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U.S. economy adds 263,000 jobs; unemployment rate drops to 3.6%
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe April jobs report shows that nonfarm payroll employment rose 263,000 versus 196,000 new hires in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. April’s 3.6% rate of unemployment was the lowest since December 1969. In April, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was 1.2 million versus 1.3 million in March, the BLS reported. "The unemployment rate fell for the ‘wrong’ reasons — more people leaving the labor force as opposed to getting a job," said Elise Gould, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
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Introducing the world’s first 3-D-printed human heart
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareFor the first time, researchers have "printed" a 3-D human heart using a patient's tissue. While the first printed heart is small and nonfunctional, the development of a 3-D printable heart could someday save millions of lives. Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization, and heart transplant is currently the only treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure. 3-D-printed hearts could help overcome shortages of hearts available for transplantation; because they use the patient’s own tissue, using 3-D-printed hearts could also reduce rejection rates.
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Unsafe firms imperil US workers, occupational safety group report says
Seth Sandronsky Facilities & GroundsEmployers can and should do a better job of ensuring U.S. worker safety, according to a new report from the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH). Titled "The Dirty Dozen," it details how 12 firms put workers and communities at risk with unsafe labor practices. The report marks Workers’ Memorial Week, which honors Americans who have died and suffered injuries and illnesses on the job. "Too many workers become ill, injured and die each year under the watch of their employers who, in some cases, are repeat offenders and among the world’s most profitable companies," said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of NCOSH.
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March numbers signal manufacturing slump
Michelle R. Matisons ManufacturingEver since President Donald Trump made an increase in manufacturing jobs one of his key campaign promises, many Americans waited to see if this promise would come to fruition or if it was just another empty political slogan to be dusted off and then returned to the post-industrial, outsourced, and downsized U.S. production heap. New numbers from February and March 2019 report manufacturing declines, reflecting the first quarterly drop in production since 2016. A quarterly drop is no small potatoes, and hard manufacturing data continues to challenge rhetoric from the White House and Capitol Hill about a robust manufacturing economy.
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Are you measuring the right things?
Linda Popky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe good news about today's technology-enabled world is that we have the ability to measure just about anything. And the bad news is that in today’s technology-enabled world, we have the ability to measure just about anything. We are literally drowning in data points — some of them more useful than others, but all of them screaming for our attention. How do you determine on which measurements to focus? Here's the key point to remember: What gets measured gets managed.
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Smart injection machines and their adjustment principles under Industry…
Dr. Tober Sun ManufacturingTo attain accurate mold filling analyses, we must consider a machine’s movements, including screw acceleration and deceleration in the injection process; the machine reaction at the moment when filling turns into packing; and the machine’s protection behaviors for preventing injection pressure from being too high. Currently, the core of molding equipment is injection machines. Therefore, under Industry 4.0, smart machine applications will rely on injection machine design. In this article, we will discuss how injection machine manufacturers apply injection information collected from the injection process to enhance product quality.
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Small-business owners lukewarm — or worse — on new tax law
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAt best, some owners of small firms are lukewarm about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) that Congress passed and President Trump signed. We turn to an April 10 public opinion poll from Businesses for Responsible Tax Reform. Among 501 small-business owners who were polled March 26-27 across the U.S. who have filed their taxes or are yet to finish their filing, nearly half, or 48%, reported that the new tax law did not make their profits or firms grow. About a quarter, or 24%, said the law caused them harm.
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Travel2020: Reimagining the airline seat of the future
Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementSmall may not be so beautiful for airline passengers; that is, if current concepts in economy seat design get a foothold in the airline industry. The airline seat of the future may not be a seat at all. In fact, if Italian seat designer Aviointerior has its way, it may be more of a, well, perch. While it may not be the first time such concepts have been proposed, perhaps the scary part is that this concept of stand-up airline seating keeps coming back to live another day.
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What’s next for plane manufacturing after Boeing 737 Max 8 fallout?
Michelle R. Matisons ManufacturingOn March 10, a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed in Ethiopia, killing 157 people. This happened only months after the same type of plane went down in Indonesia, killing 189 people. This leaves much cause for discussion regarding Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) complicity in the accidents. Was the 737 Max 8 rushed to market, resulting in hundreds of deaths? Crash victims’ families are filing lawsuits while the Justice Department probes the 737’s FAA certification, given the model’s deadly faults.
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The best museums for planes, trains and automobiles
Dave G. Houser Recreation & LeisureAmerica has a long and proud history of being at the forefront of transportation technology. Examples include the Wright Brothers' historic first flight, Henry Ford's Model T, the Transcontinental Railroad, the Panama Canal, and, of course, the first lunar landing. Thankfully, the rich, colorful history of transportation in America has been preserved at a number of fine museums across the country. Read on to learn about eight of them that are well worth a visit.
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