Dux Nest

Investing in the weather is a lot more common than you may think. In fact some investments a based entirely on the weather, such as weather derivatives. This article however discusses the impact of our feelings on our decisions in an area of study known as behavioural finance.

Behavioural finance focuses on decision-making under uncertainty, and demonstrates that human decisions systematically depart from those predicted by the rational decision-making assumption of traditional economics. (Tony Naughton.  (2002). The winner is…behavioural finance? Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 7(2), 110-111.)

So how much does a sunny day impact on our behaviour?

Will the market rise just because the weather is nice?

Does Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) really have an impact on investor behaviour? If so, could you make money by simply investing in the theory that market to rise from winter to summer?

A good deal of recent research is concerned with costly irrational financial behavior. Investor overconfidence, myopia, the irrational hesitancy to realize losses, or other unusual behaviors may affect the outcomes of financial decisions. It is further possible that these irrationalities are not sufficiently predictable by more rational traders, so that the behaviors do not lead to arbitrage opportunities that would keep market prices efficient. The inability to arbitrage away irrational outcomes would obviously be a major concern for financial markets.

While the research is concerned mostly with the interrelationship between trade outcomes and price movement, increasing attention is being paid to the relation between physiological phenomena, such as the weather, and their effect on stock market returns. The underlying premise of this parallel line of investigation is that in the short run stock returns may be related to predictable changes in an investor’s psychological status, and that this investor’s psychological status may be predictable by observing exogenous variables such as the weather.

In other words, this physiological evidence comes in addition to the growing evidence of unexplained retail investor irrationality. Hirshleifer and Shumway find that if transaction costs are sufficiently low, a relatively clear morning can lead to profitable afternoon stock trading.

Research has also investigated various other exogenous factors that may drive investor behavior. These factors include an unusual cast of characters, such as the lunar cycle, the switch to daylight-savings time, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and even geomagnetic storms.

These findings are being taken a lot more seriously than other work that relates stock returns to such factors as whether the National Football Conference team wins the Super Bowl. (Piman Limpaphayom,  Peter R Locke,  Pattarake Sarajoti. (2005). BUTTON UP YOUR OVERCOAT! TRADING AGAINST THE WIND. Corporate Finance Review, 10(3), 12-18.) Findings support the theory that floor traders exhibit trading behavior that appears related to their local weather. For example, traders, who are often modeled as market makers, are more likely to buy on relatively calm days, suggesting a weather induced bias in their quoting behavior: quotes decline on poor weather days.

In addition, the effective bid-ask spread is smaller on calmer days, also suggesting improved attention on calm days. More importantly, weather may influence the bottom line for futures floor traders.  Results show that daily floor trader income varies with both cloud cover and wind strength. (Piman Limpaphayom,  Peter R Locke,  Pattarake Sarajoti. (2005). BUTTON UP YOUR OVERCOAT! TRADING AGAINST THE WIND. Corporate Finance Review, 10(3), 12-18.)

The findings extend the literature showing that financial decision makers are affected in a very real way by weather. Obviously, with sunshine, geomagnetism, and wind showing effects on securities prices, studies find exogenous factors affecting trader behavior. Additional external factors may cause seemingly irrational shifts in investors’ mood and hence affect securities price movements. Some effects (e.g., lunar, solar, geomagnetic) are global, these may affect the global price of risk. However, if some effects are local and only affect some traders, then any temporary or localized effect need not be troubling. Nonetheless, traders may wish to be informed as to their potential for weather-induced biases. (Piman Limpaphayom,  Peter R Locke,  Pattarake Sarajoti. (2005). BUTTON UP YOUR OVERCOAT! TRADING AGAINST THE WIND. Corporate Finance Review, 10(3), 12-18.)

The middle truth is that there is a constant interplay between the fundamentals of an investment and the psychology of the investors who own it. Sometimes the psychological effects will take over (the herding that led to the tech bubble), but then the fundamentals periodically reassert themselves (the bust). (Jeff Sanford.  (2004, May). Think you’re a smart investor? Canadian Business, 77(11), 75. )

In determining investor behaviour it is important to consider… is the sun shining where it matters? Taking a tip from the real estate agents… location location location.

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Tags: Behaviour, Behavioural Finance, Economics, Investment, Uncertainty, Weather.

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Happy New Year!

New Year 2009 was a leap second longer than normal. Who decides that we are going to change our clocks?

The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) that is who.

Leap seconds, added once every 500 days or so, keep high-precision atomic clocks from running ahead of solar time, which is gradually falling behind as tidal friction slows Earth’s rotation. Michael Schirber.  (2005). U.K. Stargazers: Save the Leap Second. Science, 309(5744), 2147.

Deciding whether and when a leap second is needed falls to an international organisation called the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS). It collects and averages measurements of the Earth’s rotation from around the world. Each January and July it issues a notice announcing whether a leap second is required in the next six months. James Randerson,  Science correspondent. (2008, December 31). Front: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 … er 1. New Year to take extra second to reach big bang: Atomic clocks come into line with astronomical day: Erratic rotation of Earth creates need for change. The Guardian,3.

The periodic insertion of a leap second step into the scale of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) necessitates frequent changes in complex timekeeping systems and is currently the subject of discussion in working groups of various international scientific organizations. UTC is an atomic time scale that agrees in rate with International Atomic Time (TAI), but differs by an integral number of seconds, and is the basis of civil time. In contrast, Universal Time (UT1) is an astronomical time scale defined by the Earth’s rotation and is used in celestial navigation. R A Nelson, D D McCarthy, S Malys, J Levine, B Guinot, H F Fliegel, R L Beard and T R Bartholomew Satellite Eng. Res. Corp., USNO, NIMA, NIST, OP, Aerospace Corp., NRL, Litton TASC Inc.

The International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) was established in 1987 by the International Astronomical Union and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics and it began operation on 1 January 1988. It replaced the International Polar Motion Service (IPMS) and the earth-rotation section of the Bureau International de l’Heure (BIH); the activities of BIH on time are continued at Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Since 1 January 2001 the IERS has got a new structure. In 2003 it was renamed to International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service.

The definition of UTC was implemented in 1972, principally to accommodate celestial navigation and follows recommendation 460 of the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) in 1970. Since 1972 the use of electronic means to navigate has overtaken celestial navigation. Dennis McCarthy,  F Arias,  W Dick,  D Gambis,  M Hosokawa,  W Klepczynski,  S Leschiutta,  J Laverty,  Z Malkin,  D Matsakis,  R Nelson,  J Vondrak,  P Wallace,  N Capitaine,  T Fukushima. (2005). Division I Working Group on “Definition of Coordinated Universal Time”. International Astronomical Union. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 1(T26A), 63-66.

The leap second has been used sporadically at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich since 1972, an adjustment that has kept Greenwich Mean Time the agreed time standard.

Some scientists now say GMT should be replaced by International Atomic Time - computed outside Paris - because new technologies have allowed atomic time to tick away with down-to-the-nanosecond accuracy.

But opponents say atomic time’s very precision poses a problem. A strict measurement, they say, would change our very notion of time forever, as atomic clocks would one day outpace the familiar cycle of sunrise and sunset.

Atomic time advocates argue that leap seconds are onerous because they’re unpredictable. Since the exact speed of the Earth’s rotation can’t be plotted out in advance, they’re added as needed. Sometimes they’re added Dec. 31; other times at the end of June.

Those fixes can trip up time-sensitive software, particularly in Asia, where the extra second is added in the middle of the day.

Critics say everything from satellite navigation to cellular communication is vulnerable to problems stemming from programs ignoring the extra second or adding it at different times. Raphael G. Satter,  Jamey Keaten Associated Press. (2008, December 31). Wait a sec, 2009; Earth’s running late. Journal - Gazette,A.10.

So what is the time?

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Tags: Atomic, Clocks, Earth, Measurement, Rotation, Time, Universal.

So often we hear of towns disappearing from the map because of various reasons, these could be a closure of a mine, a mill or perhaps the tourists can now find cheaper and more attractive holidays somewhere else. The people who are left behind struggle to make ends meet. Many people leave and the young people see there is no opportunity for future. If this was an article for “Howcast” then it would explain how to create a ghetto.

Once the main industry or employer shuts down, the locals find they have less money to spend in the local shops and are perhaps reliant on social security. The business owners have less people purchasing goods and services and therefore employ less staff. A cancerous cycle begins.

What can be done to save our town?

You may be interested to know that all hope is not lost. If you are a proactive member of your community then you can make a real difference.

According to a major report from the UK government’s Urban Task Force, chaired by Lord Rogers of Riverside to revive towns they propose:

• using previously developed land and buildings first for new housing;
• creating a national urban design framework,
• developing a network of Regional Resource Centres for Urban Development;
• committing at least 65 percent of transport public expenditure to walking, cycling and public transport over the next 10 years and introducing Home Zones to give local people more control over traffic movement through their neighborhoods;
• creating Urban Priority Areas, where special regeneration measures will apply;
• giving local authorities new powers to manage the urban environment;
• introducing a package of tax measures, providing incentives for developers, investors, small landlords, owner-occupiers and tenants to contribute to the regeneration of urban land and buildings; and
• establishing a Renaissance Fund of 500 million over 10 years, for use by community groups and voluntary organizations to tackle derelict buildings and other eyesores in urban areas.

(Urban Task Force sets out 100 ways to revive England’s towns and cities. (1999). Institute of Transportation Engineers. ITE Journal, 69(12), 18.)

As stated in the 1989 film Field of Dreams the quote “if you build it they will come” seems appropriate also in relation to the survival of towns. Diversification is the key to success, whether it be tourism, manufacturing or even e-business. Towns cannot put all their eggs in one basket or they cease to exist with the change in the economic cycle. The answer may be as simple as beautifying the town and marketing the change. Whatever action is taken the goal is to ensure money flows into the towns economy that is not from social services. Too many ghost towns dot the maps.

Fort Worth, Texas, was once a crumbling city with boarded-up warehouses and little to attract people to its barren streets. But the wealthy Bass family saw promise for the future and began to buy up properties along the downtown streets.

Ed Bass, a leader in the effort to revitalize downtown Fort Worth, has said, “Cities need to learn to capitalize on their streets, city blocks, sidewalks, storefronts, and the comings and goings of a whole variety of people engaged in a whole gamut of activities.”

Rather than spending millions on a huge stadium that would only attract day-trippers, the city voted to invest in itself. Through a series of projects funded by a 1-cent tax increase, Oklahoma City moved aggressively to stop urban sprawl in its tracks. It built a small stadium, renovated a convention center, revitalized a waterfront property, created a new library and education center, and established a new transportation link between the downtown and its outskirts. (Sarah M Vermylen.  (2000). Revitalizing ‘ghost town’ downtowns. The World & I, 15(6), 66-71.)

Top 10 UK towns creating ghettos:

1. Hull
Average income per year: £17,300

2. Blackpool
Average income per year: £17,400

3. Caerphilly
Average income per year: £18,700

4. Leicester
Average income per year: £18,500

5. Sunderland
Average income per year: £18,800

6. City of Dundee
Average income per year: £18,800

7. Middlesbrough
Average income per year: £18,700

8. Blackburn
Average income per year: £18,700

9. Knowsley
Average income per year: £19,100

10. Nottingham
Average income per year: £18,900

Top 10 in creating ghettos USA:

1. Youngstown City, OH
Average income per year: $24,941

2. Bloomington City, IN
Average income per year: $25,225

3. Camden City, NJ
Average income per year: $25,389

4. Reading City, PA
Average income per year: $25,536

5. Flint City, MI
Average income per year: $26,143

6. Macon City, GA
Average income per year: $26,555

7. Gary City, IN
Average income per year: $26,725

8. Gainesville City, FL
Average income per year: $27,479

9. Hartford City, CT
Average income per year: $27,654

10. Passaic City, NJ
Average income per year: $27,691

Is your town becoming a ghost town?

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Tags: Community, Economy, Ghetto, Money, Revival, Towns, Urban.

It is certainly funny to look back at predictions after an event has occurred and think how ridiculous our ideas were and how much gets blown out of proportion.

Does this story sound similar to the boy who cried wolf?

Is there a good reason to feel in a constant state of panic and anxiety?

Over the past century or so, forecasters have made sweeping declarations about the future. In many cases, the expert opinion held with regard to any given situation was that “it couldn’t be done.” As often as not, expert opinion was wrong. Dennis Behreandt.  (2006, June). They Said It Couldn’t Be Done… The New American, 22(13), 36-38.

Naive egocentric catastrophism is not based on sound science. Instead, it borders on pseudoscience, and discourages serious and sober debate on the scientific issues in potential catastrophes arising from global warming, depletion of resources, terrorism, and all the rest. Mordechai (Moti) Ben-Ari.  (2006, January). Whose Final Hour? Skeptic, 12(3), 40-49,80.

Interpretation of bold statements needs to be just that. When it comes to predicting the future, disclosure is needed to ensure that the statement is taken in context. For example the following is a list of predictions that were if not anything else, simply grand ideas:

One Toe?

Richard Lucas of the Royal College of Surgeons in England made the unlikely prediction that some day human beings in the future would become one-toed. “The small toes are being used less and less as time goes on,” he opined, “while the great toe is developing in an astonishing manner.” Cynthia Crossen.  (2007, January 8). Perils of Prediction: Seeing Rubber Cities And an End to Cars. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition),  p. B.1.

Rubber Streets

In 1914, Sir Henry Blake, a British government official, foresaw the noiseless city, where rubber would replace brick, stone and asphalt as street paving. Cynthia Crossen.  (2007, January 8). Perils of Prediction: Seeing Rubber Cities And an End to Cars. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition),  p. B.1.

Need for Speed

In 1911 Barney Oldfield, at the time one of America’s most famous race car drivers, argued that cars were plenty fast enough and that further development for speed was unnecessary. “The science of speed has reached a point where any manufacturer can produce a car which will satisfy any sane buyer,” Oldfield wrote. “There is no demand and little need for further development along speed lines.” Dennis Behreandt.  (2006, June). They Said It Couldn’t Be Done… The New American, 22(13), 36-38.

Does anyone remember the predictions around Y2K and perhaps even the paperless office?

Paperless Office

The paperless office used to be one of those high concepts everybody talked about, half in geeky boastfulness, half in jest, always in reference to a somewhat distant tomorrow. A remote and ambitious idea, it was right up there with robot butlers (think of Woody Allen’s “Sleeper,”) Big Brother biometrics, and a Star Wars missile defense system.

Dog-eared files and Post It notes remain in evidence at many a bank, as they simply haven’t bought into paperless schemes, or the technology, in some cases, has failed to deliver. Lauren Bielski.  (2002). So, what ever happened to the paperless office? American Bankers Association. ABA Banking Journal, 94(6), 57-58+.

When bold predictions about the future are made, we should take them into context and perhaps adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude. Too often we just believe the hype.

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Tags: Anxiety, Forecast, Future, Hype, Prediction.

In this current economic slowdown, is it better to migrate or stay put?

During time of economic turmoil and recession the idea of packing our bags and moving to a country with a more stable employment market is certainly desirable but is it feasible? This article seeks to examine the concept of flight or fight in the credit crunch.

Skill shortages exist when employers are unable to fill or have considerable difficulty in filling vacancies for an occupation, or specialised skill needs within that occupation, at current levels of remuneration and conditions of employment, and reasonably accessible location.

Skill gaps occur where existing employees do not have the required qualifications, experience and/or specialised skills to meet the firm’s skill needs for an occupation. Workers may not be adequately trained or qualified to perform tasks, or may not have upskilled to emerging skill requirements.

A market economy is a very dynamic thing. Firms and their jobs are constantly being born, expanding, contracting and dying. Due to the global financial crisis, the economy has become front page news.

Many skills take years to acquire (especially professional and technical skills) and are quite specific to a particular type of work. For example, a music teacher cannot readily become an accountant; a chef cannot readily become an electricity linesperson. It is inconceivable in such an environment that there will be a continuous precise match between the types of skills that are required and the types of skills that the workforce has to offer.

When there are sizeable levels of unemployment, under-employment and non-employment, much of this inevitable imbalance is hidden from the notice of firms. With a few exceptions, they find that when they advertise a job, they have a number of people with the relevant skills who apply - sometimes a large number. They are then able to look for additional qualities, such as precise relevant experience, desirable personal qualities, evidence of enthusiasm and commitment to the firm. From the employers’ perspective, the skills system therefore seems to be working quite well. However, the consequences of the imbalance are borne by workers, who cannot find employment that uses the skills that they have laboured (and paid) to acquire. More skilled people can usually find work ahead of less skilled people (since the former can generally do the latter’s work, but not vice versa): the metal fitters and machinists can become truck drivers or cleaners. But there are many cases when the jobs they get do not make use of their formal qualifications or less formal skills. It is recognised that some component of people working below their skills is voluntary, in that people value aspects of jobs such as geographical convenience, suitability of hours, quality of the workplace. But to the extent that it is not voluntary, these mismatches are costly to the individual and to the economy. The value of this loss is rarely calculated, or even noticed. Sue Richardson.  (2009). What is a Skill Shortage? Australian Bulletin of Labour, 35(1), 326-354.

Thomas Friedman’s metaphor of a flat earth is in most ways true-information, money, and sometimes people moving easily from place to place. But much of the movement on the flat earth is between mountain tops-clusters of innovation where creative people and institutions reinforce each other. Mark Regets.  (2008). Evolving Markets: Adapting to the New High-Skilled Migration. Harvard International Review, 30(3), 62-66.

Why People Migrate

International migration is usually a carefully considered individual or family decision. The major reasons to migrate to another country can be grouped into two categories: economic and noneconomic. The factors that encourage a migrant to actually move fall into three categories: demand-pull, supply-push, and networks. An economic migrant may be encouraged to move by employer recruitment of guest workers, or demand pull reasons. Migrants crossing borders for noneconomic reasons may be moving to escape unemployment or persecution, or supply-push factors. Philip Martin and Gottfried Zürcher, “Managing Migration: The Global Challenge” Population Bulletin 63, no.1 (2008).

This article examines those that are moving for economic reasons.

Job Sprawl

When economies were roaring, there were mostly winners. Heady growth created labor shortages in many places that were eased by foreign manpower. stumbling economies witness an exodus. Most of the world’s migrants go abroad because there are few job prospects in their home countries.

The economic crisis is forcing many to return, and poverty awaits them back in the villages. Governments are also scrambling to employ displaced returnees.

The return of overseas workers can be good news for countries as a whole. In the past, highly educated Indians often sought choice jobs in New York City or London, but now, with Western economies in shambles, they are returning in ever greater numbers. Not all countries, however, are so welcoming. Economists fret that the global crisis is causing a rise in protectionism against the international movement of people, just as it is with trade and investment. With unemployment soaring everywhere, politicians are trying to preserve jobs for their own nationals by slapping restrictions on imported labor. (2009, April). On the Road Again. Time International, 173(16), 16.

For Britain the exodus could be painful. Poles worked on Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and manpower will be required for the next great infrastructure project: the 2012 Olympic park in east London. “The challenge in the next few years will be to attract enough migrant workers with the right skills who can drive economic growth in the UK,” warns Jill Rutter of the left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research think tank.

Britain has dipped into a recession this year. The construction sector is under pressure as the housing market softly implodes. That means fewer day jobs for Poles, but also a possible backlash against immigrants.

Poland is enjoying growth of more than 5 percent, and jobs are easier to come by. Workers are sought to help prepare the country to host its first major postcommunist event, the 2012 European football championships. “Poland has become a good place to live,” says Treczynski. Mark Rice-Oxley.  (2008, September 10). Polish newcomers say goodbye as hard times hit Britain. The Christian Science Monitor,p. 4.

In the long run, however, the recession will not put an end to migration. Foreign workers have become integral to the workings of the global economy. People with special skills and those willing to work for less will always be in demand–and they’ll continue to be willing to follow the money. Dilip Ratha, an economist and specialist on migration at the World Bank in Washington, says workers face more hurdles in moving about the world–such as immigration laws and visa restrictions–than do trade goods and dollars, and as a result, the number of people abroad is actually lower than what the global economy is able to absorb. He expects the total population of migrants to expand in 2009, albeit at a slower pace. “While workers are coming home, there are those that are still leaving, and leaving in big numbers,” says Carmelita Dimzon, administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Manila. Michael Schuman.  (2009, April). On the Road Again. Time International, 173(16), 16.

Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban policy and planning at New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service suggests a different approach. He says government and business should work together to come up with solutions to efficiently get urban residents to the areas where the new jobs are springing up. Laura Petrecca.  (2009, April 6). Workers follow jobs to suburbs :Companies shift from downtowns for lower costs. USA TODAY,p. B.4.

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Tags: Credit Crunch, Economics, Employment, Global Financial Crisis, Immigrants, Labour, Migration, Recession, Skills, Workforce.

I’ve heard many predictions about medical breakthroughs, some even claiming that the word ‘disabled’ will become obsolete. It all seems too much like sci-fi. Then again, many concepts that seems far fetched in the original Star Trek have become part of our modern lives.

If only we could bring help to those who need it. Make the blind man see. Cell-based therapies might be an effective way to treat human corneal blindness and vision impairment due to the scarring that occurs after infection, trauma and other common eye problems, said senior investigator James L. Funderburgh, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Ophthalmology. The Pitt corneal stem cells were able to remodel scar-like tissue back to normal. In the next steps, the researchers intend to use the stem cells to treat lab animals that have corneal scars to see if they, too, can be repaired with stem cells. Under the auspices of UPMC Eye Center’s recently established Center for Vision Restoration, they plan also to develop the necessary protocols to enable clinical testing of the cells. University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences; Stem cell therapy makes cloudy corneas clear, according to Pitt researchers. (2009, April). NewsRx Health & Science,207.

Research led by David Hess of the Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario has identified how to use selected stem cells from bone marrow to grow new blood vessels to treat diseases such as peripheral artery disease. It’s one of the severe complications often faced by people who’ve had diabetes for a long time. Reduced blood flow (ischemia) in their limbs can lead to resting pain, trouble with wound healing and in severe cases, amputation. University of Western Ontario; Stem cell therapy grows new blood vessels. (2009, April). NewsRx Health & Science,70.

Transplant therapy using embryonic stem cells or their derivatives is currently under way in a small patient trial for spinal cord injury, but widespread use is still some years in the future. WHEN WILL STEM CELLS BE USED FOR TREATMENTS AND CURES? (2009, April 13). Wisconsin State Journal,A.2.

Dr. Funderburgh anticipates “stem-cell therapies for lots of parts of the body in the next 15 to 20 years.” David Templeton.  (2009, April 9). STEM CELL SUCCESS COULD HELP MORE THAN CORNEA. Pittsburgh Post - Gazette,A.1.

The medical research race…

Research into implants continues with great progress. Steven Siegel says the percentage of repeat surgeries has decreased in recent years due to improved equipment and techniques. Laura Johannes.  (2008, December 2). An Implant That Hits a Nerve. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition),  p. B.14. By definition, an implantable device will require an operation, the current devices all require moderately complex surgery during which at least one of the components must be very precisely placed to achieve a good functional result. Close cooperation with surgeons will be needed in order to ensure that the required surgery is feasible. P Counter.  (2008). Implantable hearing aids. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Part H Journal of Engineering in Medicine, 222(H6), 837-52. The future of cochlear implants is bright, with multiple outstanding possibilities for even higher levels of performance Advances in electronics, nanotechnology, micromechanics, polymer chemistry, and molecular biology should lead to cochlear implants that give high-fidelity sound. The research is the basis for a new discipline, which should also contribute to spinal cord repair and the relief of blindness. Graeme M Clark.  (2008). Personal reflections on the multichannel cochlear implant and a view of the future. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 45(5), 651-93.

It doesn’t matter which medical research will provide the breakthrough as long as everyone benefits.

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Tags: Bone Marrow, Cochlear, Implant, Medical Research, Stem Cells, Surgery, Technology, Therapy, Transplant.

I once had a friend that gave me a flyer for her birthday party. The event advertised that it had intelligent lighting however she had incorrectly spelt intelligent. Oh well, she wasn’t too bright. The following is a guide to the latest technology and bright ideas in lighting:

New and emerging lighting technologies such as LEDs (light-emitting diodes) can improve lighting quality while reducing maintenance and energy costs.

There are numerous technologies used in lighting, including tungsten incandescent, quartz halogen, fluorescent, and LED. Low-pressure sodium is more common in such outdoor applications as street lighting. These various technologies have distinctive advantages and disadvantages. The most familiar “light bulbs” have been around tor more than 100 years, and they are inexpensive. But a major disadvantage is that they are inefficient and waste a lot of energy in the form of heat. In addition, incandescent bulbs have a short lifetime. Incidentally, the regular screw-in base is called the “Edison base,” which can be useful to know for online searching. Fluorescent lighting is a great deal more efficient than incandescent lighting, but the tubes are fragile, require ballasts that sometimes hum, and contain mercury. Newer compact fluorescents eliminate many of the disadvantages of the large fluorescent tubes. Halogens are more efficient than incandescents but share many of their disadvantages. (Royal Van Horn.  (2006). LEDs and Home Lighting Technology. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(2), 103,169.)

The first LEDs in 1962 consisted of a layer a few atoms thick of the compound semiconductor material, gallium arsenide. Robust and taking very little power, they were ideal as indicators. They could give only red light, but their high efficiency compared with all other electric lights led people to ask whether a bright white LED could be developed for general illumination. The problem was solved by Shuji Nakamura, born in 1954 on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands. Nakamura had studied electrical engineering at a local university, where he became fascinated with solid-state physics and obtained a master’s degree.

Nakamura saw that the key to solving the problem was the development of an efficient bright blue LED. If he could achieve that, he could also make a green LED, and by combining red, green, and blue LEDs produce white. Although blue LEDs based on silicon carbide were being developed by other researchers, their efficiency was very low. Nakamura’s studies led him to conclude that the blue LED should be based on gallium nitride, but forming a thin, single-crystal layer of gallium nitride was extremely difficult. (Brian Bowers.  (2008). Brilliant! Shuji Nakamura and the Revolution in Lighting Technology. Review of Technology and Culture, 49(2), 479-481.)

The newest kid on the block, LEDs are 10-20 times more efficient than incandescents, so they use substantially less electricity. LEDs are also rugged and have a lifetime of more than 100,000 hours. Because I get tired of changing light bulbs, this is a very attractive feature. LEDs are small, so they must be combined into arrays or clusters. And because LEDs are low-voltage devices, using them in home lighting requires a power supply. In an LED light bulb, this power supply is built into the base of the bulb.

LEDs deliver a different correlated color temperature (CCT) compared to the old incandescent lamps; 6500K for the new LEDs compared to 2600K for the incandescent lamps. The scotopically enhanced color from the new LEDs provides an improved perception of overall brightness.

The fiber optic lighting system uses a remote source light. The light is channeled into a fiber optic distribution system and emitted into the space by an illuminator. The illuminator uses optics designed to match the application to illuminate the product. The new fiber optic lighting system requires less overall power and energy. (Steven Parker,  Joseph Konrade,  E Carroll Shepherd III. (2009). New Lighting Technologies Demonstrated at Defense Commissaries. Energy Engineering, 106(2), 7-18.)

Energy-efficient lighting technologies have been available for five to 10 years but have yet to make significant inroads into the market. The biggest deterrent seems to be the initial cost of retrofitting. “It takes more than just replacing standard bulbs with more energy efficient ones,” explains Alden Hathaway, Sylvania’s manager of pricing and applications. “Generally, a company needs to research various options for lighting a particular area, and it may be necessary to change the entire fixture in order to put in place the best lighting solution.”

“Lighting is usually handled by facilities managers and is not considered a management item,” another industry spokesperson says. “Typically, building managers are not positioned to ask for an increase in their budgets. So, many continue to purchase conventional lighting rather then retrofit for systems that offer lower lifecycle costs through electricity savings.”

Such thinking may be increasingly penny-wise and pound-foolish. According to industry experts, organizations may see a payback in the shape of lower electric bills in as little as one year. (Peak, Martha H.  (1993). A brighter, lighter business idea. Management Review, 82(8), 8.)

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Tags: Bright, Energy, Fibre Optic, Fluorescent, Incandescent, LED, Light-Emitting Diodes, Lighting, Nakamura.

What can be done? The following are solutions suggested by the academics:

1. Income Distribution and Economics - ‘Economic progress will partly depend on the casting off of obsolescent modes of distribution-obsolescent in the sense of limiting the use of society’s accumulated knowledge and productive power to improve lives. James Peach has written that “[pjoverty occurs, not because of resource constraints or a lack of technical knowledge, but because institutional (distributional) arrangements have not been adjusted to the productive potential of the modern society” (1994, 170).’ Christopher Brown.  (2005). Is There an Institutional Theory of Distribution? Journal of Economic Issues, 39(4), 915-931.
2. New Mental Judgment and Decision Making Processes - ‘Pathways distill, organize, and present the assembled information in a way that allows people in communities to understand not only what they might do, but why they should do it, what it will take to do it well, and what contextual forces, which may either enhance or constrain the effectiveness, they are likely to encounter.’ Lisbeth B Schorr,  Patricia Auspos. (2003). USABLE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT WORKS: BUILDING A BROADER AND DEEPER KNOWLEDGE BASE. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 22(4), 669-676.
3. Going Wireless - ‘Wireless industries have a potential to improve lives, change the world for the better and create a great deal of wealth. However, many obstacles stand in the way of this result. Businesses will face challenges in the areas of creation of technology, the adoption of the same by consumers, business considerations, global and local legal issues and consumer fears and resistance to the constant change around us. These obstacles can be overcome by understanding them and addressing them systematically. Businesses must be aware of the challenges in order to effectively plan the future and responsibly take in investment capital to drive the wireless industries. If these steps are taken with an eye on lessons-learned more will be learned about the networked economy and wonderful and exciting times will await those in the wireless industries and any business that benefits from new technologies.’   Michael Leventhal.  (2002). The golden age of wireless. Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, 14(1), 1-6.
4. Education and Training - Knowledge is power. The pen is mightier than the sword and so fourth. ‘Out of a different practice and skilling (Ingold 2000) in daily life, arose a worldview that made them capable of action, of filing lawsuits against multinational corporations and of dreaming of utopias of a radically different agriculture that corresponds to the ecology of the prairies.’ Birgit Müller.  (2008). Still Feeding the World? The Political Ecology of Canadian Prairie Farmers. Anthropologica, 50(2), 389-407.
5. Women - ‘Gender ideology and gender roles discourage and inhibit women from optimizing their human capital in activities that would yield optimal returns. Meanwhile, women’s contributions at home generally are not reciprocated by men. Many women express their frustration with this situation; men are generally less inclined to see women’s roles outside of the home as proper or even feasible nor are they willing to contribute more at home to support female entrepreneurship. For policy makers, perhaps the most important lesson is not to use microcredit as a substitute for other programs that empower women. Microcredit is just one of many initiatives that can challenge unfair gender norms. Governments should complement microcredit programs by funding other initiatives to promote gender awareness and fairness.’ Dwight Haase.  (2007). Closing the Gender Gap. ESR Review, 9(2), 4-9.
6. Information Sharing - ‘There is still an urgent need for national statistical offices, academics and public and private bodies to collaborate to measure real progress. The question at hand is not just what a shared information set means and should contain, but how to change culture and policies worldwide.’ Enrico Giovannini.  (2007). Why measuring progress matters. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD Observer,(262), 22-23. ‘Technology should facilitate dissemination of knowledge and not hinder it and that scarcity of resources should never come in the way of accessing information that is likely to lead to better healthcare and a better life.’ S Bavdekar,  N Gogtay,  D Muzumdar,  P Vaideeswar,  V Salvi,  M Sarkar. (2007). Journal of Postgraduate Medicine: The path ahead. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 53(3), 153-153.
7. Participation in Democracy - ‘We associate the term democracy with orderly elections, stability of government, universal secret suffrage, the federal system and even with certain legal sanctions for the protection of private property and individual economic enterprise which are part of the Anglo-American systems. Many of us of course, realize that democracy is more than this. From Jefferson on our leaders of democratic thought have pointed out the spiritual strivings and the social aspirations which constitute its essence, particularly the aspirations for a better and freer social order. They have seen that democracy is a complex of all these strivings intimately associated with powerful dynamic elements arising from the conquest of a new continent and from the industrial and technological revolutions of the past century and a half. Inevitably these economic changes broadened the basis of political participation in the nation-state as they opened up opportunities for ampler economic and cultural life to larger masses of people affected by these historical processes. A good deal of what we recognize as democracy in the modern world is just this broadening of the basis of political structure.’ Harold E Davis.  (2007). Democracy in Latin America. World Affairs, 170(1), 45-49.

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Tags: Better, Decision Making, Democracy, Distribution, Economics, Education, Improve, Income, Judgment, Life, Mental, Training, Wireless, Women.

It was sad to learn that Pluto was no longer classed as planet. I liked the idea of a distant world. As a child in school, we were asked to draw the planets, however nobody knew the colour of Pluto, so I used all my colours to colour in the distant planet. Later, when I was told that Pluto changes colour I was pleased that my interpretation was the most accurate. I think the unknown can create a special bond.

Astronomers have debated Pluto’s planetary status for more than a decade, but the recent discovery of two new moons orbiting the distant ice world makes its identity crisis more acute. When the first moon, Charon, was discovered in 1978, only planets were known to have moons, and possession of a moon seemed to raise Pluto’s declining status. Ray Villard (2006, June). Are Pluto and Earth two of a kind? Astronomy, 34(6), 48-51.

According to one proposed definition, a planet is any large object whose own shape is rounded by gravity. By that rule, the solar system is now home to at least 50 planets, and could have far more. But other definitions would draw the line far differently. According to one proposal, a “planet” must be more massive than the total mass of all the other bodies in a similar orbit. That would disqualify Pluto, leaving an eight-planet solar system. Beth Daley, GLOBE STAFF (2004, March 30). WHAT IS A PLANET? GROUP SEARCHES FOR A DEFINITION SEDNA DISCOVERY PROMPTS A DEBATE :[THIRD Edition]. Boston Globe,p. C.1.

In 2005, [Michael Brown], the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg professor of planetary astronomy at California Institute of Technology, discovered Eris, the largest object found in the solar system in the last 150 years. Eris, which is larger than Pluto, caused astronomers to rethink the definition of what a planet is, ultimately leading to Pluto being redesignated as a dwarf planet. Astronomer to speak about Pluto demotion. (2008, December 1). News Journal,C.4

The IAU demoted Pluto in 2006 because it is unlike every planet from Mercury to Neptune in one major respect yes, it’s round, and yes, it orbits the sun. But it lacks pull; its gravity isn’t strong enough to clear the neighborhood of small objects the way that Mercury and the other planets do. So little Pluto was designated a dwarf planet So was Ceres, a similar-sized round object that circles the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The IAU changed its mind again this year because Pluto’s far-out location in our solar system makes it less like Ceres and more like Eris, another small sphere beyond Neptune that circles the sun. Ceres remains a dwarf planet, but Pluto and Eris are now plutoids. Pluto Is Now a Plutoid. (2008). Current Science, 94(3), 12-13.

No matter what they say you are, Pluto we still love you.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Tags: Astronomy, Discover, Dwarf, Planet, Pluto, Plutoid.

No sometimes it isn’t about me. Those who seek or even reach fame have achieved a power that can be used to influence others which in turn can add value to their life and others. Sorry Britney Spears but this isn’t about you either.

Elizabeth Taylor found meaning in her life after searching for many years through the bottom of a bottle of liquor. Beer goggles or perhaps in this case cocktail glasses don’t exactly make it easier to find meaning in life instead this was found in one of the most unexpected places. Dame Elizabeth Taylor found her calling in both prevention of HIV infection and care for those living with HIV/AIDS.

There is no cure for AIDS, but HIV infection is preventable. HIV can infect anyone regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or economic means. According to the CDC, 25 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States don’t know they’re infected with HIV. The only way to know whether you are infected is to get tested. Early diagnosis is the key to living well with HIV/AIDS. TRACEY JACKSON (2008, November 30). Let’s come together in a unified effort to combat deadly virus. Spartanburg Herald - Journal.

The pen is mightier than the sword and often those with a well inked pen are better remembered than those with a sharp sword.

Despite the record increase in HIV infections last year (and the 493 new reports in the first three months of 2001), Aids is widely seen as yesterday’s disease; red ribbons aren’t much of a fashion accessory these days. Accordingly, public fundraising is very difficult. As with most causes, it is hard to overestimate the continued importance of celebrity. The Terrence Higgins Trust acknowledges that even the presence of Tamara Beckwith rattling a bucket in Selfridges makes people more likely to donate. It is entirely possible that most people’s understanding of the effects of Aids comes not from information campaigns, but from the HIV storylines in soap operas and the deaths of famous people. In America, the message hit home with Rock Hudson; in the UK it was Freddie Mercury. Princess Diana also made a difference - her bedside vigils, her handshakes with Aids patients, the message that Aids was a virus not a crime. Those who raise money for Aids say that her death robbed them of an ambassador who has yet to be replaced. Elton John? Some generous and invaluable work, quite clearly, but as yet he is still not a member of the royal family. Simon Garfield (2001, June 3). Life: AIDS: THE FIRST 20 YEARS. The Observer,p. 16.

So if you want to be famous and live forever add supporting worthy causes to your list of talents. People are more likely to follow the person that speaks for those that can’t.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Tags: AIDS, Fame, Famous, HIV, Influence.