2/27 Future of Shopping: Retailers Explore 3D Printers, Flashy Tech

Future of Shopping: Retailers Explore 3D Printers, Flashy Tech

The centerpiece of Intel’s booth at the recent National Retail Federation Show in New York City was undoubtedly the massive Mach 2XS commercial printer by Japanese manufacturer Shima Seiki.

At nearly 3 meters wide and 1.37 meters tall, the printer was hard to miss. The small crowd that had gathered around it though, was more interested in what was being printed — row by row, the knitted lines of a sweater were coming together and gradually being “printed” out.

“What we’re able to do is print a garment in 45 minutes that’s exactly tailored just to you, the fabrics, the styles and everything you like,” said Ryan Parker, general manager of responsive retail at Intel. The printer and technology behind it were one of several offerings made by Intel to retailers.

Brick and mortar

As more and more consumers shop online and opt for virtual carts over physical ones, retailers are considering flashy technologies like 3D printing and virtual reality to entice them back into brick-and-mortar stores.

A recent study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value and the National Retail Federation found that 67 percent of those ages 13 to 21 shop in a physical store most of the time despite being the first digitally native generation, having grown up after the advent of cellphones and mobile devices.

Even customer service robots are part of the future of shopping.

Duy Huynh, CEO of New York-based startup Autonomous, displayed two fully autonomous telepresence robots in a mockup store.

“Customer experience is still a very, very important problem to solve in retail today,” Huynh said, citing subpar experiences at major retail hardware chains as examples. “I don’t have the support that I want or they don’t have enough staff to support me. Or they have staff, but who don’t have knowledge about the product I want.”

Autonomous robots working in a hardware store could be manned by representatives anywhere who have expertise in specific areas like plumbing or electrical wiring.

2/28 Matt Damon Takes to Davos Stage to Put Water on Map

Matt Damon Takes to Davos Stage to Put Water on Map

American actor Matt Damon used Davos to drum up support for his water charity, Water.org, on Tuesday, after getting a new multimillion-dollar commitment from Belgian brewer Stella Artois.

Water.org is trying to raise a $55 million fund that would provide microloans to finance projects that build access to clean water in developing countries.

It has already deployed an $11 million fund, Damon said.

"People want to participate in their own solution, they want a hand up not a handout," he said. Stella Artois, one of AB InBev’s brands, said it was committing $4.8 million over four years to Water.org, at a time that AB InBev is moving into Africa, where access to clean water can be limited.

"Water is our number one ingredient, so we are very water-conscious," said Ricardo Tadeu, AB InBev's head of Africa.

The brewer's support for the charity precedes AB InBev's $100 billion-plus acquisition last year of SABMiller, which extended its reach in Africa as well as Latin America.

"We've been able to see tangible results and a tangible impact," said Christina Choi, global brand vice president, Stella Artois.

Stella will also continue its "Buy a Lady a Drink" campaign, in which proceeds from each sale of a limited-edition beer glass get donated to charity, providing the equivalent funding for five years of clean drinking water for one person.

Lack of access to water disproportionately affects women and children, as they often spend hours each day collecting it instead of going to school or working.

In the two years since the project was launched, Stella said it has sold over 225,000 glasses and donated more than $3 million to Water.org. It said its new commitment aims to help 3.5 million people get access to clean water.

Article today 2/26

Study: Talk Therapy Changes Brain Wiring in Mental Illness

For the first time, researchers have shown that talk therapy improves symptoms in people with mental disorders. They say it strengthens connections in the brain, with long-lasting improvements.

Talk therapy has tended to get short shrift in the treatment of people who have been diagnosed with mental illness. Usually, medications are the first treatment doctors reach for to lessen symptoms of psychiatric disorders.

This is especially true in the case of people who suffer from psychosis marked by abnormal thoughts. Psychosis is common in schizophrenia and some severe forms of depression.

But researchers at King's College London have shown that a combination of medications along with a kind of talk therapy, known as cognitive behavior therapy or CBT, not only improves symptoms in people who suffer from false beliefs, but the changes can last a long time.

The improvements occurred between the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls fear and emotion, and the frontal lobes, which are involved in thinking and reasoning.

Liam Mason is a clinical psychologist at King’s College who led the study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

“And what we are really excited about here is that these stronger connections appear to be linked to long term improvement in people’s symptoms and recovery, even as much as eight years later,” said Mason.

In the original study, a group of participants suffering from psychotic symptoms took medication. Some also received cognitive therapy, while the others did not.

Researchers saw an improvement in brain connectivity in those who had talk therapy that was not seen in the non-CBT group.

Investigators then followed 15 of the 22 CBT patients for eight years. They found the participants’ level of recovery and well-being was still improved, without additional therapy.

Mason says the finding shows an association between talk therapy and long-term recovery in patients who had suffered from paranoid beliefs.

“Traditionally, the only interventions or treatments that have been offered are medication and even surgery in the past as well,” said Mason. "So I think, and the whole research team are really excited about, these findings that show that it's actually possible to have these brain changes from psychological therapies as well.”

Investigators will now try to confirm their findings in a larger study of patients with mental illness.

Article today 2/25

One-man Chocolate Factory Flourishes

The main ingredient in Ben Rasmussen's one-man chocolate factory in Woodbridge, Virginia, is cocoa beans.

"Once the beans are cracked in the winnower, the nibs, which is the meat of the bean, goes into the grinder. ... And it just spins round and round and grinds the nibs into liquid called cocoa liquor. To that I add sugar. That is all my chocolate is. Just cocoa beans and sugar," he said.

Rasmussen’s love of chocolate started about eight years ago when he tasted a sample of gourmet dark chocolate. He said he fell in love with it instantly and started learning to make it himself.

"I learned how to make it just through the Internet and trial and error and kind of teaching myself on reading old books and just doing it, got some used equipment and started messing around with it, fell in love with the process, and that's basically how it started," he said.

In very short order, his company, Potomac Chocolate, was born. The bar from the first batch of chocolate he made in his kitchen was a finalist in that year's Good Food Awards, which is based out of San Francisco.

"That bar also won an Academy of Chocolate Awards in 2011," Rasmussen added. "I won a couple of Academy of Chocolate Awards and a few International Chocolate Awards for four different bars."

Winning those awards led to a high demand for his chocolate, and soon he moved his production out of his kitchen and to his basement, where he now makes the chocolates.Rasmussen also has built most of his equipment by himself. But chocolate-making is not his full-time job.

"I'm a Linux system administrator, a computer nerd," Rasmussen said. "So finding out how to balance the work at my day job and chocolate is a real struggle, especially considering the fact that I've got family, four kids; I am a busy guy."

The busy guy makes about 140 kilos (300 pounds) of chocolate every couple of weeks, and sells it online and in high-end gourmet specialty stores and coffee shops.

Rasmussen's cocoa beans are from four places: Costa Rica, Venezuela, Peru and the Dominican Republic. Each of his 10 flavored bars indicates the origin on the wrapping.

"I make all of the chocolate myself, so it's a very small company, but it continues to grow," he said. "Every year has been better than the year before. Last year was the best by far."

https://www.voanews.com/a/3722913.html

Article today 2/21

Argentina Amends its Immigration Law, Speeds Up Deportations

Argentina made a major change to its immigration law to make it easier to banish foreigners who do crimes or who are under investigation.

President Mauricio Macri ordered the change to the 2003 immigration law.

The presidential order notes a rise in organized crime by foreigners and prevents immigrants who have criminal records from entering the country. It also speeds up expulsion for those who do crimes, including selling drugs and weapons or hiding illegal money.

The new law is designed to lower the increase in crime. The issue is a top concern among Argentinians who will vote in congressional elections later this year.

However, one human rights group said it is a mistake to think of the migration crisis as just an issue of national security, and to link immigrants with criminals.

Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti defended the new measure.

She told a local radio station that “Argentina is an open country that will always be in favor of diversity.” She also rejected suggestions that the new law is like an immigration order signed last month by Donald Trump, the new president of the United States.

Article today 2/19

Bird numbersOut of the woods

Good news on the bird population—but not for everyone

British birdwatchers are used to bad news. House sparrow numbers have fallen from an estimated 30 million to 10 million since 1966. Curlews have become a rare sight, their numbers plummeting by 50% in 15 years. Cuckoos, once-frequent visitors from Africa, have declined by 63% in the south-east in the past two decades. Earlier springs that confuse migratory birds, more efficient farming and the conversion of dilapidated buildings (good for nesting) into modern homes have all contributed to these woes.

But data released by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), a research charity, suggest some are soaring. Tracking bird populations by means of regular surveys, the figures give the clearest picture yet of 49 species across Britain.

Blackcaps, small woodland birds native to Germany and eastern Europe, are lingering after their summer sojourns: since 1967 numbers have increased by 177%. The little egret, a white heron-like bird, arrived from continental European 1989 and now numbers over 5,000. Wood pigeons, once found shyly cooing in forests, have boldly moved into cities and suburbs.

Environmental and agricultural changes have helped as well as disoriented birds. Modern farming techniques allow grain to be sown in the autumn rather than the spring; that helps wood pigeons feed in winter. Warmer winters mean rivers and ponds are less likely to freeze, providing the little egrets with food. James Pearce-Higgins of the BTO says that blackcaps benefit particularly from the increasing popularity of berry bushes (such as rowan and yew) in people’s gardens.

These species and others benefit from the British love of bird feeders. “I would be amazed if anyone feeds garden birds in Europeas much as we do,” says Stephen Moss, a nature writer. First sold in 1964 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), a charity with over 1 million members, bird feeders took off in the 1990s when food such as sunflower hearts and nyjer seeds became widely available and the RSPB began to encourage people to feed birds throughout the year. (The bird tables found in other northern European countries, such as Finland and Germany, tend to be stocked only during the winter.) In 1987 only 17 species availed themselves of British feeders; these days 86 do.

Birders grouse nonetheless. Some of the species prospering, such as carrion crows and buzzards, are disliked. And migratory birds that extend their visits may provide competition for some avian natives. They are “muscling in and getting the first claim on breeding sites”, says Richard Cowser of the Sussex Ornithological Society. Like their human counterparts, residents of a small island buffeted by global winds, British birds will have to learn to compete.

http://www.kekenet.com/Article/201610/473241.shtml

http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21573142-good-news-bird-populationbut-not-everyone-out-woods

Article today 2/17

National Park Sites Preserve Artifacts of America’s Early Wars

National parks traveler Mikah Meyer spent the month of January immersed in American history as he visited a number of historic forts along the southeastern U.S. coastline.

One of his first stops was Fort Sumter, a federal fort in Charleston Harbor, just off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.

The fort is famous for being the spot where the first shot of the Civil War was fired, and also where the first casualty of that war occurred.
After a decade of cultural and economic tension between the North and South, it was here, on April 12, 1861, that the southern army opened fire, marking it as the day the Civil War began. It is considered by many to be the bloodiest battle in U.S. history.

Standing inside the large, fortified walls of Fort Sumter National Monument, looking across the water to the port city of Charleston, Mikah imagined what it must have been like all those years ago.

“It was under siege at one point for 17 months,” he noted. “There were cannons that could fire from where I’m standing on the fort all the way to the old town. So imagine living there for 17 months and wondering if at any point that a cannon [shot] might come.”

Driving south into the state of Georgia, Mikah stopped at Fort Pulaski National Monument. Built in 1847, the fort is considered one of the most technologically advanced fortifications of its time.

“This one was interesting solely just upon appearance,” Mikah said. “It had a moat, with water that circled the whole fort, which after seeing a number of forts that don’t have moats, just that one little feature it’s amazing how much more exciting that can make it!”

Just an hour south of Fort Pulaski, the scene couldn’t have been more different. At Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island, Mikah walked among the ruins of this once flourishing 18th century settlement.

“They’re an interesting combination because Fort Pulaski, when it was built, it was one of the most technologically advanced forts of the time, and so perhaps because of that it’s still standing today… So it was an interesting one-two punch going from one extreme to the other,” he said.

The young traveler said visiting these historic sites – both large and small – made him appreciate the efforts of the National Park Service in preserving these national treasures for all to enjoy – and learn from.

http://www.voanews.com/a/national-park-roadtrip-19/3716158.html

Article today 2/18

Survey: Global Freedom Drops for 11th Year as Populism, Autocracy Rise

U.S. human rights group Freedom House says global freedoms weakened in 2016 for an 11th consecutive year, a decline it blamed on growing populism and nationalism in democratic nations and greater authoritarianism in others.

The bleak assessment came in the group’s annual global freedom survey published Monday with the title, “Populists and Autocrats: The Dual Threat to Global Democracy.”

Of the 195 countries assessed in the Freedom House report, 45 percent were rated “free,” 30 percent were rated “partly free” and 25 percent were rated “not free.” It said 67 countries suffered declines in political rights and civil liberties in 2016, predominantly in established democracies such as Brazil, France, Germany and the United States. The report said 36 nations saw improvements in freedom, leaving the gainers outnumbered by nations with declining freedom for the 11th straight year.

 There are 36 nations improving in freedom, however, there are more nations are declining freedom for the 11th straight year.

Freedom House said major democracies were “mired in anxiety and indecision” in 2016, after a series of destabilizing events. It said one such event was the U.S. presidential victory of Donald Trump, whom it called a “mercurial figure with unconventional views on foreign policy and other matters” — views it said “raised questions” about his country’s future role in the world.

“What the U.S. chooses to do in its foreign policy under the new administration is an open question,” Freedom House spokeswoman Sarah Repucci said. “But we’ve seen a lot of warning signs that it may not be engaging to the extent that all previous U.S. administrations in recent years have done.”

She just said in a soft way that the new administration may not attend the extent like previous administrations have done.

Repucci said Russia, which Freedom House rates as “not free,” has shown a willingness to fill any gap left by U.S. disengagement from the world, particularly in the Middle East.

Russia is showing willingness to fill any gap particularly in the Middle East which is left by the US.

The report said Trump’s election win shows that the United States is “not immune to the kind of populist appeals that have resonated across the Atlantic in recent years.” It said his campaign “featured a series of disturbing events, stemming mainly from Trump’s own remarks and the actions of his supporters, and punctuated by Trump’s insistence, without evidence and even after he won, that the election results were marred by massive fraud.”

The US is becoming more appealed by populist which has resonated across Western Europe in recent years.
The US can not resist the populist way of thinking coming from Western Europe, where it is already wildly spread

But Freedom House also noted positive aspects of Trump’s rise to power. It said his success as an “outsider candidate who challenged the mainstream forces of both major parties demonstrated the continued openness and dynamism of the American system.”

Freedom House said civil-war-plagued Syria had the “worst” score for political rights and civil liberties in 2016. Following Syria on the list of worst-scoring nations were Eritrea, North Korea, Uzbekistan, South Sudan, Turkmenistan, Somalia, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Saudi Arabia.

The only country in the report with a positive trend toward being freer was Colombia, whose government secured a peace deal with FARC rebels last year, ending a decades-long conflict in the South American nation.

http://www.voanews.com/a/report-2016-marks-11th-consecutive-year-of-declining-global-freedom/3700442.html

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2016