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How to narrow the gap between what universities produce and what employers expect

Posted on September 8, 2020 April 8, 2021 by Emma Jansen

Higher education is usually seen as a way for individuals and families to improve their economic status. Research shows, though, that graduates can remain unemployed for up to a year. In developing countries, in particular, the labour force is often growing faster than the labour market.

Graduate unemployment remains a reality for many in South Africa. The most recent figures from Statistics South Africa put the graduate unemployment rate at 31% in the first quarter of 2019.

Among the reasons for the unemployment rate are the needs and expectations of the labour market and the quality of graduates leaving higher education institutions. Research into graduate work readiness has shown that there’s a gap between what universities produce in their graduates and what employers expect.

Design global, manufacture local: a new industrial revolution?

Posted on September 7, 2020 April 8, 2021 by Emma Jansen

What if globally designed products could radically change how we work, produce and consume? Several examples across continents show the way we are producing and consuming goods could be improved by relying on globally shared digital resources, such as design, knowledge and software.

Imagine a prosthetic hand designed by geographically dispersed communities of scientists, designers and enthusiasts in a collaborative manner via the web. All knowledge and software related to the hand is shared globally as a digital commons.

Can the world’s megacities survive the digital age?

Posted on September 6, 2020 October 8, 2020 by Emma Jansen

Today, megacities have become synonymous with economic growth. In both developing and developed countries, cities with populations of 10 million or more account for one-third to one-half of their gross domestic product.

Many analysts and policymakers think this trend is here to stay. The rise of big data analytics and mobile technology should spur development, they assert, transforming metropolises like Shanghai, Nairobi and Mexico City into so-called “smart cities” that can leverage their huge populations to power their economies and change the power balance in the world.

The long quest for the right pollen: how to really help bees

Posted on September 5, 2020 October 8, 2020 by Emma Jansen

Planting bee-friendly plants seems to be the new fad in many cities around the globe. In the UK, amateur gardeners regularly try to attract such insects, while in France, farmers have offered land to help beekeepers. In other countries, such as Canada, cities adopt pollinators. Even some companies undertake wildflower planting efforts.

But not all plants can satisfy the nutritional requirements of bees and some may be more useful than others in balancing bee diets.

In space, this is the age of reusability

Posted on September 4, 2020 October 8, 2020 by Emma Jansen

Big plans are being made in space.

Investment banks want to mine asteroids for rare, valuable metals. Japan wants to build a solar power station. Billionaire tycoons want to build hotels in orbit for space tourists.

We could be seeing the start of an economic boom in space. But so far, none of these ideas have made it far from the drawing board. What’s holding them back?

Why apartment dwellers need indoor plants

Posted on September 3, 2020 October 8, 2020 by Emma Jansen

The number of Australians living in high-rise apartments doubled between 1991 and 2011 and that trend has continued since then. The quarter-acre dream is fast disappearing and larger blocks and family gardens along with it. As more people move from country areas to the city and as land to build homes near the city centre becomes scarce, we’re getting further and further away from nature. It turns out this isn’t great for our health.

The change in urban environments because of development, associated with a rapid increase in chronic disease, is a global phenomenon in developed countries. In the past children grew up running on bare soil and grass, explored backyard farms and gardens, climbed trees and were exposed to a high level of bacteria. And the diversity of the bacteria can change if an individual is exposed to different environmental conditions.

How employers can help workers become more dedicated and engaged — new research

Posted on September 2, 2020 April 8, 2021 by Emma Jansen

Whatever your occupation, you may have noticed that some of your colleagues are energetic and passionate about their job, while others appear bored and disinterested. The difference between them is known as “employee engagement” and can be seen in everyone from a passionate lecturer to an enthusiastic flight attendant.

Work engagement has been described as a “positive motivational state of mind characterised by vigour, dedication and absorption”. During this state, employees are said to be physically and mentally resilient, enthusiastic, and happily immersed in their activity. They may also feel tired, but even this comes with a satisfactory feeling of accomplishment.

The uncertain origins of the modern marathon

Posted on September 1, 2020 April 8, 2021 by Emma Jansen

Last November, I ran my first marathon, the “Athens Authentic”. I did it mainly because I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the world’s first marathon runner – the ancient Athenian messenger Pheidippides.

The story, as I knew it, went as follows. After their victory over a Persian invasion force at the border village of Marathon, the Athenians sent a messenger called Pheidippides to deliver the news to the city authorities. After running the 42 kilometres back to Athens, Pheidippides gasped “we’ve won!” (nenikēkamen) and promptly died of exhaustion.

It’s a great story, but was it true? The more I looked into it in the weeks leading up to the race, the less certain I was. Was I about to run 42km for a lie?

How to make robots that we can trust

Posted on August 31, 2020 October 8, 2020 by Emma Jansen

Self-driving cars, personal assistants, cleaning robots, smart homes – these are just some examples of autonomous systems.

With many such systems already in use or under development, a key question concerns trust. My central argument is that having trustworthy, well-working systems is not enough. To enable trust, the design of autonomous systems also needs to consider other requirements, including a capacity to explain decisions and to have recourse options when things go wrong.

Can blockchain, a swiftly evolving technology, be controlled?

Posted on August 30, 2020 October 7, 2020 by Emma Jansen

The headlong pace of technological change produces giant leaps forward in knowledge, innovation, new possibilities and, almost inevitably, legal problems. That’s now the case with blockchain, today’s buzziest new tech tool.

Introduced in 2008 as the technology underpinning Bitcoin, a digital currency that is created and held electronically without any central authority, blockchain is a secure digital ledger for any kind of data. It simplifies record keeping and reduces transaction costs.

Its range of applications in commerce, finance and potentially politics continues to widen, and that has triggered a debate around how to regulate the tool.

What economics has to say about same-sex marriage

Posted on August 29, 2020 October 7, 2020 by Emma Jansen

Love and companionship make most people happy and generally represent two of the key reasons why couples marry.

In the economists’ view, love and companionship are a particular type of commodity: they cannot be purchased or traded on a market, but they can be produced by a household to generate happiness for its members.

There are potentially many other of these “household-produced” commodities, including raising children, preparing meals, caring for each other, and achieving economic stability.

Is freelancing the future of employment?

Posted on August 28, 2020 April 8, 2021 by Emma Jansen

Today, freelancers represent 35% of the United States workforce. In the European Union, the rate is 16.1%. Both figures demonstrate the same global trend: from creative entrepreneurs to those paid by the task, freelancing is on the rise worldwide.

So, too, are analyses of this phenomenon, as journalists, sociologists, human resources specialists, life coaches, even freelancers themselves try to uncover “the truth” about freelancing.

That’s because of the “gig economy”, as it is sometimes called, is a Janus-faced – and relentlessly evolving – phenomenon. Freelancing is often portrayed as liberating, empowering, and even glamorous, but the reality is far more complex.