How to build democracy -- in an authoritarian country

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How to build democracy -- in an authoritarian country     "Today, Hungary is in the gray zone between a dictatorship and a democracy," says activist Tessza Udvarhelyi. "This did not happen overnight." In a rousing talk, she reminds us just how close any country can come to authoritarianism — and offers on-the-ground lessons for how to keep democracy alive through focus, determination and imagination. (Followed by a brief Q&A with TED curator Cloe Shasha Brooks) Continued here

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It's time for infectious generosity. Here's how     What would happen to humanity if generosity went viral? Sharing transformative stories from around the world, head of TED Chris Anderson outlines why the time has come for the internet to realize its power to supercharge small acts of kindness, changing lives at a scale never experienced before. Learn how to cultivate a generous mindset — with or without giving money — and get inspired with tools to amplify your impact. "Be brave. Give what you can, and then be absolutely amazed at what happens next," Anderson says. Continued here

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Does Online Data Collection Lead to Financial Fraud? New Research Seeks to Find a Correlation     Wharton professor discusses her new research about the connection between consumer surveillance and financial fraud.Wharton assistant professor of finance Huan Tang joins the show to discuss new research on consumer surveillance and financial fraud. Continued here

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What's Behind the Recent Surge of Prime Age Women in the Workforce?     Penn Wharton Budget Model director joins the show to discuss a new report that shows historic levels of prime age women in the workforce in 2023.Alex Arnon, director of business tax and economic analysis with the Penn Wharton Budget Model, joins the show to discuss the Penn Wharton Budget Model’s new research on prime-aged women and their employment and higher education rates. Continued here

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Actor paid to pose as crypto CEO "deeply sorry" about $1.3 billion scam     An actor who was hired to pretend to be the highly qualified CEO of a shady, collapsed cryptocurrency hedge fund called HyperVerse has apologized after a YouTuber unmasked his real identity last week. Continued here

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The Big Problem With the Giant Stanley Cup     Once a masculine emblem of construction workers and hikers, Stanley drinkware is now a status symbol for the wellness-oriented internet trend-chaser. The ubiquitous 40-ounce Quencher H2.0 FlowState Tumbler is at the heart of some of the 2020s’ most recognizable woman-dominated and pastel-toned trends, like the “hot girl walk” and TikTok’s controversial #WaterTok niche. The Stanley cup, as it is universally known, is toted by countless influencers and even some A-list celebrities who praise its supposedly superior functionality even as it draws mockery for its sometimes comical impracticality.The movement against disposable containers is urgently needed, and reusable water bottles have been fashionable for decades. In the past, consumers signaled their love of hydration and the environment with water bottles from brands like Nalgene, Swell, Hydro Flask, and Yeti. But none of Stanley’s predecessors inspired a frenzy on a scale so large that it threatens to symbolize the very kind of environmentally-harmful consumption that reusable containers are supposed to end. Continued here

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What happens when we deny people abortions?     How does getting an abortion — or not — influence a woman's life? Demographer Diana Greene Foster puts forward the results of The Turnaway Study, her landmark work following nearly 1,000 women through abortion or childbirth, presenting definitive data on the long-term physical, mental and economic impacts of the right to choose on pregnant people and their families. "Access to abortion is about control over one's body, life and destiny," says Foster. Continued here

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4 unexpected lessons from the Milky Way's weirdest star     Over the past 13.8 billion years, the Universe has evolved from a hot, dense, largely uniform early state to a clumpy, clustered, star-and-galaxy-rich state, where the typical interstellar and intergalactic distances are absolutely tremendous. The stars that exist today, importantly, are different from the stars that were created in the earliest stages of the Universe. Whereas the stars that are forming today are composed of all the recycled material that was once inside one-or-more stars and returned to the interstellar medium, the stars that were made early on were pristine: made of up primarily of hydrogen and helium alone: the material that existed shortly after the hot Big Bang.Whenever we look at a star, we gain information about the cumulative history of the Universe up until the moment that particular star formed: of all the generations that lived-and-died prior to its formation. But early on, when the first few generations of stars were forming, it’s possible that the chemical enrichment of the “next generation” of stars may have primarily arisen from just one single, massive source. If this is the case, even for a few stars, we should find a population of very old stars with unusual compositions: with highly unusual element ratios compared to the more common varieties that formed from material that was well-mixed within the interstellar medium. With one remarkable discovery, a single star is helping us rewrite our cosmic history. Continued here

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"Obsessive passion": The surprising links between OCD and radicalization     Mental problems are commonly blamed for extremist violence—radicals and terrorists appear by definition to be selfish psychopaths. Yet research finds that no single psychological profile leads to violent extremism. And while depression is sometimes correlated with political violence, these links are not always reliable and may only occur when combined with environmental factors like recent life stressors. Instead, most research finds that radicalization and political violence stem from environmental factors like marginalization, oppression, and perceived injustice.“Clinical traits that might seem obvious are actually often unrelated,” Jaïs Adam-Troïan, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Heriot-Watt University, told Big Think. “So for a long time, researchers assumed that mental health was unimportant for predicting political violence.” Continued here

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Why Crypto Idealogues Won't Touch Bitcoin ETFs     Bitcoin devotees are declaring a historic victory after US regulators approved a new, more accessible way for people to invest in the crypto asset after a decade of resistance. Yet they won't go anywhere near it themselves.On January 10, after a farcical false start, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the country. The ETFs will be issued by a selection of big-name financial institutions—including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton—and will give people a way to invest in bitcoin through a brokerage, as if it were a stock. The price of the ETF shares will follow the price of bitcoin. Continued here

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The 18 Best Movies on Apple TV+ Right Now     When it comes to originals, Netflix and Amazon have the deepest libraries of prestige movies. But ever since CODA won the Best Picture Oscar, it’s become clear that some of the best movies are on Apple TV+.As with any streaming service, not every film on the roster is a winner, but from Billie Eilish documentaries to Sundance darlings, Apple’s streaming service is building up a strong catalog to run alongside its growing slate of beloved TV shows. Continued here

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US judge blocks Ohio Republicans' "troublingly vague" social media law     A federal judge blocked an Ohio state law that would prevent minors from using social networks without parental consent, calling it a "troublingly vague" law that likely violates the First Amendment. Ohio's "Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act" affects websites including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. Continued here

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Start-ups Have Office Politics, Too     And it’s important to admit it up front. Continued here S37 How Companies Can Support Employees Experiencing Menopause     Demographic change, driven by decades of low birth rates and increased longevity, is remaking labor markets and economies worldwide at an astonishing pace. That means that organizations need to quickly shift how they recruit and retain employees of all ages, including by developing new policies and benefits. Organizations that take employee well-being seriously realize early on that getting ahead of conditions like menopause reduces an incredible burden on their workforce and can improve the bottom line. The authors discuss why it’s critical for organizations to support employees in menopause — and highlight several that are doing so effectively. Continued here S58 Toyota's Robots Are Learning to Do Housework--By Copying Humans     As someone who quite enjoys the Zen of tidying up, I was only too happy to grab a dustpan and brush and sweep up some beans spilled on a tabletop while visiting the Toyota Research Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts last year. The chore was more challenging than usual because I had to do it using a teleoperated pair of robotic arms with two-fingered pincers for hands.As I sat before the table, using a pair of controllers like bike handles with extra buttons and levers, I could feel the sensation of grabbing solid items, and also sense their heft as I lifted them, but it still took some getting used to. Continued here S67 At Senate AI hearing, news executives fight against "fair use" claims for AI training data     On Wednesday, news industry executives urged Congress for legal clarification that using journalism to train AI assistants like ChatGPT is not fair use, as claimed by companies such as OpenAI. Instead, they would prefer a licensing regime for AI training content that would force Big Tech companies to pay for content in a method similar to rights clearinghouses for music. Continued here S61 The 25 Best Gadgets From CES 2024 You Can Buy Right Now     It's barely two weeks into the new year, but the flood of new gadgets for 2024 has already started. Thanks to CES, we've seen a ton of innovative tech launch into the marketplace. While many products announced at CES won't be available till later this year, a fair number are already for sale. Check out this curated selection of devices available for purchase or preorder. (The preorder items listed here should ship within just a month or two.)If you miss having a physical keyboard on your smartphone, the Clicks case might be the solution for you. Continued here S65 My brain doesn't picture things. What's wrong with me?     I’m lying down in a white cylinder barely wider than my body, surrounded on all sides by a mass of sophisticated machinery the size of a small camper van. It’s an fMRI machine, one of the technological marvels of modern neuroscience. Two small inflatable cushions squeeze my temples, keeping my head still. “We are ready to begin the next batch of exercises,” I hear Dr. Horikawa’s gentle voice saying. We’re underground, in one of the laboratories of Tokyo University’s Faculty of Medicine, Hongo Campus. “Do you feel like proceeding?” Continued here S68 Why more PC gaming handhelds should ditch Windows for SteamOS     Since the successful launch of the Steam Deck nearly two years ago, we've seen plenty of would-be competitors that have tried to mimic the Deck's portable form factor and ability to run PC games. Thus far, though, these competitors have all been missing one of the Steam Deck's best features: integration with the increasingly robust, Linux-based SteamOS 3. Continued here S63 The Real Problem With the Boeing 737 Max     To adapt an old Oscar Wilde quote: To lose one aircraft may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness.So what to make of a third Boeing 737 Max suffering a major issue in recent years? Flying at 16,000 feet shortly after taking off in Oregon on January 5, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was still climbing when part of the plane’s body detached, leaving passengers looking out at clear air. The incident raises serious concerns about the viability of this type of plane and the industry’s method of assuring aircraft safety. Continued here S56 All the CES Trends That Mattered     It's CES week. Yes, it's time to dive back into that glitzy, chaotic showcase where thousands of startups, companies, and general technology weirdos gather to show off all the new tech and futuristic devices that will give us a glimpse of the year in tech to come. AI is in everything, we're getting ChatGPT in our flying cars, and TVs are getting so big and bright you need sunglasses to watch them.This week on Gadget Lab, we come to you straight from lovely Las Vegas, Nevada, where CES is in full swing. We huddled together in a Vegas hotel room to talk all about the big trends, crazy tech, and just plain weird stuff we saw this week Continued here S55 TVs Got Even Bigger, Brighter, and Totally See-Through at This Year's CES     It seems CES 2024 just barely crested the horizon, and yet it’s already rapidly sinking into the rearview. As the sun begins to set on the biggest electronics show of the year, we’re taking stock of some of the biggest, coolest, and wildest TV innovations we saw in the expo halls.CES is as much a television showcase as anything, unveiling a flurry of cool display tech as some of the biggest names in the industry flexed their most intriguing creations coming to market this year. These are the standout TV trends we saw at CES 2024 that could soon land in your living room. Continued here S57 Child Abusers Are Getting Better at Using Crypto to Cover Their Tracks     For those who trade in child sexual exploitation images and videos in the darkest recesses of the internet, cryptocurrency has been both a powerful tool and a treacherous one. Bitcoin, for instance, has allowed denizens of that criminal underground to buy and sell their wares with no involvement from a bank or payment processor that might reveal their activities to law enforcement. But the public and surprisingly traceable transactions recorded in Bitcoin's blockchain have sometimes led financial investigators directly to pedophiles’ doorsteps.Now, after years of evolution in that grim cat-and-mouse game, new evidence suggests that online vendors of what was once commonly called “child porn” are learning to use cryptocurrency with significantly more skill and stealth—and that it's helping them survive longer in the internet's most abusive industry. Continued here S2 To Understand the Future of Tesla, Look to the History of GM     By the middle of the 20th century, Alfred P. Sloan had become the most famous businessman in the world. Known as the “inventor of the modern corporation,” Sloan was president of General Motors from 1923 to 1956 when the U.S. automotive industry grew to become one of the drivers of the U.S. economy. If you’re following Tesla, you might be interested to know that Sloan wasn’t the founder of GM. Sloan was president of a small company that made ball bearings, which GM acquired in 1918. When Sloan became president of General Motors in 1923, it was already a $700 million company (about $10.2 billion in sales in today’s dollars). Yet, you never hear who built GM to that size. Who was the entrepreneur who founded what would become General Motors 16 years earlier, in 1904? Where are the charitable foundations, business schools, and hospitals named after the founder of GM? What happened to him? William Durant founded GM and was widely hailed as a visionary. But Durant died managing a bowling alley in Flint, Michigan, in 1947. The question for Tesla watchers is whether Musk is more like Durant or Sloan. As Tesla struggles in the transition from a visionary pioneer to a reliable producer of cars in high volume, one wonders if Musk’s $2.6 billion compensation scheme would be better spent finding the company’s Alfred P. Sloan. Continued here S3 A Simple Nuance that Produces Great Strategy Discussions     Don’t make strategy a battleground. Continued here S4 Reviving Entrepreneurship     New enterprises don’t exist in a vacuum: They rise or fall depending on myriad contextual factors, all of them interrelated, and all of them affected by government policy. U.S. lawmakers must carefully consider the effects of interventions in at least 12 areas, ranging from capital markets to tax treatment to intellectual property to health care. Their decisions could shore up—or further weaken—what has long been America’s greatest economic asset. Continued here S5 Preparing Your Startup for the Next M&A Wave     Right now venture investment is falling and the tech market is cooling. Startup founders are thinking more about survival than an exit. But the market can turn around quickly, as it did in 2010. It pays to position yourself now for the startup M&A wave that will likely arrive in the next couple of years. To prepare, you need to see your startup through the eyes of a potential acquirer. Continued here S6 The Soul of a Start-Up     But all too often, companies lose their souls as they mature. Firms add new systems and structures and bring in experienced professionals—and in the process somehow crush their original energizing spirit. In research into more than a dozen fast-growth ventures and 200-plus interviews with founders and executives, the author has discovered how firms can overcome this problem. His work shows that there are three crucial dimensions to a start-up’s soul: business intent, or a loftier reason for being; unusually close customer connections; and an employee experience characterized by autonomy and creativity—by “voice” and “choice.” All three provide meaning to stakeholders. Continued here S7 Research: The Pros and Cons of Soliciting Customer Reviews     Many companies chase customers for online reviews by sending them solicitation emails. These emails aren’t always a good idea, according to new research. Solicitation will push your ratings from the extremes to the average. This could be good or bad. Email prompts disproportionally triggers moderate reviews as the passionate reviewers are more likely to leave reviews of their own accord. Thus, for those products with generally-high average ratings, reminders will lower the average rating. In contrast, products with generally-low average ratings might benefit from reminders. The exception is platform companies such as Amazon or Booking.com–they should always send out reminders as all that matters to them is volume. Also, the research found that companies that do solicit reviews don’t need to offer financial rewards–a reminder email is equally effective. Continued here S8 Research: How to Effectively Market Green Products     A study, involving Edelman and nine major brands, finds that despite corporate hesitations, sustainable products are growing twice as fast as conventional ones, appealing across all demographics. Brands should ensure that product quality is not compromised while promoting sustainability. Combining sustainability claims with core brand attributes can broaden consumer appeal. Effective sustainability messages prioritize the personal and community benefits, while technical or scientific claims are less compelling unless tied to consumer benefits. Sustainably-marketed goods are consistently growing across demographics, indicating that compelling sustainability claims can boost customer engagement and business growth. Continued here S9 When Virtue Is a Vice     Reprint: F0807D Choosing duty over pleasure today can cause regret down the road—whereas regret over the reverse is fleeting. Marketers of luxury products and services should consider prompting customers to predict their future feelings about choices made now. Continued here S10 Can Big Data Smoke Out the Silent Majority?     After Fox News ran a story marveling at the fact that Mitt Romney’s campaign was prying donations out of neighborhoods that are traditional democratic strongholds, an AP reporter tried to get some insight into how it is doing that. Jack Gillum picked up the trail where Fox left it, with Dick Boyce—an active fundraiser in the San Francisco Bay area and a former Bainie. A veteran marketing executive turned private equity guy (he’s with TPG), Boyce is precisely the kind of person who would port a successful business practice over to the political realm. He reportedly connected the Romney camp to Buxton Co., a customer analytics firm. Continued here S11 Marketing in an Unpredictable World     It’s time for producers of entertainment—movie studios, broadcast and cable TV networks, video game makers, publishers, music labels—to change the way they launch and market their products. In entertainment markets, a sizable portion of revenue is typically generated by a small number of blockbuster movies, best-selling books, and hit songs. But even talented, experienced executives acknowledge that predicting these hits is effectively a crapshoot. How else to explain why Miramax paid ten times as much for Happy, Texas—which grossed $2 million at the box office—as Warner Independent paid for March of the Penguins, which grossed close to $80 million? Continued here S12 Does America Really Need Manufacturing?     Too many U.S. companies base decisions about where to locate production largely on narrow financial criteria. They don’t consider whether keeping manufacturing at home makes more sense strategically or take into account the impact it might have on their ability to innovate. The result has been an exodus of manufacturing from America, which has weakened the capabilities that domestic firms need to keep inventing high-quality, cost-competitive products. Continued here S13 What Does Pixar's Collective Genius Look Like?     The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Continued here S14 How Humans and AI Are Working Together in 1,500 Companies     Artificial intelligence is transforming all sectors of the economy, but there’s no reason to fear that robots will replace all human employees. In fact, companies that automate their operations mainly to cut their workforces will see only short-term productivity gains, say the authors. Their research, involving 1,500 firms in a range of industries, shows that the biggest performance improvements come when humans and smart machines work together, enhancing each other’s strengths. Continued here S15 In Defense of Routine Innovation     Almost every discussion of innovation today inevitably turns to the topic of “disruption.” Academics write about the power of disruptive innovation to transform one industry after another. Consultants have set up practices to focus specifically on helping companies become disruptive innovators. Venture capitalists tout their latest investments as potential disruptors. Even executives of large corporations talk about the need to make their behemoths into nimble disruptors. Continued here S16 Exploring and Exploiting Your Way to Growth     So far, 2012 has been another banner year for the ‘tyranny of success’ as once great companies slide ever closer to the abyss. Kodak’s bankruptcy, Nokia’s vanishing profits, and the continuing struggles of Blackberry maker Research In Motion to find an answer to the iPhone, show how rapidly heroes lose their edge. Each of these firms is struggling to respond to and lead disruption in their industries. Nokia and RIM have watched as Apple and Android have wiped away their leading position; each attempted to respond, but neither could execute. The question though is, why didn’t they move earlier? Why are companies often left flat-footed when competition strikes? Continued here S17 The Institutional Innovation Manifesto     If you want to be a 21st century company (or economy), if you want to survive and thrive during this Great Stagnation, you’ve got to to have the courage, foresight, and determination to step up to a higher rung on the ladder of innovation. It’s time to master what I sometimes call “I-squared”: the art and practice of institutional innovation. Continued here S18 How to Build a Career in a New Industry     Deciding to switch career paths can feel daunting. Where do you even begin? In this piece, the author offers four concrete ways to ease the transition: 1) Start by mapping the terrain. Read the bios and LinkedIn profiles of senior leaders or fast-rising colleagues and reverse-engineer the path they followed. This will enable you — if you wish — to craft a similar roadmap. 2) Recognize that you’ll need to take the lead. 3) Network to give yourself optionality. As a new entrant in your field, it’s possible you may have landed at a suboptimal company (for instance, one with a toxic work environment or declining fortunes) without realizing it, because it’s likely easier for outsiders to break into an industry at a firm that insiders are avoiding. So network widely, because if your initial landing pad isn’t a fit, you’ll want to change quickly. 4) Identify emerging opportunities. If you can become the “go-to” person around an area that’s growing in importance, you can often build a career path around it. Continued here Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Tweets Tweets follow me on Twitter Microsoft Silverlight - Change the World Connect with Me Random Hacks! - My Blog @ MSDN Loading... Where Dreamers Dare! Loading... About Me Sayan Will copy and paste later from my official biography! 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