Recent Articles
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Study: Air pollution particulates can even harm unborn children
Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & EnvironmentalIt turns out that air pollution is worse on us than we may have previously known, especially for those not yet born. According to the findings of a new study, pollution can be so pervasive that it can penetrate a pregnant woman's placenta and may threaten the health of a developing fetus. The study reviewed and analyzed high-resolution images taken of placenta tissue retrieved from 28 women who had given birth at East-Limburg Hospital in Genk, Belgium.
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Infographic: How to use tablets for business
Sonali Datta Science & TechnologyThe rise in tablet technology is ushering in innovations to increase user productivity, drive workflow efficiency and improve the overall customer experience. Modern and sophisticated tablet usage has facilitated cost reductions for the enterprise and improved business functionalities. However, at the same time, companies cannot ignore the impending challenges that tablet usage brings along. Take a close look at this infographic to understand how tablet usage is influencing work environments and how a solid mobile device management (MDM) solution can help secure tablet data at your business.
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Are mission statements actually important after all?
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementMany of us have a love-hate relationship with mission statements. For leaders, they can be valuable tools to keep a large organization, multiple offices or a new company focused on the same core ideas. For consultants, advisory firms and organization development experts, they are often the starting point for developing strategic plans, repairing negative issues or building corporate culture. Yet, unless the organization is in some sort of transitional phase, mission statements often collect dust on the shelf. Some recent research, however, underscores the importance of the words used in mission statements.
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Study: ED patients report less rest than hospital inpatients
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareA new study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal has confirmed what anyone who's ever spent time in a hospital emergency department already knows: ED patients don't rest as well as inpatients. Researchers surveyed 49 ED patients who were awaiting an inpatient bed and 44 people who had already been admitted to an inpatient unit. During the survey, patients described noise levels and rated the quality of their sleep using the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire.
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Malls without walls: The stealth privatization of public space in the US
Lucy Wallwork Construction & Building MaterialsTo architects and urban designers, the "public realm" has become sacred in planning systems and urban visions over the last two decades. The space between buildings has become seen as equally consequential as the buildings themselves. This often results in captivating sketches and visualizations of new development or transformed town centers. But the creeping privatization of the land rights and management regimes that underlie those sketches is provoking questions about how the ownership of the public realm impacts our experience of it.
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How higher education can shape the future of law enforcement
Bambi Majumdar Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityThere has been a recent drive to improve college enrollment among law enforcement officers. To this effect, some states and colleges are introducing new curricula that match modern law enforcement training needs. Police shootings and reports of police brutality have hampered the image of law enforcement to such an extent that getting recruits for the force has become quite a challenge. In Kentucky, the state’s Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) recently announced an education initiative for law enforcement that will enable officers to get a college degree.
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Should your company have a political expression policy?
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementPolitical discussions can turn heated in a heartbeat. At work, this may be energy that is better spent on work-related projects. On the other hand, political discourse can also lead to greater understanding and perhaps result in new friendships. Knowing that the former may be more likely than the latter, some companies are implementing political expression policies. But is this really necessary?
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Lower interest rates boost home sales, prices
Michael J. Berens Construction & Building MaterialsBucking the more common seesaw pattern of recent years, home sales in August rose for the second month in a row, buoyed by a decline in mortgage interest rates. Both new and existing homes posted gains, reaffirming analysts’ indications that there is a high level of pent-up demand for homes, but that many prospective buyers have been deterred by tight inventories and high prices. Sales levels had been lagging behind those of 2018 during the first half of the year but now are up 2.6% from the same period last year.
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Tips for using chatbots to improve your marketing
Lisa Mulcahy MarketingChatbots are both the wave of the present and the future. Research estimates that by next year, a whopping 80% of businesses will utilize this kind of AI technology, primarily as a real-time chat tool with consumers via instant messaging. How can you best refine your chatbot technology so it pleases your customers and provides them with the info and convenience they need to buy your products over and over again? Try these tips.
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Resistance to change in healthcare: Our fatal flaw
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareIt’s been said that change is the only constant in the universe, and that also pertains to healthcare. Since the days of Hippocrates, Florence Nightingale, and many others, medicine and nursing have continued to morph, and those individuals and organizations willing to do so have also evolved apace. But for those who resist or fight change, becoming an irrelevant dinosaur is the likely result. Are you and your organization willing to play along?