines including Spring Airlines, Air France, and Hong Kong Airlines introducing WeChat integrated features from booking flights and checking flight information to accessing customer support services.

TripAdvisor - branded DaoDao in China - has become one of the most well-known western travel sites to dive into the waters of WeChat. They have also expanded into InterContinental Hotels Group to connect with over 768 million daily logged in users, 50% of whom use the messaging app for more than 90 minutes a day.

Social media has significantly contributed to the evolution of the travel marketing landscape and the 21st-century traveler is no longer bound to the confines of a company website or travel agency.

For the travel sector to continue its current success, it's essential that companies expand their networks across multiple social media platforms. Curating a high volume of positive reviews and proactively encouraging social sharing is crucial to building positive brand awareness and increasing customer loyalty.

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How Social Media is Transforming the Travel Industry

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From researching potential travel destinations, to discovering activities that can only be experienced in remote parts of the world, the way consumers use social media to inform their purchase decisions for goods and services has shifted considerably in the last 10 years.

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#group5 #trend

Recycling as a trend for a normal consumer.

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As the fashion world continues to work towards sustainability, trying to help save the planet from the impending climate crisis, upcycling is the biggest trend of the season. It's even resonating with haute couture, where the reuse and recycling of clothing and fabric is hardly expected. Dutch designer Ronald van der Kemp was one of the first to use repurposed fabrics and materials, with all his collections incorporating upcycling. He's found a way to reuse old items to beautify and exalt, prompting other designers to rethink their creative process as well.

Looking back, for FW21, the message was fabric reuse, vintage denim, and sustainable materials. For his Artisanal collection, Maison Margiela creative director John Galliano presented a patchwork gown made from vintage and antique Delft blue fabrics. In Schiaparelli's signature surreal style, artistic director Daniel Roseberry transformed a pair of old jeans into a jacket embroidered with golden cone and shell-like forms, lips, ceramic eyes, and intricate patterns; the epitome of upcycling meeting the grandiose world of haute couture. Regenerating fabrics will become even more the norm for conscious designers. Case in point: Marine Serre SS22 featured 90% regenerated fabrics - terry torchon typically used for household chores and jewelry crafted from cutlery, glass, and stones, and leather and denim wear.

Arab designers are also taking adventures in upcycling seriously. There's Iraqi London-based label Atelier Mundane, known for its wild prints and dynamic colors, who uses upcycled fabrics and vegan leather. Then there's Paris-based BassCoutur, founded by Tunisian designer Riad Trabelsi, and which is made entirely out of deadstock clothing and fabrics as well as recycled and upcycled fabrics. The ready-to-wear label of Lebanese fashion designer Roni Helou, who is now based in Beirut and Doha, is defined by sustainability and activism. Helou often uses deadstock and locally sourced materials such as gauze, poplin, cotton knit, and denim to create his overcoats. "I prefer the words 'conscious' and 'activist' to define my brand rather than sustainable as it has been overused," says Helou. "We only use deadstock, discarded, and vintage fabrics that are 10 years or older." Helou often buys used fabrics from Creative Space Beirut, the public fashion school he attended in Lebanon, that have been donated by top designers like Donna Karan and Diane Von Furstenberg. "It's not just fabrics, we are talking about zippers and buttons, too... everything that will be included in the creation of my garments."

Dubai-based Palestinian designer Reema Al Banna is doing something similar with her brand Reemami. "I always make and print my own fabrics," says Al-Banna. "Sometimes I order a bit more than I need and then the leftover fabrics I use for headpieces, hats, and caps. I try to recycle it into accessories." For her next season, she plans to use a patchwork of her old fabrics and designs to create pants, shirts, and dresses. "I will also incorporate embroidery by Palestinian refugees," she adds. "Whenever I cut my fabrics, I use a zero-waste strategy, so we don't have too much left over."
Read Next: Is Renting Your Clothes Really More Sustainable? Originally published in the November 2021 issue of Vogue Arabia

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Global Recycling Day: Why Upcycling is the Biggest Trend Right Now

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As the fashion world continues to work towards sustainability, trying to help save the planet from the impending climate crisis, upcycling is the biggest trend of the season. It's even resonating with haute couture, where the reuse and recycling of clothing and fabric is hardly expected.

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More options of self-driving cars coming to the markets.

#weaksignal #group1

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Volkswagen autonomous cars will be in the mainstream globally by the end of the decade, according to Thomas Schafer, with its commercial vehicles (CV) division leading the charge.

Schafer's comments were made amid the recent news that Argo, the US-based self-driving start-up in which Volkswagen invested more than $2.6bn in 2019 was shutting down. In response to the move, VW said it was "consolidating its development partnerships," adding: "Our goal is to offer our customers the most powerful functions at the earliest possible time and to set up our development as cost-effectively as possible."

Alongside its CV division, VW's software firm Cariad will drive autonomous development in China while Bosch will be its partner for the rest of the world.

The German car maker's plans for autonomous driving have been significantly delayed, but no more so than its rivals. All have been faced with the enormity of implementing autonomous driving amid a backdrop of plunging billions in electrification, a global pandemic, chip shortages and the global legislation issues around the technology.

Schafer said: "The technology is available and we are driving in Hamburg and Munich autonomously. The cost of the car is still prohibitive because so little of it gets manufactured. And there's always the need to prove that the system drives better than a human. The legislation for it is enormous. It's totally different from country to country."

He continued: "You have to put focus on [autonomous driving] and that is why we are pushing so hard in the CV division, because once it happens it opens up profit pools and opportunities. I wouldn't say winner takes it all but it's a game that you need to be in early. You can not wait and then fast forward so that's why we're totally focusing on it."

Explaining some of VW's issues rolling out self-driving vehicles, Schafer added: "It's not as trivial as it seems. It's the legislation, the camera systems, the chips, the energy consumption and the speed of calculation. The car will be the biggest data collection device there is. It's really complex."

In the mid-term, VW's goal is that customers will be able to book an autonomously driving VW ID Buzz via its Moia ride-hailing service in Hamburg in 2025.

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Volkswagen autonomous cars to be mainstream by 2030, says CEO | Autocar

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Volkswagen autonomous cars will be in the mainstream globally by the end of the decade, according to Thomas Schafer, with its commercial vehicles (CV) division leading the charge. Schafer's comments were made amid the recent news that Argo, the US-based self-driving start-up in which Volkswagen invested more than $2.6bn in 2019 was shutting down.

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"Renewable energy has grown in importance over the past few decades as more people begin to understand the impacts of climate change and countries look to limit their dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels."

#trend #group1

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Q.ai - Powering a Personal Wealth Movement

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Renewable Energy Is Growing Quickly Worldwide - Here Are The Industry Trends Investors Pay Attention To

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As more people worry about climate change, renewable energy is gaining traction. Investors have started looking for opportunities in the industry.

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#weaksignals #group3

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The way we work has changed significantly and remote work has come to stay. However, people are now longing for hybrid solutions and increasingly value their own freedom to determine the place and time for work. Many have also found themselves to nature more often in between meetings and have awakened to the importance of nearby nature. That is why Lahti, the European Green Capital 2021, has built remote workstations in nature to remind us of both the diversity and the calming effect of nature.

The workstations, named Viita, are located all over the city from parks to wilderness: this way during the workday remote workers have the opportunity to admire the diverse nature of Lahti. Locality is reflected in both the design and execution of the Viita workstations. The workstations have been made by a local company Upwood, and a team of students from LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts has been involved in the process.

Viita workstations combine Nordic design and nature in a functional way

- The design of these workstations reflects ecology, locality and functionality. They combine the roundness of trees and breathing nature, helping the workstations to blend into surrounding nature. Viita workstations are unique in terms of usability, and differ from traditional camping tables due to their functions that are specifically designed for remote working. They include a telephone and a cup holder, an area for one's laptop, a place to put one's pens and a possibility to hang a bag or purse, says Umberto Onza, an industrial designer from TBWA Helsinki, who led the designing process.

Viita workstations are made of Finnish spruce, which is durable material for outdoor use. The use of spruce has a long history in Finland, and as a material it represents the Finnish forest at its best. The workstations are attached to trees so that no harm is done to the trees after installation and removal.

Spending time in nature boosts wellbeing

The global pandemic and the shift to remote work has made work communities consider the importance of well-being at work from a new perspective. Spending time in nature has many benefits on our overall well-being, as it can at best improve one's mood and reduce stress. Thanks to the new workstations in Lahti, it is now possible to combine remote work and nature in a convenient way and thus boost one's energy.

- Forests play a major role in building an ecologically sustainable future, but they also offer opportunities for relaxation in the midst of hectic everyday life. In the midst of remote working, many have found that nature has positive effects on mood, says Saara Piispanen from Lahti - the European Green Capital 2021 project.

Viita workstations will be in use for the first time this autumn as a part of the Green Capital Year. Lahti also encourages other actors to set up workstations and shares the drawings for open use.

Read more about the Viita workstations from here.

For more information

Saara Piispanen
Head of Communications, Lahti - European Green Capital 2021
tel. + 358 44 416 4680
saara.piispanen@lahti.fi

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This Nordic city takes remote work to the woods: now you can work in the middle of the forest - Lahti

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The way we work has changed significantly and remote work has come to stay. However, people are now longing for hybrid solutions and increasingly value their own freedom to determine the place and time for work. Many have also found themselves to nature more often in between meetings and have awakened to the importance of nearby nature.

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https://www.autonomous.ai/ourblog/10-reasons-why-minimalism-is-trending-worldwide
#trend #group3

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Although minimalism has been around for a long time, now more than ever it is a growing phenomenon and an international trend as the world we live in changes dramatically.

So why is this "back to basics" aesthetic so popular worldwide, not only as an aesthetic choice but as a general mentality and lifestyle choice? Here are ten reasons why:

1. Pandemic economy

The worldwide spread of COVID-19 has had a disastrous effect on the global economy. While some countries have been hit harder than others, unemployment is higher worldwide than ever before, and growing at an unprecedented rate both in the United States and abroad.

Because of growing uncertainty over the future, reduction in income, and tighter budgets, many of us have been faced with no choice but to identify what is essential, and what we can live without. In effect, minimalism has become the de facto lifestyle for many people who are struggling financially, even if they don't know it.

2. Environmental concerns

As much as the necessity of tightening budgets makes people minimalist without even realizing it, a growing number of people around the world have seen the value of minimalism as a way to combat waste and preserve the environment.

While there may be a long way to go before humanity learns to conserve its resources and reduce its reliance on single-use plastics, change starts with each of us individually. Adopting a minimalist lifestyle has implications that go beyond our personal life and permeate the environment around us.

3. Debt reduction

With the credit industry flourishing on the creation of debt and the repayment of loans with interest rates, many consumers are making the conscious choice to reduce their debt load by forgoing those big purchases that they can't actually afford.

Though many forms of debt are inevitable for most-college tuition, medical bills, car and home payments, and now emergency financial assistance due to the pandemic-there are certainly lifestyle choices we can make with a minimalist approach to reduce the amount we spend by focusing only on what we truly need.

4. Growing awareness of inequality

While income inequality and racial disparities have been a global phenomenon for centuries, it seems that the speed of information and the connectedness afforded to us by the internet is bringing more of these problems to light.

While there may be a plurality of opinions on why these problems persist and how to best resolve them, recent studies show us that up to 71% of people are spending less on things and more on people who struggle to afford basic necessities like clean food, water, and clothing. People are spending less at the mall, and more on causes they care about. As a result, they must make choices that are compatible with a minimalist mindset, rather than buying merely for the sake of buying.

5. Aesthetic preference

Since the 1960s, minimalism has had a profound impact on art and pop culture. The infamous artwork of Andy Warhol, for example, exemplifies the mundane and the simple aspects of life in a now-iconic art style whose influence can be seen in more recent works of art.

Beyond fine art, minimalism as an aesthetic has taken hold of the interior design industry, moving away from unnecessary embellishments and embracing clean lines, neutral color schemes, and furniture that serves less as a piece unto itself, and more as a blank canvas for whatever decorations and objects are more unique to you.

6. Advances in personal computing hardware/software

Leading tech companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft have all adopted minimalist design aesthetics in recent years. Software has moved away from more skeuomorphic themes in favor of "flat" colors and gradients, simplified easy-to-read text and removal of unnecessary lines and "3D" effects.

Computers and smartphones have, in turn, moved away from tons of buttons and switches toward more streamlined, unibody designs. Minimalism is en vogue in the tech industry now, more than ever, and that's something you can also see in minimalist office setups in many startups and tech firms.

7. The benefits of minimalism are highly sought after

Peace of mind, clarity, and focus are all purported benefits of a minimalist lifestyle. In what feels like an ever-changing and chaotic world, as well as increased awareness of the importance of mental health, minimalism is becoming a desirable and highly sought-after lifestyle and mindset.

Whether because of circumstantial necessity, coincidence, or perhaps a testament to its efficacy, it's remarkable that a philosophical and aesthetic approach first popularized in the 1960s is still experiencing such a strong rate of adoption around the world 70 years later.

8. Widespread online presence

The proliferation of information all over the world via the internet is also making minimalism take hold on a global scale. Minimalism can be easily read about and researched on numerous blogs and on social media.

Because of its growth in popularity online, many who might not have been exposed to the principles of minimalism are now encountering them even if they weren't looking for them. In the information age, trends like minimalism spread faster than ever.

9. Distributed workforce makes different lifestyles possible

As more people work from home, minimalism has become an increasingly attractive option for people to simplify their home offices and stay focused while they work from home. You can check out our blog, 5 Tips for the Best Minimalist Home Desk Setup, for ideas on how to incorporate minimalism into your work-from-home routine.

10. Decline in materialism

As the world moves away from excess and evaluates its true needs in times of pandemic and economic uncertainty, it is becoming increasingly important to abandon the practice of materialism in favor of seeking out the things that matter most.

Most millennials have reported preferring to spend their money on experiences rather than material possessions-a marked shift in priorities from young people just a generation ago. This, combined with economic necessity and environmental awareness, have all contributed to the rising popularity of minimalism.

Conclusion

While minimalism may be adopted at different rates and to varying degrees by individuals around the world, it's worth investigating why minimalism is gaining so much popularity, and how it might benefit each of us in different ways. Have you considered incorporating minimalism into your own lifestyle?
Read more... 7 Most Important Features for Your Smart Office 5 Tips for the Best Minimalist Home Desk Setup Our Definitive Minimalist Desk Setup Guide A Guide on How to Setup Your Green Home Office A Guide on How to Create the Most Productive Desk Setup How a White Color Scheme can Bring Your Home Office to Life

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10 Reasons Why Minimalism is Trending Worldwide

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Although minimalism has been around for a long time, now more than ever it is a growing phenomenon and an international trend as the world we live in changes dramatically. So why is this "back to basics" aesthetic so popular worldwide, not only as an aesthetic choice but as a general mentality and lifestyle choice?

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In almost every industry automation gives a boost and became one of the megatrends.

https://www.isa.org/intech-home/2020/september-october/features/manufacturing-and-automation-megatrends

https://www.morganstanley.com/articles/automation-technology-enhancing-productivity

#megatrends #group1

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More and more people are wishing to live / moving to countryside.

https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/23093-a-post-pandemic-trend-nearly-half-of-finns-dream-of-moving-to-the-countryside.html

#trend #group4

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This equates to approximately one million adult Finns. On the other hand, four out of ten respondents prefer to live in the city. The survey also found that young people are also interested in moving to the countryside, with 46% of them wishing to do so. However, work was identified as the primary factor keeping people in cities.

The survey was conducted by the Finnish Village Association, the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK), and the Maaseudun Tulevaisuus newspaper. The results showed that 44% of the respondents want to live in the countryside. Around one in five (17%) were seriously considering it, and just over a quarter (28%) would like to move to rural areas if it was a realistic possibility. Meanwhile, 41% of respondents are not interested in moving to the countryside, and 15% were unsure.

About 40% of Finland's workforce can work remotely. Many Finns dream of having a home office, backyard, and a life closer to nature. However, many policymakers are attempting to make rural living and settlement more difficult. Despite this, the allure of living close to the countryside remains strong. "We need sustainable housing and planning policies that respond to Finnish aspirations. We also need experiments, such as a regional student loan repayment trial, to move highly educated workers in Finland," said Aleksi Koivisto, Executive Director of the Finnish Village Association.

Men are more interested in living in rural areas than women. Over a fifth of the men surveyed were seriously considering moving to the countryside. Meanwhile, only one in ten women had seriously considered it. When those who were interested but whose life situations were not yet suitable were included, the percentages rose to 47% for men and 41% for women.

The survey found that young people were also interested in moving to the countryside, with almost half (46%) of them wishing to do so. Fourteen percent were seriously considering it, and 32% would be interested if it were possible to move to rural areas.

The interest in moving to rural areas is higher in the north and east of Finland. One-third of respondents living in the Helsinki metropolitan area (35%) are interested in moving to the countryside, while 43% of those in Uusimaa are interested. The survey found that work was the most significant obstacle to realizing dreams of moving to rural areas, particularly for those living in southern Finland.

According to Johanna Niilivuo, an expert in rural migration at the Finnish Village Association, the increasing number of people working remotely has freed many from city life, as evidenced by the nearly tripling of the number of migration-gaining municipalities over the past few years.

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A post-pandemic trend: Nearly half of Finns dream of moving to the countryside

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on many aspects of life, including where people want to live. According to a recent survey, more and more people in Finland are dreaming of living in the countryside.

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#group5 #trend

This is how to ensure sustainable alternatives to plastic | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

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Image: UNSPLASH/Giorgio Trovato

Head of Climate, Impact & Policy, LOLIWARE Inc.

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Plastics and the Environment

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Comparative life-cycle analysis of the single-use plastic straw, the paper straw, and the PLA straw Image: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etdr/1064/

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This is how to ensure sustainable alternatives to plastic

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In trying to solve the plastic pollution problem, we may have created another problem: we are replacing plastic with materials that have a carbon footprint up to 3 times higher than plastics themselves, some of which are not even biodegradable in real-life conditions.

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There are only 14 countries in the world which offer full legal protections to women.
#megatrend #group5

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Belgium, Canada, Denmark and France are among the countries offering full equal rights for men and women, from a legal perspective. Image: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Data Journalist, Statista

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Germany has a score of 100 for the first time following legal changes in the past year. Image: Statista

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Only 14 countries have full equal rights for women

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Belgium, Canada, Denmark and France are among the countries offering full equal rights for men and women, from a legal perspective. Image: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Data Journalist, Statista Stay up to date: Gender Inequality Follow Discover How is the World Economic Forum promoting equality in the workplace?

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The demand for electric cars is rising.

#trend #group1

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Electric vehicles are now trending. But where can we charge them?

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Canada’s zero-emissions vehicle sales target will need hundreds of thousands of EV charging points to be installed in homes, workplaces, retail spaces and along highway corridors in the coming years.

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What is an economic crisis? Definition and examples - Market Business News
#wildcard #group3

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An economic crisis is a situation in which a country's economy deteriorates significantly. We also call it a real economic crisis. In most cases, a financial crisis is the cause of an economic crisis. During the crisis, GDP is typically declining, liquidity dries up, and property and stock market prices plummet. It is an economic downturn that gets worse and worse.

. GDP is the sum of everything a country produces over a specific period.

Economic downturn refers to slowing GDP growth or GDP contraction. During a downturn, property prices fall, joblessness rises, borrowing falls, and companies invest less.

When an economic crisis is devastating, there is a depression. When it is serious, but not as devastating, it is a recession. Recessions and depressions are similar. In both cases, the economy declines, and unemployment rises. However, a depression is more severe and usually longer-lasting.

BusinessDictionary.com has the following definition of the term:

"A situation in which the economy of a country experiences a sudden downturn brought on by a financial crisis."

"An economy facing an economic crisis will most likely experience a falling GDP, a drying up of liquidity and rising/falling prices due to inflation/deflation."

Economists say that a recession is a normal phase of the business cycle. If we can manage the downturn properly, however, we can prevent it from becoming an economic crisis or depression.

Economic crisis vs. financial crisis

We often see the terms economic crisis and financial crisis in history books, newspapers, and business journals. Although the two terms have similar meanings, they are not the same.

Financial crisis

A financial crisis typically involves problems in the banking and finance sector. Banks, financial institutions, the currency market, and the capital markets, for example, are part of the banking and finance sector.

If a country's major bank collapses, this is a financial crisis, especially if other banks also start crashing. It is also a financial crisis if a significant number of borrowers default on their debts ( fail to pay back what they borrowed).

If these problems continue, the problem will start influencing macroeconomic conditions. Macroeconomics refers to things that span the whole economy, such as GDP growth, unemployment, and inflation. A significant rise in interest rates is also a macroeconomic issue.

A global financial crisis is a financial crisis that affects several countries simultaneously. During global financial crises, financial institutions lose faith. Subsequently, they stop lending to each other and traders stop purchasing financial instruments. Most lending eventually dries up, and businesses suffer considerably.

The last global financial crisis occurred in 2007/8. We call it the 2008 Global Financial Crisis or 2008 Financial Crisis.

Economic crisis

As mentioned above, if the financial crisis worsens and spreads, it will eventually affect macroeconomic conditions. When this happens, the financial crisis starts turning into an economic crisis.

Unlike a financial crisis, which is limited to one sector, an economic crisis affects the whole economy. Unemployment rises, GDP stops growing or shrinks, and many other things go wrong.

Put simply; if the authorities and those responsible do not address a financial crisis properly, it can turn into an economic crisis.

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What is an economic crisis? Definition and examples - Market Business News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An economic crisis is a situation in which a country's economy deteriorates significantly. We also call it a real economic crisis. In most cases, a financial crisis is the cause of an economic crisis. During the crisis, GDP is typically declining, liquidity dries up, and property and stock market prices plummet.

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Businesses are using artificial intelligence to support decision-making which affects on the way how decisions are made.

Source: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-human-factor-in-ai-based-decision-making/

#weaksignal #group2

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1. G. Bhaskar, P.R. Daugherty, H.J. Wilson, et al., " Taking a Systems Approach to Adopting AI," Harvard Business Review, May 9, 2019, https://hbr.org.

2. S. Raisch and S. Krakowski, "Artificial Intelligence and Management: The Automation-Augmentation Paradox," Academy of Management Review 46, no. 1 (January 2021): 192-210.

3. B. Libert, M. Beck, and M. Boncheck, " AI in the Boardroom: The Next Realm of Corporate Governance," MIT Sloan Management Review, Oct. 19, 2017, https://sloanreview.mit.edu.

4. J. Bort, " How Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Uses Artificial Intelligence to End Internal Politics at Meetings," Business Insider, May 19, 2017, www.businessinsider.com.

5. S. Ransbotham, S. Khodabandeh, D. Kiron, et al., " Expanding AI's Impact With Organizational Learning," MIT Sloan Management Review, Oct. 19, 2020, https://sloanreview.mit.edu.

6. M. Geisler and C.M. Allwood, "Relating Decision-Making Styles to Social Orientation and Time Approach," Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 31, no. 3 (July 2018): 415-429.

7. D.P. Spicer and E. Sadler-Smith, "An Examination of the General Decision Making Style Questionnaire in Two U.K. Samples," Journal of Managerial Psychology 20, no. 2 (March 2005): 137-149.

8. S. Schulz-Hardt, M. Jochims, and D. Frey, "Productive Conflict in Group Decision Making: Genuine and Contrived Dissent as Strategies to Counteract Biased Information Seeking," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 88, no. 2 (July 2002): 563-586.

9. S. Ransbotham, D. Kiron, P. Gerbert, et al., " Reshaping Business With Artificial Intelligence: Closing the Gap Between Ambition and Action," PDF file (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Sloan Management Review, 2017), https://sloanreview.mit.edu.

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The Human Factor in AI-Based Decision-Making

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1. G. Bhaskar, P.R. Daugherty, H.J. Wilson, et al., " Taking a Systems Approach to Adopting AI," Harvard Business Review, May 9, 2019, https://hbr.org. 2. S. Raisch and S. Krakowski, "Artificial Intelligence and Management: The Automation-Augmentation Paradox," Academy of Management Review 46, no. 1 (January 2021): 192-210. 3. B. Libert, M.

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The growing popularity of eco products is making people grow their own food in the backyard. Raising prices and not having a big variety of eco-food options are the cause.

#weaksignals #group5

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Minimalist lifestyle can be seen in architecture, small apartments, interior trends, fashion, tiny house living and lifestyle.

#megatrend #group4

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Why is minimalism so popular? Is it legit, or just an empty trend?

As a practising minimalist, admittedly, I've grappled with the "trendiness" of the movement. But even then, it's easy to see why minimalist living has become mainstream.

This article will explore the origins of minimalism and how it has evolved through different eras.

Then we get into the 10 reasons why people are drawn to minimalism and why it's becoming more popular every day.

When did minimalism become popular? The ancient origins

The roots of minimalism can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, also known as Seneca the Younger, was a Roman philosopher, playwright, and statesman. He is best known for his essays and letters written in Latin.

Seneca was a minimalist who believed in living a simple, purposeful life. He argued that material possessions are not essential for happiness and satisfaction.

He believed that they often get in the way of our goals and aspirations.

"Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realise how unnecessary many things are. We've been using them not because we needed them but because we had them."

Seneca's teachings have been embraced by minimalists all over the world.

Buddism is another philosophy that has influenced the modern minimalist movement.

It was born in India in the 5th and 6th centuries and moved to China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, and eventually reached Western countries like America.

Buddhism teaches us that happiness can be found in simplicity.

It encourages us to live in the moment and not dwell on the past or worry about the future.

Buddhism also teaches us that material possessions are just a temporary source of pleasure. They don't bring lasting happiness or fulfilment into our lives.

"The less you have, the less you have to worry about."

This mindset carried over into the Renaissance period, where simplicity was seen as a way to express elegance.

However, minimalism didn't really take off until the 20th century, when artists like Donald Judd and John Cage started experimenting with the concept.

They believed that by removing all excess elements, you could create a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

It took a while for minimalism to catch on, but it eventually started to gain traction - which leads us to the current times.

Let's transition to why minimalism is popular today.

10 reasons why minimalism is popular

Here are the primary reasons why minimalism is becoming increasingly popular and can develop into a method or approach for living with greater intentionality.

1. We have crippling levels of stuff

The everyday household is drowning in things ( over 300,000 items on average!). Not only does this create clutter and chaos, but it also creates stress.

Studies have shown that the more stuff we have, the more stressed we are. Our brain is constantly trying to figure out where to put everything and organise it all.
The Negative Effects of Clutter: Backed By Science
The idea of reducing our belongings to just the essentials is very appealing to many people. Not only does it simplify our lives and reduce anxieties, but it also gives us more time to focus on the things that really matter.

2. Growing concerns about the environmental cost of excessive consumerism

It's no secret that the planet is in crisis. Every day, we hear about another species going extinct, another natural resource being depleted, and another waterway or forest on fire.

It seems like there's nowhere to go but down. And yet people are trying desperately to find a way out of this mess: by living more simply and sustainably with less stuff.

Minimalism cuts down on excess consumption and helps reduce our carbon footprint by reducing the amount of stuff we buy or throw away. It also means living with less clutter, which frees up time for other activities like gardening or volunteering at your local food bank.
10 Simple Steps To Get Started With Eco-Minimalism
3. Japanese culture

Japanese culture is based on a strong sense of community and togetherness. Everyone pitches in and helps each other out, which means that people don't rely on material things to make them happy.

Japan has historically had a lack of natural resources compared to its population. As such, the Japanese developed a culture known for its aesthetic beauty, cleanliness and simplicity.

The word "wabi-sabi" is used to describe this lifestyle which includes taking care of what you have by using it until it breaks down naturally. This philosophy is seen in their architecture, like the use of wood that would rot over time or having doors that are never closed but instead folded back into the walls when not in use. It is also seen in their cuisine, which focuses on fresh ingredients and minimal seasoning.

This way of living was then adopted by Western cultures, who started incorporating these principles into their own lifestyles through architectural designs like Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater House or the work of Danish designer Arne Jacobsen.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence in Japanese minimalism with designers like Naoto Fukasawa and Kenya Hara, who continue to push the boundaries of what is possible.

4. Nordic culture

Nordic countries like Sweeden, Norway and Denmark have influenced minimalist living worldwide.

Nordic culture is oriented towards the outdoors rather than material goods. Nordic people are also known for their design aesthetic, emphasising simplicity and functionality.

In addition to designing furniture, Scandinavian architects such as Hans Brattrud and Alvar Aalto made a lasting impression on architecture in general by incorporating natural materials into their constructions and designing buildings that blend into their surroundings.

Scandinavian minimalism has been adopted by many designers worldwide because it reflects an optimistic outlook on life: we should live with what we need and nothing more.

5. Desire for enriching experiences over things

There's a growing trend to seek memorable experiences over physical objects.

According to a study by Expedia, 74 per cent of Americans prioritise experiences over possessions. Baby Boomers are entering a phase in their lives where "less is more", while younger generations are leading the charge with experience-led values.

In the past, it was common for people to save up for years before affording things like overseas travel or property. In contrast, now it's far more accessible, and there are so many ways you can experience these things without spending a lot of money.

This is partly due to the growth of minimalism; people are realising that you don't need lots of material possessions to be happy and that these things can often get in the way. Instead, people are choosing to invest their time and money in experiences that will stay with them forever.

Examples of this include travelling, taking on adventurous hikes or attending festivals. All of these things are far more meaningful than owning the latest phone model or having a fancy car, and they often cost less too!
Read more: A Minimalists Guide To Gifting Experiences (90+ Ideas)
6. Marie Kondo sparking joy in homes worldwide

Marie Kondo has been instrumental in the adoption of minimalism.

Her best selling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, initially released in 2010, inspired a movement of tidying, decluttering and organising.

Marie's success led to a Netflix TV series and further pushed her approach to tidying to the mainstream. Her KonMari Method of decluttering is based on sparking joy in your belongings. If an item doesn't bring you happiness, it's time to let it go.

Kondo's work has birthed viral memes like "does this item spark joy?" and "I'm going to Marie Kondo, my house."

Thanks to Kondo, the art of decluttering is no longer seen as a daunting task - it's something that can be done one step at a time and can completely change your life for the better.

7. Financial freedom

Minimalism is a lifestyle that can achieve various goals, one of which is financial security. When you have less stuff, you need less money to maintain that stuff. This can free up more cash flow each month, which can be put towards debt repayment or savings.

In addition, when you live a minimalist lifestyle, you're forced to focus on what is important to you. This can help you get rid of unnecessary expenses and make smarter choices about spending your money.

For example, rather than spending money on a new outfit for every occasion, you might invest in a few high-quality pieces that will last for years. Or, instead of going out to eat all the time, you might learn how to cook simple, affordable meals at home.

Ultimately, minimalism can help you get out of debt and work towards financial freedom. My wife and I used the concepts of minimalism to clear $20,000 in debt in 6 months.

You also have the Financial Independence and Retire Early (FIRE) community that have no problem with living well below their means in the short-term to aggressively invest their savings so they can retire and live off the returns.

8. Tiny living

Many people are embracing a lifestyle that involves living with fewer things. Tiny living, including the increased accessibility to tiny houses, van life and nomadism, have inspired this trend.

The simplicity and cost-effectiveness of these lifestyles have made them appealing to more people looking for ways to be more agile and reduce their carbon footprint without sacrificing their quality of life.

9. Design

Aesthetic preferences are constantly evolving. A few decades ago, everything was about bright colours and busy patterns. Nowadays, people prefer clean designs with only a few elements at any given time.

What's driving this change? Minimalism, at least partly.

I'm clearly biased. But minimalist design is more aesthetically pleasing than other styles because it allows our eyes to focus quickly on what we're most interested in viewing.

It can also be more effective than busier or cluttered designs because it's easier to find what you're looking for among less clutter that competes for your attention.

Additionally, minimalist design is more timeless. For instance, plain white sneakers or a simple dress will age well in your clothing rotation, no matter the hottest fashion trends.

Lastly, the popularity of minimalist design has increased over time as people have become accustomed to using computers and smartphones for various tasks, including work, entertainment, and communication.

We've become familiar with navigating digital products through their interfaces, and minimalism helps us focus on what matters most on the screen. This leads us to the last and the most critical point on this list.

10. The internet

The internet is the main factor contributing to minimalism becoming so popular.

Social media influencers and bloggers (I suppose I'm one of them) post about their experiences with minimalism on sites such as Instagram, Youtube and Facebook. They share tips on how they got into being a minimalist, what kind of reactions they had from family and friends when they started living this way and what benefits they have seen from living with less.

This inspires others to try it out for themselves and share the same experiences as they see online.

The internet also creates a sense of community, making it easier for people to interact with others on a similar path towards minimalism.

Minimalism is not only about having less stuff; it's also about creating a life that aligns with your values and supports your happiness. What better place to learn more about it than the internet, where you may get information from all corners of the globe?

All the reasons mentioned on this list have been changed because of the internet.

Is minimalism here to stay?

Minimalism is popular for a reason: it can help you live a simpler, more fulfilling life.

The internet, social media influencers and bloggers have helped spread the word about why minimalism can be so beneficial in helping you live your life on your own terms while still supporting your goals.

I've outlined 10 reasons why minimalist living is rising, and I believe this trend is here to stay. What do you think?

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Why is Minimalism So Popular? 10 Reasons Why It's Here To Stay | The Minimalist Vegan

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Why is minimalism so popular? Is it legit, or just an empty trend? As a practising minimalist, admittedly, I've grappled with the "trendiness" of the movement. But even then, it's easy to see why minimalist living has become mainstream. This article will explore the origins of minimalism and how it has evolved through different eras.

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Van life keeps on being popular trend among travellers around the globe

#megatrend #group4

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A camper van is a van that is equipped as an independent traveling home. These vans usually have basic facilities for cooking, washing, and sleeping. Camper vans have increased in popularity especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as people became wanderers. It even became a social media trend with its own hashtag #vanlife.

"Van life" is a social movement of individuals who reject the mainstream lifestyle to either experience a unique adventure or to downgrade their way of living out of necessity. The question is, why would anyone want to live in a box on four wheels? Let's find out!
How to get started: The essentials and potential cost
The first main piece needed to live this lifestyle is a van...you guessed it! The most popular choice is a Volkswagen, however, the growing popularity of these vans has caused the price of them to escalate, which can end up costing more than $50,000. The least expensive option is the Ram ProMaster, which can start at $32,000.

The next step is converting a van to make it liveable, and there are three ways to do this: Using a conversion kit, DIY, or a custom build. If you're leaning towards the cheaper option, then the custom build is not for you.

Being skillful in DIY projects is very handy, as this is a great way to take the cheaper route and allows you to cater to your own needs and interests. However, this route can be slow and inefficient.

If you're looking to get the most bang for your buck, conversion kits are the way to go. These kits consist of a combination of parts that are used to build your camper van. The price of these conversion kits can range from $2,000 to $30,000. The cost will depend on the company of the conversion kit and the make/model/year of your vehicle.

Things that are usually included in conversion kits: Bathroom facilities, tables that convert into beds, solar power, cooking setups, shelves, and cabinets. Some kits may even carry insulation, custom flooring, and wall panels.

It would be much cheaper to DIY with the help of these kits, which will cut down the cost of labor. Though anything in relation to plumbing and electricity should be done by a professional. Other expenses can range as follows:

Gas: $200 - $600/month.

Paid campsites: $15 - $30/night. Staying at paid campsites every night is $450 - $900/month.

Vehicle insurance: Around $2000/year.

Groceries: $600 - $800/month for two people.
5 Pros of the van life:

Freedom and flexibility to travel: You can go wherever you want whenever you want for as long as you want. You will never be tied down to one place.

Saving money: Without having to pay the mortgage, rent, electricity bills, cable, etc., you can save that money and spend it elsewhere, or watch it stack up in your bank account.

Minimalist lifestyle: Learning how to live without unnecessary luxuries and other things you think you need to live a regular lifestyle.

Connection to nature: Constant wave of campfires, views of mountains and lakes, national forests, and fresh air. This is the ideal scenario for outdoor lovers.

New experiences: Being in unique and/or difficult situations means you're always learning new things about life and yourself.

5 cons of the van life:

Finding work: The flexible lifestyle means a lack of work, and an income is necessary. Remote working, seasonal jobs such as gardening, tutoring, blogger, etc. are some of the most popular jobs to consider for those who choose to embark on this journey.

Showering: Most van lifers don't have showers in their vehicles, so a lack of frequent showers is common. The most common method for showering would be to get a gym membership.

Space is tight: Van life can get pretty cozy, especially if there's more than one person inside.

Mess and untidiness: Muddy shoes, sandy feet, are all part of the experience, which means you will have to be comfortable with cleaning up more frequently.

Breaking down: Getting a flat tire or running into a mechanical issue is a given due to the constant usage of the vehicle. Even with insurance, getting this fixed could be expensive, and the hassle and stress are overwhelming. Planning for this beforehand is important.

If the van life is a turn-off for you, then enjoy the comfort of your home. Otherwise, go wherever you desire with ultimate freedom.

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Van Life is the Latest Travel Trend and Here's Why -

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A camper van is a van that is equipped as an independent traveling home. These vans usually have basic facilities for cooking, washing, and sleeping. Camper vans have increased in popularity especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as people became wanderers. It even became a social media trend with its own hashtag #vanlife.

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Our perception of time would be based, for example, on sunrise and sunset or the cycles of nature.

#weaksignals #group3

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Crafts will become even more popular among the younger generation, knitting isn’t just for grandma’s anymore. Knitting is not only good for the planet, but it is also so good for your physical and mental health. Most people use it as a stress reliever and a way to disconnect from their otherwise busy and tense life. Slow fashion is on the rise and taking over in 2023. By being a knitter, or supporting other knitters/creators you are doing your part for the planet and fighting the detriment the fast-fashion industry has on the environment.
Source: https://knitandnote.com/our-2023-trend-predictions-knitting-edition/
#trend #group4

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Book "Avoimet suhteet" by Mirja Hämäläinen #weaksignal #group2

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https://www.pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/megatrends/2022/climate-crisis#
#megatrend #group3

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There is a growing number of students who are learning online.

#trend #group1

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#Group5 #trend

Committing to the use of sustainable air fuels, investing in carbon removal technology, opting for more eco-friendly transport options, focusing on regenerative travel,  supporting a plastic and paper-free travel industry

6 trends paving the way for greener travel - TravelPerk

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There's no doubt you've heard the term "sustainable travel" cropping up more and more in recent years. And that's no surprise, with over 80% of travelers believing that sustainable travel practices are important as we inch ever closer to the deadline to reach the 2030 Agenda.

The onus is on all of us to try to reduce our carbon footprints when we travel. From tourists and business travelers opting to travel by rail, to airlines shifting to the use of sustainable air fuels, to the hotel industry exploring new ways of reducing plastic waste - here are 6 of the biggest trends in sustainable travel.

1. Committing to the use of sustainable air fuels

Sustainable air fuels represent one of the most promising shifts towards more sustainable travel. Produced from sustainable feedstocks, this type of fuel is not fossil-derived, although it has similar properties to conventional jet fuels. In fact, it can reduce carbon emissions by about 80%.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office, a number of natural resources can be used to develop sustainable air fuel. That includes corn grain, oilseeds, algae, agricultural residue, and wood mill waste, among several other options. Leading airlines from around the world have already entered into forward-purchase agreements for sustainable air fuel, including United, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Delta, and KLM. Not only that, but several airlines have already been operating flights with SAF in the fuel mix - 370,000 flights since 2016, to be exact!

According to Boeing's CEO David Calhoun, SAF is "the only answer between now and 2050".

2. Investing in carbon removal technology

Also known as negative emissions technology or direct air capture technology, this is a method that instantly, physically, and permanently removes carbon from the air. While often associated with carbon offsetting, which can often be hard to quantify, direct air capture is often lauded as a more concrete solution.

On a mechanical level, a Swiss company called Climeworks is pioneering a new technology that uses fans in modular machines to draw air into a collector. This, then, catches the carbon with a filter made of organic compounds. Once the filter is full, the collector is closed and heated to 100°C (212°F), releasing pure carbon dioxide (National Geographic).

There are other, more biological ways to remove carbon from the air as well. Afforestation, reforestation, bioenergy, and enhanced weathering are just a few examples of how direct air capture can help make green travel a reality sooner rather than later. In fact, Science Direct indicates that we have a global capacity to store between 5 and 30 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide!

3. Opting for more eco-friendly transport options

Governments around the world are implementing measures to help make travel more sustainable as a whole. Legislation is being passed in countries like France mandating that all short-haul domestic trips with a travel time of fewer than 2.5 hours be taken on trains instead of planes. The positive impact of such legislation is quite clear - policymakers in France claim that such a use of rail services could cut emissions by as much as 40% by 2030.

And it's not just governments that are showing an interest in this. Travelers themselves are choosing the greenest and most environmentally friendly options when it comes to how they're going to travel. According to our own data, train travel is gaining momentum and catching up with air travel - particularly in Europe. In fact, over 30% of all business trips across Europe are booked on trains on our platform. If all trips from London to Paris were taken on a train instead of a plane for a year, 189,120 tonnes of CO2e would be saved. You'd need a forest the size of New York to remove the equivalent amount of CO2e.

What's more, encouraging more responsible travel practices for business travelers and tourists alike will go a long way. Things like using public transport over private taxis, or renting an electric vehicle will make a huge difference. Our recent calculations have shown that 507,900 tonnes of CO2e would be saved if all car rentals in the EU were electric for a year. The CO2e savings of such a shift would be the equivalent of all vehicle emissions in a city with a population of ​​450,000 for one year. That's the size of Miami!

4. Focusing on regenerative travel

Regenerative travel is all about enabling and helping an area to grow stronger, whereas sustainable travel looks at minimizing the negative effects of travel on ecosystems, habitats, local communities, and more. Traveling in a regenerative way is all about informed decision-making. It's about understanding how the way that you travel impacts your destination, and consciously choosing vendors that address and help repair the area in which they operate.

And no - it's not the same as ecotourism. Think about it this way. You could be a business traveler based in New York who frequently needs to visit the London office. To be a regenerative traveler, your first step would be to arm yourself with the right information so that you limit the damage your business trip can do to the environment. You could significantly mitigate your effect on the environment by consciously choosing to fly with airlines that emit less carbon or opting to stay in hotels powered by renewable energy. You could also work with a travel company that helps you offset your carbon footprint, and make a point of purchasing or paying for locally sourced goods and services.

The same applies to leisure travel. Sustainable tourism can easily be combined with regenerative practices in a way that enables you to enjoy your travel experience and leave behind a positive impact. You could look into local non-profit organizations that can help you participate in volunteering projects with local people like national park clean-ups. Not to mention that you can plan your entire holiday with tour operators or travel agents who value sustainability and help make your trips as "green" as possible.

5. Supporting a plastic and paper-free travel industry

Hotels above all are making commitments to ditch single-use plastics for toiletries and disposable cutlery, for example. Given that the hotel industry uses 150 million tonnes of single-use plastics each year, moves like these represent an important shift towards a more eco-friendly travel industry. Easy actions can go a long way for the hospitality sector, including things like:

Eliminating the use of plastic straws, cutlery, shampoo bottles

Replacing plastic bottles with glass or reusable water bottles

Implementing mobile keyless entry to hotel rooms

Setting up plastic recycling stations across their properties

Introducing paperless invoicing at check-out

Many hotel chains have started implementing effective policies in an effort to say "no" to plastic. Hilton was one of the first-ever major hotel chains to make science-based carbon targets aligned with climate science and the Paris Climate Agreement, and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in an effort to combat their effect on climate change. The chain is determined to cut waste by 50% by 2030 - to do so, they're replacing all miniature amenity bottles with full-sized ones across all their properties and will be fully miniature-free by 2023. They are also using a digital key program to open guest room doors without the use of plastic keycards, reducing plastic 125 tonnes of plastic waste.

Yes, you can help make travel greener too!

No matter whether you're traveling to Costa Rica for your family vacation, jetting off to Shanghai for that all-important business trip, or meeting your team for a retreat somewhere in the Caribbean (lucky you) - there are many ways you can be a greener traveler.

Here are just a few quick travel tips on what you can easily do to travel more sustainably:

Are you managing or planning travel for your company? Speak to one of our experts to learn how you can help your business reach its net-zero emissions targets through sustainable business travel!

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6 trends paving the way for greener travel

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There's no doubt you've heard the term "sustainable travel" cropping up more and more in recent years. And that's no surprise, with over 80% of travelers believing that sustainable travel practices are important as we inch ever closer to the deadline to reach the 2030 Agenda.

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#megatrend #group4

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Before we decided to let Benedikt off the hook, we came up with some more questions that are asked frequently by our KILROY travellers:
How do you convice your parents to go on your first solo adventure?
- Overwhelm them with your planning! Show them you have everything completely figured out and that you are not just acting on a whim. Prove to them that you are mature enough to undertake such an awesome adventure. Also a good idea is to take them with you to the KILROY office when you want to plan your trip. This way they know in advance what you are up to. Of course you don't have to tell them exactly what you did when you eventually arrived.
I want to do my first solo Travel, should you recommend to just try for a month or have an open ticket? + Do you recommend pre-planning your whole trip or just wing it?
- This completely depends on your personality. Are you a planner or do you like to take spontaneous action? Open tickets are also a good idea if you have time to spare and are not travelling on a tight schedule.
How do you communicate when you don't speak the language?
- If you have your phone with you and you have a local sim-card you could rely on translation apps to do the trick. If not, use your hands, gestures, facial expressions and smile.
How do you plan everything while travelling? Do you use hostel computers, bring your laptop, use your phone?
- Benedikt plans big activities, such as tours, campers or camps ahead before departure. Hostels and smaller plans can be made a few days in advance during your trip. For this it could be good to use your phone as it is a compact device to gather all your reservation documents. Don't take your own laptop, it's usually just another thing to worry about plus it makes your backpack heavier.
How do you connect with other travellers
- Start in advance by looking up some online platforms where people get together to discuss their upcoming travels. Facebook is a great medium for this but there are also dedicated websites for this purpose. Next, hostels. Staying in a hostel is a great way to get in touch with others who travel alone.
Is solo travel combined with Interrail a good idea?
- Most definitely. A great idea even. Don't hesitate, just go for it.

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Afterparty: Why Solo Travel is Good for Your Soul | KILROY

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Before we decided to let Benedikt off the hook, we came up with some more questions that are asked frequently by our KILROY travellers: How do you convice your parents to go on your first solo adventure? - Overwhelm them with your planning!

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Species are going extinct faster than any time in history, and this worrying trend is projected to accelerate, according to a 2021 UN report, where approximately 1 million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction, many of which could be completely wiped out within the next few years. This dire situation could potentially lead to an ecological crisis, threatening the survival of species and ecosystems. So, what is the definition of biodiversity loss, what are some biodiversity loss examples, and the biggest causes of it today?
#megatrend #Group 5

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Species are going extinct faster than any time in history, and this worrying trend is projected to accelerate, according to a 2021 UN report, where approximately 1 million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction, many of which could be completely wiped out within the next few years. This dire situation could potentially lead to an ecological crisis, threatening the survival of species and ecosystems. So, what is the definition of biodiversity loss, what are some biodiversity loss examples, and the biggest causes of it today?
-

Biodiversity Loss Definition
Habitat Loss
The definition of biodiversity loss is described as the loss of life on Earth at various levels, ranging from reductions in the genetic diversity to the collapse of entire ecosystems. In addition to its intrinsic value, biodiversity underpins ecosystem services, providing the backbone of the global economy.
Wildlife Trading Overfishing Climate Change Aside from biodiversity loss definition, you might also like: How Does Habitat Fragmentation Affect Biodiversity? Mountain Pygmy-Possum Image by: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images Orangutan Stellar's Sea Cow
What is the Biggest Cause of Biodiversity Loss Today?

The single biggest contributor of global biodiversity loss is undoubtedly land and forest clearing to make way for urban and agricultural development. The latter of which has caused the loss of millions of hectares of trees to support the growing cattle and livestock industries, as well as mining activities. These ever-expanding industries are driven by global meat consumption, demand for commodities like paper and wood, and resources such as gold and other valuable minerals.

Biodiversity Loss Examples

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Biodiversity Loss Definition and Examples | Earth.Org

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Species are going extinct faster than any time in history, and this worrying trend is projected to accelerate, according to a 2021 UN report , where approximately 1 million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction, many of which could be completely wiped out within the next few years.

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Overconsumption became a fashion and becoming a megatrend.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep00047.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/30/should-we-all-stop-shopping-how-to-end-overconsumption

#megatrends #group1

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More and more people are preferring to live outside of big cities. They are driven by localism and less pollution.

#weaksignals #group5

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A very popular social media platform for creating and sharing short videos. #megatrend #group3

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TikTok, Kiinassa myös nimellä Douyin ( kiina: 抖音; pinyin: Dǒuyīn, kirjaimellisesti 'värisevä ääni'), on lyhyiden videoiden jakamiseen tarkoitettu mobiilisovellus. TikTokin on julkaissut ja sitä kehittää kiinalainen ByteDance. Sovelluksen suosio alkoi kasvaa maailmalla merkittävästi tammikuussa 2018 ja Suomessa myöhemmin. Palvelun ikäraja oli vielä vuoden 2018 lopussa 13 vuotta, mutta monet sen käyttäjistä ovat sitä nuorempia. Nykyään ikäraja on 18 vuotta tai nuorempi huoltajan luvalla, kunhan huoltaja on lukenut palvelun käyttöehdot ja keskustellut niistä huollettavansa kanssa.

ByteDance julkaisi Kiinassa Douyin-nimisen sovelluksen syyskuussa 2016. Sovellusta alettiin julkaista syyskuussa 2017 Kiinan ulkopuolella, jossa se kulkee nimellä TikTok. Marraskuussa 2017 ByteDance osti Musical.lyn ja 2. elokuuta 2018 palvelut yhdistyivät. Tuolloin Musical.lyn sovellus päivittyi ja sen myötä sen käyttäjät muuttuivat TikTokin käyttäjiksi.

TikTokissa käyttäjä ottaa videon puhelimellaan ja halutessaan muokkaa sitä. Sovelluksessa videoon voi lisätä musiikkia ja sitä voi muokata editointityökaluilla. Valmis video kestää 15 sekuntia. Videot ilmestyvät syötteeseen, jota voi selata alaspäin. Lähtökohtaisesti käyttäjän tiliä voi seurata kuka tahansa, mutta tilinsä voi säätää yksityiseksi.

Joulukuun 2018 alussa kanadalais-yhdysvaltalainen uutisoi Motherboard-verkkosivuillaan, että TikTokissa havaittu paljon toimintaa, jossa käyttäjät ovat pyytäneet toisilta alastonkuvia. Myöhemmin joulukuussa sama lehti uutisoi, että palvelussa on levitetty uusnatsistista propagandaa sekä kehotettu väkivaltaan tummaihoisia ja juutalaisia kohtaan. Palvelussa ei voi lähettää videoita yksityisviestinä toiselle käyttäjälle. Tämän takia sovelluksessa alastonkuvia pyytävät henkilöt yleensä pyytävät uhrejaan siirtymään muihin palveluihin.

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TikTok, Kiinassa myös nimellä Douyin ( kiina: 抖音; pinyin: Dǒuyīn, kirjaimellisesti 'värisevä ääni'), on lyhyiden videoiden jakamiseen tarkoitettu mobiilisovellus. TikTokin on julkaissut ja sitä kehittää kiinalainen ByteDance. Sovelluksen suosio alkoi kasvaa maailmalla merkittävästi tammikuussa 2018 ja Suomessa myöhemmin. Palvelun ikäraja oli vielä vuoden 2018 lopussa 13 vuotta, mutta monet sen käyttäjistä ovat sitä nuorempia.

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The polarization of the society continues. #trend #group 2

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Ääripäät huutavat toisilleen, mutta keskellä olevan ihmisen ääni jää usein kuulematta. Jokainen meistä voi miettiä, onko itse ollut omalta osaltaan lisäämässä ääripäiden vahvistumista.

Viime vuosina maailmassa on huomattu kiihtyvää polarisoitumista eli kahtiajakoa. Vaikuttaa siltä, että asioissa on vain kaksi ääripäätä. Usein kyse ei ole faktoista vaan siitä, miltä asiat tuntuvat.

Onko sinulle käynyt niin, että tuttavan Facebook-kommentit ja julkaisut antavat aivan erilaisen kuvan ihmisestä kuin mitä olet saanut hänestä arkielämässä?

Tuttavan käytös sosiaalisessa mediassa saattaa tuntua oudolta, jos työpaikalla, harrastuksissa tai leikkipuistossa keskustelu on pysynyt asiallisesti kontekstissa eikä ole esimerkiksi politisoitunut.

Lasten kautta toisiinsa tutustuneet puhuvat paljon lasten tekemisistä ja se toimii keskustelijoita yhdistävänä tekijänä. Ajankohtaisia asioita saatetaan sivuta, mutta niihin ei välttämättä mennä syvemmälle eikä jyrkkiä mielipiteitä esitetä keinun tai hiekkalaatikon vieressä.

Mutta miten pitäisi toimia, jos arkikeskusteluissa fiksulta vaikuttanut tuttava osoittautuukin sosiaalisessa mediassa henkilöksi, joka tekee möläytyspäivityksiä ja levittää valeuutisia vahingossa tai jopa tahallaan?

Joku saattaa miettiä, olisiko polarisoitumisen vahvistumista voitu hidastaa, jos epäasiallisia kommentteja esittävälle kaverille olisi heti alussa sanottu, että esittämäsi mielipide perustuu väärään tietoon.

Ja mitä olisi pitänyt tehdä Facebookin seinällä kinasteleville kavereille? Olisiko pieniin hölmöyksiin pitänyt puuttua, vai olisiko pitänyt kuunnella vielä tarkemmin?

Kyseenalaisia mielipiteitä on päässyt leviämään sosiaalisessa mediassa myös siitä syystä, että möläytyksiä on jaettu eteenpäin tarkoituksena näyttää, kuinka hölmö joku juttu tai mielipide on.

Moni on myöhemmin varmasti miettinyt, oliko virhe jakaa vitsinä tyhmiä blogikirjoituksia.

Kyseenalaiset mielipiteet pääsivät leviämään ja saivat lisää näkyvyyttä, vaikka niitä jakaneella olikin ironinen ja ihmettelevä saate mukana. Täytyykö Trumpin oudoimpia kirjoituksia uudelleen twiitanneiden kokea nyt huonoa omaatuntoa?

Polarisaatiosta voi syyttää sosiaalista mediaa ja sen kärjistyksiä suosivia algoritmeja.

Toisaalla televisiotuottaja voi miettiä, kannattiko ottaa studiovieraiksi niin usein päinvastaista kantaa edustavia asiantuntijoita, koska ristiriidat kiinnostivat ihmisiä ja lisäsivät katsojalukuja.

Jos katsomme asioita pelkästään vastakohtien kautta, yksinkertaistamme maailmaa liikaa. Toisaalta tiedämme, että on hyvä ymmärtää erilaisia näkökantoja, mutta missä menee ymmärtämisen ja hyväksymisen raja?

Itselle on hyvä muistuttaa, että meidän todellisuutemme voivat olla varsin erilaisia. Pelot ja tarpeet ovat kuitenkin ihmisillä hyvin samanlaisia.

Polarisaatiosta voi syyttää sosiaalista mediaa ja sen kärjistyksiä suosivia algoritmeja. Syyttävä sormi voi osoittaa myös internetin trolleihin. Syyllistämisen sijaan täytyy kuitenkin miettiä, mitä ääripäiden välissä olevat ihmiset ajattelevat.

Aristoteleen kantapäässä puhutaan polarisaatiosta ja pohditaan, mitä sille voisi tehdä. Vieraana on yhteisökoulutuksen uranuurtaja Miriam Attias, jonka mukaan polarisaatio on tunne-elämän asia.

Polarisaation purkaminen vaatii, että keskitymme vahvistamaan niiden ääntä, jotka eivät huuda kaikista eniten. Haastattelussa Miriam Attias kertoo, mitä on radikaali kuunteleminen. Ohjelman ovat toimittaneet Pasi Heikura ja Tina Cavén.

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Maailma ympärillä tuntuu jakautuvan kahtia - ratkaisu ongelmaan on kuunteleminen

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Ääripäät huutavat toisilleen, mutta keskellä olevan ihmisen ääni jää usein kuulematta. Jokainen meistä voi miettiä, onko itse ollut omalta osaltaan lisäämässä ääripäiden vahvistumista. Viime vuosina maailmassa on huomattu kiihtyvää polarisoitumista eli kahtiajakoa. Vaikuttaa siltä, että asioissa on vain kaksi ääripäätä. Usein kyse ei ole faktoista vaan siitä, miltä asiat tuntuvat.

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The future of currencies, will they disappear?

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The future of currencies, will they disappear?

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#wildcard #group5

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As more and more people rely on electronic rather than tangible forms of money on a day-to-day basis and the world's financial systems appear to become more and more complex, many are left to ponder the future of money and currency.

The Future of Paper Money

It's not likely that paper money will completely disappear at any time in the near future. It is true that electronic transactions have become more and more common over the last few decades and there is no reason why this trend will not continue. We may even get to the point where paper money transactions become incredibly rare - for some, they already are! At that point, the tables could turn and what we now consider paper money may actually act as the backing to our electronic currency, the way the gold standard once backed paper money. But even this scenario is difficult to picture, in part because of how we have historically placed a value on paper money.

The Value of Money

The concept behind money dates back to the beginning of civilization. It's no surprise why money caught on amongst civilized people: It was a much more efficient and convenient way to transact business as opposed to bartering with other goods and services. Can you image keeping all of your wealth in something like livestock?

But unlike goods and services, money does not hold an intrinsic value in and of itself. In fact, today, money is merely a piece of specialized paper or numbers on a ledger. While it's important to note that this was not always the case (for much of history, money was minted in coins of metals that held real value), today the system relies on a mutual set of beliefs. That is to say, that money has value because we as a society have assigned it value. In that sense, you can consider money a good with a limited supply and a demand simply because we want more of it. Simply put, we want money because we know that other people want money, so we can trade money for goods and services. This system works because a majority of us, if not all of us, believe in the future value of this money.

The Future of Currency

So if we are already in the future where the value of money is simply the value assigned to it, what has stopped us from moving toward an entirely digital currency? The answer is in large part due to our national governments. We have seen the rise (and falls) of digital or cryptographic currencies like Bitcoin. Some continue to wonder what we're all still doing with the dollar (or the pound, euro, yen, etc.). But beyond the issues of storage of value with these digital currencies, it is difficult to imagine a world in which such currencies replace the national currencies like the dollar. In fact, as long as governments continue to collect a tax, they will have the authority to dictate the currency in which those taxes may be paid.

As for one universal currency, we're not likely to get there anytime soon, though we do suspect that the number of currencies will fall as time goes on and the world becomes more globalized. We already see that happening today like when a Canadian oil firm negotiates a contract with a Saudi Arabian company and the deal is negotiated in American dollars or EU euros, not Canadian dollars. The world could get to the point where there are only 4 or 5 different currencies in use. At that point, we'll likely be battling over standards, one of the largest deterrents to such a global change.

The Bottom Line

What we're most likely to see is the continued growth of electronic transactions for which people will be less willing to pay fees. We will be looking for and inventing newer, lower cost ways to transact with money electronically as we've seen with the rise of services like PayPal and Square. What's most amusing about this trend is that while less efficient in many ways, paper money is still the cheapest form in which to transact: It's free!

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What Will Money and Currency Look Like in the Future?

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As more and more people rely on electronic rather than tangible forms of money on a day-to-day basis and the world's financial systems appear to become more and more complex, many are left to ponder the future of money and currency. It's not likely that paper money will completely disappear at any time in the near future.

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Incel movement is violent ralicalisation.

Source: https://www.maailma.net/nakokulmat/naisvihassa-on-kyse-vakivaltaisesta-radikalisaatiosta-jonka-uhriksi-voi-joutua-kuka

#weaksignal #group2

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Naisvihassa on kyse väkivaltaisesta radikalisaatiosta, jonka uhriksi voi joutua kuka tahansa

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Incel-kulttuuria värittää katkeruus, naisviha ja ajatus siitä, että naisen keho on miehen omaisuutta. Siksi sitä ei pitäisi ohittaa vähemmän vaarallisena tai yksityisenä ilmiönä vaan väkivaltaisen radikalisoitumisen muotona, jolla on poliittiset tavoitteet, kirjoittaa Elina Nikulainen.

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#Group5 #Trend
Travel Trends 2023: From Off-Grid Escapes to Mindfulness Meditation (caribbeanlifestyle.com)

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"Virtual reality – a viable solution for healthcare training today"

#trend #group1

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How VR is Revolutionising Training in Healthcare

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Virtual, augmented and mixed reality technology has the potential to make a significant impact on the healthcare sector. From embedding into patient care, such as addressing mental health and pain management, through to training healthcare professionals to carry out their work at the highest level, immersive technologies are already making a tangible difference.

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Social media algorithms used in political debate

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Social media algorithms used in political debate

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#trend #group5

Social media algorithms used as a tool of boosting populism and affecting people's voting action.

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Politics has not been immune to the transformative impact of social media. Most notably, the relationship between politicians and the public has changed, and with it the methods of political communication. Various politicians have had no choice but to embrace social media, often to the amusement of the younger, tech-savvy generation-but the question of who benefits the most from this change is underexplored. As the way we consume information has changed, echo chambers, disinformation, polarization, and outrage have all spiralled upwards, which suits some in politics more than others.

The recent rise of populism

Populism, although not a new term, has been increasingly used in recent years, so much so that it is now firmly part of the public lexicon when discussing politics. Defining it is complicated-it is owned by neither the left nor right and is often thrown around the arena of political debate as a way of discrediting a leader or movement. Populist politics shifts in shape across regions, too. In Western Europe, it tends to take the form of anti-EU integration or anti-immigration rhetoric, whereas in Australia it often takes the form of climate change denial.

Populism, by the definition of the esteemed scholar of populism Cas Mudde, is a movement that seeks to divide the world into "two homogenous and antagonistic groups: the pure people on the one end and the corrupt elite on the other", where leaders espouse that they are pursuing the "will of the people". Mudde adds that populist leaders often use simple language and slogans, which are sometimes vulgar or deliberately controversial.

The outrage factor is key. How often do we see a controversial tweet go viral? Or a provocative post on Facebook shared far and wide? Populists are much more likely to invoke debate and interaction on social media. A study by research project Demos H2020 found that, on average, posts by populist politicians triggered 3,000 more reactions and 500 more shares and comments than posts by non-populist leaders. Robust detail and analysis rarely go viral on Twitter or TikTok. So is it any wonder that Nigel Farage-who has never been an MP-has more followers than Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey combined?

Controversial narratives are less shareable if they are complex. In a world of 280-character tweets, simplicity always wins. The populist 'us versus them' narrative is inherently simplistic, even when it has a smidgen of truth to it. Whether it be Trump tweeting about draining the swamp or Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez declaring her plans to tax the rich over Instagram Live, these communication methods are simple, controversial, and consequently viral.

Social media plays a big part

It is not just the content of the populist politicians' posts that boosts their reach and appeal. There is much to be said about algorithms and how they reinforce echo chambers. Disinformation is often a tool up the sleeves of populists, which if left uncorrected, can help form narratives and engineer support for their campaign. The phrase 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' holds true for disinformation too. The fact-based retorts by journalists, publications, and influencers countering the disinformation may be useful, but are they often seen by those who already support the candidate? It is likely that Republican supporters would not follow left-leaning, pro-Democrat journalists, publications, or influencers on social media, and vice-versa. Where there are social media echo chambers, a populist who firmly picks a side and peppers their social media channels with disinformation can achieve consistent support and narrative survival.

Social media creates echo chambers that, in turn, reinforce polarization. Interestingly, recent analysis by academics found that echo chambers were not prevalent in debates about climate change on reddit but were on Twitter. This is because Reddit is essentially an 'open forum'; the user sees posts by anonymous individuals regardless of whether they follow them and are therefore more susceptible to consuming opinions that differ from their political beliefs. Thus, the potential for polarization and the creation of echo chambers is less.

It is, however, a two-way street. Populists need social media, but social media commensurately thrives off populists. Central to the business model of social media companies is advertising, which is why clicks and user engagement matter so much for social media platforms. TikTok, for example, has little incentive to reduce polarization and echo chambers. In fact, feeding a supporter of a political party more content that reinforces their views means that they are likely to stay on the app a lot longer.

Unfortunately-and as Frances Haugen so bravely revealed-there is little financial gain for social media companies in tackling disinformation, and consequently they have historically paid little heed to it. There is increasing evidence that social media platforms use algorithms that skew towards extreme and unreliable material to boost user engagement. Disinformation is the lifeblood of a populist, and tackling it means attacking populism itself. The marriage between populists and social media is undoubtedly unhealthy, but it is one that will continue until serious public conversations are had about social media and its impact on democracy and the public sphere.

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Politics has not been immune to the transformative impact of social media. Most notably, the relationship between politicians and the public has changed, and with it the methods of political communication. Various politicians have had no choice but to embrace social media, often to the amusement of the younger, tech-savvy generation-but the question of who benefits the most from this change is underexplored.

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People have more free time than working time, but the income level remains the same

#weaksignals #group3

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Gaining popularity in recent years. However, not became yet a trend. It is still unsafe for many women to travel. Gender inequality still exists.

#weaksignals #group5

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Research in 4-day work week trials have increased and on many lines of businesses the outcome has been positive. Many companies wants to continue the way of working even after the trial.

#weaksignal #group1

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The vast majority of companies taking part in the world's largest trial of a four-day week have opted to continue with the new working pattern, in a result hailed as evidence that it could work across the UK economy.

Of the 61 companies that entered the six-month trial, 56 have extended the four-day week, including 18 who have made it permanent.

The findings will be presented to MPs on Tuesday as part of a push urging politicians to give all workers in Britain a 32-hour week.

Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, called the trial a "major breakthrough moment", adding: "Across a wide variety of sectors, wellbeing has improved dramatically for staff; and business productivity has either been maintained or improved in nearly every case.

"We're really pleased with the results and hopefully it does show that the time to roll out a four-day week more widely has surely come."

At Sheffield-based Rivelin Robotics, one of the participating firms that plans to continue with the new approach, the chief product officer, David Mason, said he hoped offering a shorter working week will help with future recruitment. "It's certainly something that makes us a little bit different from the average."

The UK pilot, which kicked off last June, has been promoted by 4 Day Week Global, a not-for-profit organisation founded in New Zealand, and overseen by the thinktank Autonomy and a team of academics.

Companies taking part were offered workshops and mentoring to help them rethink working practices. Staff were given the opportunity to remain on their existing salary, working across four days instead of five.

David Mason (left) and David Alatorre, of Rivelin Robotics, say the change came with challenges. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

Since last summer, staff at Rivelin Robotics have been enjoying a three-day weekend. David Alatorre, its chief technology officer, said: "We wanted to instil a culture in the company of putting wellbeing first, making sure that everybody is rested and has a good work-life balance."

Based in a bright industrial unit close to the River Don, the company makes robots that meticulously finish 3D-printed parts for manufacturers, for industries including aerospace and medicine. In consultation with colleagues, they opted to take Fridays off, and extend the working day to 8am-5.30pm on the other days of the week.

Alatorre and Mason said the change had not been without its challenges. It is a small, fast-growing startup - currently with just eight staff - and sometimes the work will not wait.

"We had a trade show that was a big launch for one of our products and a couple of the major parts were delayed. And we just couldn't physically start the process until they arrived," Mason said. "There was no way at that point in time that we could have spread that load."

He added that while it was "quite common that we'll be contacted on a Friday" he emphasised that he, Alatorre and the firm's founder, Robert Bush, tended to take the strain when that happens.

"It's nice to have the flexibility though, which makes the biggest difference to me personally, that Friday, even though I may end up working some of it, I can be at home, walk the dog, go climbing."

Alatorre said some staff would prefer five shorter days, rather than four - and the management team are now thinking through how to accommodate different working patterns as the company grows.

In total, about 2,900 employees across the UK have taken part in the pilot. Surveys of staff taken before and after found that 39% said they were less stressed, 40% were sleeping better and 54% said it was easier to balance work and home responsibilities.

The number of sick days taken during the trial fell by about two-thirds and 57% fewer staff left the firms taking part compared with the same period a year earlier.

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The vast majority of companies reported that they were satisfied with productivity and business performance over the trial period.

Ed Siegal, the chief executive of Charity Bank, said the trial 'has really moved the dial on the mood'.

Charity Bank in Tonbridge, Kent, is another participant expecting to continue with the four-day week approach for its 70 employees.

The social lender chose to offer people either a Monday or a Friday off, and the pilot supported them with what the bank's chief executive, Ed Siegel, calls "a crash course in productivity improvements".

"I would say that for roughly two-thirds of our team, it's been fantastic - it's been amazingly successful. They have successfully transitioned to working four days a week and they love it. It has really moved the dial on the mood, and people are like, 'Wow, that's a great organisation I'm working for here.'"

For the others, some of whom are senior staff used to putting in long hours throughout the week, Siegel said the bank was "trying to say to those folks - and by the way, I'm one of those folks - 'Let's just be clear, this is your choice. If you want to work four days a week, we want to support you to get there.'"

At the Royal Society of Biology, in London, its 38 employees now take either a Monday or a Friday off, and the working day has been extended from seven hours to eight.

Its chief executive, Mark Downs, said rethinking the way the organisation does its job had been crucial. "There's no way that you can reduce your working hours and maintain productivity and not do things differently."

Downs said sometimes flexibility was needed from staff, to attend essential meetings on their non-working day, for example - but surveys of employees during the pilot had produced a resounding result.

"I have to say, without exaggerating, it is the most positive response I think I've ever had to any staff survey. It was unanimously popular. Everybody was very, very supportive of it." When he asked the RSB's stakeholders whether they had noticed any diminution in service, "The answer was, absolutely not."

The 4 Day Week Campaign has said it would now like to see many more employers take the plunge, and is lobbying the government to encourage change legislating to give staff the right to request a four-day pattern.

Ryle, of the campaign, said: "The economy doesn't need us to be working five days a week any more. It was 100 years ago, the shift to a five-day week, and the economy's transformed since then."

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Business and workers hail success of UK's four-day week trial

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The vast majority of companies taking part in the world's largest trial of a four-day week have opted to continue with the new working pattern, in a result hailed as evidence that it could work across the UK economy. Of the 61 companies that entered the six-month trial, 56 have extended the four-day week, including 18 who have made it permanent.

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#Group5 #Trend
How the Rise of Experience Tourism is Changing Travel - Travel Off Path

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Last Updated

Travel has always been about experiencing different cultures. Many consumers today want more from their trips than just laying on a beach, visiting an overcrowded tourist site or walking through a museum. The modern savvy traveler wants more than the average tourist experience.

An increasing trend in the travel industry is experience tourism. This is where the traveler engages in a specific activity during their visit to the chosen destination.

The demographic most interested in experience tourism are millennials. This age group is putting off purchasing homes and many other material items in exchange for the experience of a lifetime. According to a Harris Group poll conducted in 2016, 72 percent of millennials prefer to spend their money on vacations or experiences.

There are several different types of experience tourism to choose from. Tour companies have been paying attention and are designing packages to accommodate these trends. In 2018, an increase began with booking these experiences and activities as part of the vacation experience.

Most Popular Experience Tourism Categories

Gastronomy

These types of trips can be for people that travel to experience different types of cuisine. This is also known as Foodie tourism. The various options in this niche include street food walking tours, wine tastings, visits to specific restaurants, and even cooking classes in ethnic cuisine.

Culture Tourism

This is truly living like a local. In culture tourism, travelers can participate in local cultural rituals, or stay with locals in their destination to get the most authentic cultural experience. This can also include giving something back through voluntourism, where the visitor can contribute to the society by volunteering their time for a chosen cause or charity.

Heritage Tourism

Since DNA testing has become widely available and affordable, many are embarking on a quest to explore their roots with heritage or ancestry tourism. Many consumers have planned trips based on their DNA results. At the destination, they may visit museums and even attend a local cultural festival.

Adventure Tourism

If a consumer's idea of the ultimate travel experience is an active outdoor adventure, there are many tour operators that are ready to help them fulfill their needs. The many examples of adventure tourism include zip lining, surfing, safaris and hiking. For the extreme adventure enthusiast, tours are operated in riskier activities such as skydiving and mountain climbing.

Dark Tourism

Dark Tourism is a kind of tourism that explores the macabre or darker part of world history. Examples of this include visits to World War II era sites such as concentration camps like Dachau or Auschwitz. Some brave souls like to explore catacombs located underneath cities like Paris, where you will see stacks of bones from overflowing 17 th century cemeteries. Tourists interested in natural disasters may visit the ancient city of Pompeii to explore the ruins and view the citizens entombed in the ash from that fateful day in 79 AD.

Luxury Experiences

Luxury experience travel packages are available to those that want and can afford the best. Consumers can spend some time in luxurious hotel rooms or homes that differ greatly from where they currently reside. This market also concentrates on a personalized experience, where the traveler communicates their specific preferences or needs to the property which arranges all details before arrival.

Wellness Tourism

is a rapidly growing travel trend. In 2017, the wellness market grossed approximately $639 billion USD and is predicted to grow about seven and half percent yearly through 2022. Spa experiences can be arranged for those who want to spend time pampering themselves. They can schedule various spa and beauty treatments and even a couples massage. India has become the forerunner destination in the wellness tourism sector. In India many venues offer yoga classes, meditation specific retreats and many other wellness programs.

Each traveler out there has their own idea of their ultimate travel experience. The days of dull and ordinary vacations are long over. As the travel experience trend continues, the industry will see more consumers from all age and economic groups seek their own unique travel experiences. Now that the pandemic is winding down, people will be eager to come back into travel with more passion for the experience than ever before.
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How the Rise of Experience Tourism is Changing Travel

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Last Updated Travel has always been about experiencing different cultures. Many consumers today want more from their trips than just laying on a beach, visiting an overcrowded tourist site or walking through a museum. The modern savvy traveler wants more than the average tourist experience. An increasing trend in the travel industry is experience tourism.

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"AI is getting increasingly sophisticated at doing what humans do, but more efficiently, more quickly and at a lower cost. The potential for both AI and robotics in healthcare is vast. Just like in our every-day lives, AI and robotics are increasingly a part of our healthcare eco-system."
#trend #group1

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No longer science fiction, AI and robotics are transforming healthcare

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AI and Robotics are redrawing the healthcare landscape. The wave of innovation being driven by these technologies is not only transforming clinical decision-making, patient monitoring and care, and surgical support, but fundamentally changing how we approach healthcare for our populations