The Apotheosis of Donald Trump – Newnan Times-Herald

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How are historians going to frame this era in United States history? If the president is limited to one term this November, perhaps they will just regard it as an aberration. If the president is successful in securing another term, perhaps they will interpret it as America losing her way, and see this administration as the sine qua non of the downhill slide of a country that was once the leader of the free world.

One of the few times the president has spoken truthfully was during the 2016 campaign when he declared, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters." If the president followed through on this outrageous claim, his sycophants in todays Republican Party would be falling all over themselves to defend his actions. How did President Trump garner such support that he could make this incredibly outrageous claim, and sadly, there would be an element of truth to it?

Republican politicians are willing to sell their political souls in defending their partys president to secure political power. Senators Perdue and Loeffler, and Rep. Ferguson, all in their first terms and for the first time experiencing the gravitational pull of political power, are going to be dutiful party members and regurgitate party talking points, no matter how outrageous the claims.

What might historians looking back 50 years from now conclude? I would suspect that they might zero in on the mantra of the president and his supporters to, Make America Great Again. That declaration assumes that there was a period when America was greater than it is today, and they long for a return to it. When exactly was this period when America was much greater than it is today?

I have been to Europe three times in the past 18 months. Before each trip I remember hoping that nobody would ask me about this current presidential administration. When I went to Ireland, the birthplace of my grandparents, it happened. But it happened in such a way that the experience was very profound. A cab driver in Dublin brought it up. His voice inflection was truly anguished. He wondered how we could elect such a person. You are America. You are the great beacon of hope and democracy in the world. What has happened to your great country? He was truly concerned about us.

I did my best to explain the Electoral College to him. I explained that President Trump was actually the fifth of our presidents to lose the popular vote, but win the presidency. It satisfied him on an intellectual level, but I could tell it did not assuage his genuine sorrow at the state of affairs in our country.

So, how did we get to this point where our beloved America is so fractured that it could elect a president such as this, and continually justify his behavior, no matter how outrageous? It will be future historians that will dissect these troubling times for us and hopefully provide us with answers.

Lawrence Burns

Newnan

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The Apotheosis of Donald Trump - Newnan Times-Herald

Health conference in Orlando with Donald Trump canceled due to virus – Florida Politics

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The international health information conference in Orlando that was to feature President Donald Trump as a speaker has been canceled due to concerns over the new coronavirus.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society announced Thursday it is canceling its entire conference, set for March 9-13 in Orlando, out of an abundance of caution because of the risk of COVID-19 Coronavirus.

Trump was to speak at the conference March 9, on a trip that also includes a fundraising stop.

There has been no official word from the White House or Trumps reelection campaign about his trip.

HIMSS is an international organization supporting information management and transfer in the health care industry. Its annual conference typically draws thousands from a worldwide membership. In 2015 Hillary Clinton was a keynote speaker before she ran for president.

The 2020 conference was set for the Orange County Convention Center.

The organization announced on its website that its leadership has been meeting with an external advisory panel of medical professionals to decide what to do.

The advisory panel recognized that industry understanding of the potential reach of the virus has changed significantly in the last 24 hours, which has made it impossible to accurately assess risk, the group stated on its website.

It is now clear that cancellation is unavoidable in order to meet HIMSS obligation to protect the health and safety of the global HIMSS community, employees and local residents, as well as for the healthcare providers tasked with keeping our U.S. and global communities healthy, the group adds.

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Health conference in Orlando with Donald Trump canceled due to virus - Florida Politics

Opinion: For black people, the real ‘prize’ is not defeating Donald Trump – Courier Journal

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Ricky L. Jones, Opinion contributor Published 6:49 a.m. ET March 4, 2020

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During the commemoration of the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the ailing Prince of Troy (Alabama), John Lewis, returned to Selma and encouraged those present to keep (their)eyes on the prize.

Of course, at this historical moment, it is perfectly legitimate to ask, what exactly is the prize for black people? Is it simply voting? Is it perennially and unquestioningly joining with Democrats in their ongoing war with the Republicans for political seats? Or is something more at stake?

Undoubtedly, Democrats would argue the prize is defeating Donald Trump. While this would be a desirable outcome for many, truly conscious black people, as were their ancestors, are not singularly obsessed with defeating Donald Trump, but with destroying white supremacy in its myriad manifestations. Any candidate not sharing in this goal should be unacceptable.

To be sure, this struggle is muddied by the deceptive narratives and tired clichs mainstream media, politiciansand their supporters nauseatingly proffer. For example, a current one concerns electability. We hear endless variations of, Democrats must expand the electorate to beat Donald Trump.

Ironically, this argument actually confirms the presence and power of white supremacy in America. Translation: Democrats need to convince as many black and brown people as possible, along with a minority of whites, to support them in stopping the majority of whites from reelecting Donald Trump.

For subscribers: When it comes to guns, McGrath walks tightrope as McConnell works to fend off advocates

Scott Jennings: Democrats like Biden and Bloomberg are lying about Trump and the coronavirus

Remember, about 52% of white women and 63% of white men voted for Trump in 2016. In 2020, they are saying, No matter how malfeasant, mendacious, viciousand racist Donald Trump has proven himself to be, the majority of white Americans still prefer him.

All the obstacles to dismantling white supremacy do not lie outside the race. As Carter G. Woodson warned, a good percentage of the black masses remain miseducated, misled and easily politically exploited. For the most part, the petit black bourgeoisie is not interested in helping, either.

Robert Allen accurately observed inBlack Awakening in Capitalist America, that what many in the black privileged class seek is not an end to oppression, but the transfer of the oppressive apparatus into their own hands in order to advance their own interests.

Suffering people need political revolutions real structural change. But, in the midst of political sleight of hand from both parties, black choices become obfuscated and limited. For instance, while simultaneously begging black voters in South Carolina to save him, gaffe-prone Joe Biden commented, Americans dont want a revolution, they want progress.

It was reminiscent of the accommodationist Booker T. Washingtons 1895 claim to an all-white, segregationist audience in Atlanta, In all things that are purely social, we (blacks and whites) can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.

Like Washington, who had a nasty tendency to personally advance at the expense of his people, Bidens idea of progress isnt very clear.

Biden isnt alone in his confusing moderation. Inarguably, on the Democratic side, only two candidates are transformative Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Though she is a superior political athlete, Warren has failed to gain traction for whatever reason. This leaves Sanders as the only remaining viable political revolutionary, and the moderates (Translation: politicians who, for all intents and purposes, are supportive of the structural status quo) launched an all-out assault against him prior to Super Tuesday.

More opinion: We need a calming voice on the coronavirus, not Trump's political rants

Racially challenged moderates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar both dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden. Klobuchar did so after she was forced to cancel a rally in her home state of Minnesota because black voters vociferously protested her.

Klobuchar wasnt the only target of black resistance. On the same weekend John Lewis returned to Selma, former Republican and black antagonist Mike Bloomberg was there as well lobbying for votes at historic Brown Chapel AME Church. It did not go well. A small group of black parishioners silently rose and turned their backs on him.

Be clear! This should not be read as an endorsement of Republicans. It is not! Most black people know the GOP is cold-heartedly hostile towardthem. That said, we need to ask hard questions of the Democrats. Because candidates need the votes of the partys most loyal constituency, theres a lot of talk about black people right now, but how much of it addresses systemic suffering rooted in race? How long will their attention last? Seriously, how much do they talk to, or about, black people BETWEEN elections?

Also understand this is not a call for black people not to vote. It is, however, a plea to demand a political environment in which choices are not limited to witchy Republicans or devilish Democrats neither of which will seriously challenge a status quo rooted in white supremacy.

Indeed, referencing Americas demonization of Bernie Sanders, Princeton professor Eddie Glaude lamented, I wish some people were as unsettled by white nationalists as they are by democratic socialists. But alas, they arent even though most cant define democratic socialism.

Ricky L. Jones is chair of Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville. His column appears bi-weekly in The Courier Journal. Follow him on Twitter @DrRickyLJones.

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Opinion: For black people, the real 'prize' is not defeating Donald Trump - Courier Journal

Donald Trumps Anti-Globalist Response to a Global Coronavirus – The New Yorker

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Donald Trump may be the most erratic and intemperate man ever to occupy the Presidency, but, when it comes to protecting the public health of Americans, his actions have been unfailingly consistent. Since the day he took office, Trump has worked tirelessly to limit funding, dismantle teams of experts, and interrupt nearly any strategic-planning initiative necessary to defend the country against the type of inevitable biological assault that we now face.

Viruses are infinitely more abundant than humans; they have no interest in politics or geography, nor do they have any respect for Trumps assertions of American exceptionalism or his desire to build walls. Sharply limiting our ability to inhibit the spread of organisms that first appeared on earth at least a billion years ago, and that, collectively, have always presented the most persistent threat to humanity, can most generously be described as an act of radical myopia. (Most estimates suggest that smallpox, the only human virus that we have eradicated, killed up to half a billion people in the twentieth century alone.)

The President knows so little about infectious disease that, on Wednesday, during a news conference in which he named Vice-President Mike Pence as his coronavirus czar, Trump acknowledged that he was shocked to learn that influenza kills between roughly thirty to seventy thousand people a year in the United States. Trump said that in public, while standing next to Anthony S. Fauci, who, for decades, as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been the governments most prominent and reliable authority on subjects ranging from AIDS to SARS, Ebola, and influenza. Fauci is a discreet man, but the look on his face could not hide his shock at hearing the President, a self-described germaphobe, brag that he knows nothing about the diseases that constantly threaten the people he was elected to lead. (Always a calm but honest spokesman, Fauci was booked to appear this Sunday on all the major television news shows. On Friday, Pences office told him to withdraw from each of them. In response to a question at a press conference on Saturday, Fauci said that he had resubmitted for clearance, and could now go on the shows.)

Neither warnings about future biological threats or evidence of those that we have already faced, such as SARS, MERS, and influenza, have limited the Trump Administrations compulsion to end health programs designed to protect the public. Less than a month ago, and weeks after COVID-19 had been recognized as a virus with pandemic potential, the Administration proposed a budget that called for the Department of Health and Human Services to cut twenty-five million dollars from the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, and also eighteen million dollars from the Hospital Preparedness Program.

Most notably, the Administration is also attempting to cut more than eighty-five million dollars in funding for the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. Zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19, SARS, and MERS are caused by viruses that jump from animals to humans. Novel viruses are particularly threatening because we have no antibodies to defend against them. This week, I asked three senior public-health officials about the cuts to these programs. None would speak on the record, for fear of retribution, but each readily agreed that the programs are both essential and already severely underfunded. Even on those occasions when the White House has earmarked small amounts of money for global health security, it has taken those funds from other essential programs. (In 2019, for example, the Administration cut fifty-eight million dollars from the basic U.S. AIDS funding mechanism, the Ryan White program, to add funds for the opioid epidemic.)

Fighting epidemics is not a zero-sum game; you cannot ignore one to defend against another. Such a response is dangerous but, from this Administration, not unusual. In 2018, as Laurie Garrett points out in an informative essay in the current issue of Foreign Policy, the Trump Administration fired the governments entire pandemic-response chain of command, including the White House management staff. In fact, one of John Boltons first acts, upon becoming the national-security adviser, wasto dismissthe National Security Councils global health team, led by Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer, a widely respected public-health expert. A new outbreak of Ebola was declared in Congo on May 8, 2018, his last day in office. He has not been replaced.

That same year, the Trump Administration began to tear down a foreign-disease-surveillance program that the Obama Administration had established in response to outbreaks of Ebola in Africa. That program serves as an early-warning system for detecting global pandemic threats, and it helped limit the extent of the 2017 Ebola outbreak in Congo, which, along with China, was one of the countries that the Trump Administration decided its no longer necessary to monitor. As with many public-health programs, preparedness requires policymakers to focus on the future. Naturally, such investments do not generate immediate returns or obvious results. But neither do missile-defense systems. Nonethelessand this does not apply solely to the current Administrationwe are continually caught between our theoretical need to protect against future risks and our very real indifference to things that do not seem to threaten us now.

The Trump Administrations response has been both remarkable and unsurprising. Vice-President Pence, the man now in charge, has a well-documented history of scientific denialism. The public-health action that he is best known for occurred in 2015, when he was the governor of Indiana. Facing the worst H.I.V. outbreak in that states history, which was being spread by intravenous-drug users, Pence rejected federal health officials advice to introduce a clean-needle exchange program. It wasnt until more than two months later, during which time the epidemic became more serious, that he finally authorized a program.

On Friday, in a particularly callous act of political indifference to the epidemic in our midst, the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, characterized the medias reporting on the coronavirus as an attempt to bring down the President. At some point, a member of the Trump Administration will have to acknowledge that scientific factssuch as the number of people infected, sick, or dyingare not the creation of a media cabal. Until then, and as long as Trump and his team continue to lie about our ability to contain a virus that we do not yet even fully understand, the number of people who fall ill and die can only grow.

This piece has been updated to include Faucis comment at a press conference on Saturday.

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Donald Trumps Anti-Globalist Response to a Global Coronavirus - The New Yorker

The Donald Trump of the NBA Wages War on Spike Lee, His Team’s Biggest Fan – The Daily Beast

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Dolan J. Trump is a parody Twitter accounta mashup of the New York Knicks petty, spiteful, and incompetent owner James Dolan, and the 45th President of the United States. For those who enjoy that sort of thing, it does a wonderful job of aping Trumps thunderous, all-caps social media missives, save for the fact that his spittle-flecked rage is aimed at New York basketball beat reporters and not The New York Times. Funny stuff, to be sure.

The humor really hits home on a day like Tuesday, when the team chucked gasoline on a simmering feud with Spike Lee, the Oscar-winning director and possibly the worlds most famous Knicks fan. By the time the dust kicked up by all the accusations and counter-accusations had settled, the director had sworn never to set foot in Madison Square Garden again. (Next season, maybe.) Not after the Knicks had publicly called Lee, a truly devoted Knicks die-hard, a shameless liar trying to gin up drama.

The most exhaustingor endlessly amusing, for non-Knicks fansaspect to this cringeworthy diaper-filling contest? None of it was remotely necessary. In another, slightly less stupid universe, the Knicks had the opportunity to score a much-needed and exceedingly rare public relations win, even, instead of yet another in a series of self-inflicted wounds.

All they had to do was offer a few gracious words, even if Lees outrage was unwarranted and histrionic. But no. No team in all of sports more closely resembles the personality of their owner than the Knicks: paranoid, endlessly resentful, and either unable or unwilling to let any perceived slight slide. Dolan J. Trump account notwithstanding, comparing anyone to Trump is lazy and inevitably fails. (Despite ordering The Rockettes to perform at the inauguration, another reason the comparison doesnt work is that Dolan lacks an army of MAGA chuds whove got his backevery Knicks fan with an operating cerebral cortex realizes hes a delusional twit.) But the gag works because of days like Tuesday, when the Knicks behaved in as Trumpian a manner as anyone not working in the Oval Office.

The idiocy kicked off Monday evening, when a video of Lee shouting at Madison Square Garden personnel began circulating online. Evidently, for years, the 62-year-old filmmaker and season ticket-holder has avoided the inconveniences of entering the arena with the rest of the hoi polloi. Instead, Lee has been allowed to mingle with employees and the credentialed press in a separate entrance. Security personnel told Lee that this privilege would no longer be afforded, and he had to exit and then re-enter MSG. Lee got mad, claiming no one had informed him of the change in policy. No one told me. No one told me, Lee said in the video. If you want to arrest me like Charles Oakley, go the fuck ahead.

Eventually, Lee made his way to his usual courtside seat, and that appeared to be that. Reader, it was not.

According to Lee, while heading home he saw a statement the Knicks PR team put out claiming the issue regarding the entrance had been amicably resolved. Lee grew upset once again, and so on Tuesday morning he unpacked all of his feelings on ESPNs First Take:

At halftime of Monday nights Knicks-Houston Rockets game, Dolan himself approached Lee, presumably to make amends. During their brief confab last night, Lee claims Dolan told him now you know about the change in entrance rules. Therefore, Dolan was harassing him, Lee said. How is it the wrong entrance if Ive been using the same entrance for 28 years! Its Garden spin!

Oh and Lee also confessed that he pays $299,000 for two courtside season tickets, during which time hes suffered through more shitty basketball than any normal human being should be expected to tolerate. Looking back, Lee said it makes him look like a mamaluke, Italian slang for a stupid, foolish person.

All of his remaining tickets have been given away, though he may return next season. Lets pause here for a moment. Imagine you are running the PR shop for a business concern valued at $4.6 billion. How to respond, here? One option might have been to apologize to the superfan and say hes welcome back whenever he so desires. Maybe you think thats a crock of horseshit, and Lee is pitching a hissy fit over what appears by all accounts to be a minor inconvenience? Why not extend an olive branch, and reverse the perception that the team is incredibly thin-skinned? Reader, they did not.

Why not extend an olive branch, and reverse the perception that the team is incredibly thin-skinned? Reader, they did not.

The idea that Spike Lee is a victim because we have repeatedly asked him to not use our employee entrance and instead use a dedicated VIP entrancewhich is used by every other celebrity who enters The Gardenis laughable, the Knicks said in a statement posted to Twitter shortly after Lees ESPN segment aired. Its disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama.

Just to hammer the point home: the Knicks seized on a single claim made by Lee on First Take. Namely, that he and Dolan never shook hands. As evidence, they posted a Zapruder-level photo presumably culled from security footage showing Lee and Dolan mid-handshake:

Naturally, by Tuesday afternoon Lee fired back at the Knicks. Whats laughable is how the Knicks are the laughing stock of the league in sports, said Lee. Thats whats fucking laughable. While he confessed to being wrong about that handshake, Lee is sure its all a vast conspiracy:

Lee is clearly milking this for all its worth, and hell, the Knicks may even be in the right regarding the employee entrance. It doesnt matter.

What does matter is they have once again reinforced the perception that any beef will inevitably be escalated and vengeance exacted and that the team is incompetent. Theres a very good reason this perception exists. They sicced security on a fan yelling fire Dolan in November and again in January. Yet another fan was escorted from the arena in May 2019, and Dolan alleged the fan had cleverly set out to ambush him. After Charles Oakley was dragged from the arena in handcuffs, Dolan called him a drunk. (A lawsuit filed by Oakley was recently dismissed.) Fans whove heckled Dolan either via mail or on the street also have substance-abuse issues, per Dolan. And thats just paying customers. When former NBA player Richard Jefferson lobbed a joke about the Knicks, the PR department swung into action, issuing a forceful, strongly worded denial.

But most of Dolans bile has been saved for the local and national press, all of whom have been treated like his sworn enemy going back decades. Of late, hes tried to exact a pound of flesh from New York Daily News reporters and WFAN radio hosts for (rightly) saying and writing true things about his cartoonish, failure-strewn tenure as owner. When the tabloid reported on Dolans involvement with an astroturfed lobbying group, the Knicks official PR Twitter account posted headshots of two obscure Tronc executives, for some bizarre reason.

Professional athletes, including high-priced free agents who might want to ply their trade in New York, pay attention to this sort of thing.

Take Al Harrington, who toiled for the Knicks from 2008 to 2010, and grew up in Orange, New Jersey. Like Lee, he rooted for the team as a kid. Playing at MSG represented a dream come true, he said. Getting embroiled in a flame war with Lee, was, Stupid so stupid. Prior to his stint at MSG, he was confused as to why the team couldnt attract any free agents of note. From his own front-row seat, Harrington came to realize this shit cant get right, said Harrington. The organization, for some reason, just has a funk around it.

Monday marked the first day that ex-CAA agent Leon Rose had been named president of basketball operations. Job one is dispelling the perception held by Harrington, and convincing the rest of the basketball world that hes the one in charge. Tuesdays PR gaffes rendered all that null and void within 24 hours. Whats even more exasperating for Knicks fans (like me) is that if theyd taken the high road, if they engaged in some light bowing and scraping, think of the headlines that would have generated! The press would have marveled at Roses ability to temper Dolans worst instincts, and proclaimed that he clearly had been empowered to fix the Gardens stifling, toxic culture. Those insisting that a culture of fear pervades MSG, as Sports Illustrateds Jonathan Macri tweeted, with employees at all levels of the company terrified of pissing off the boss, might have been forced to reconsider. Not now. Not when Rose has yet to open his mouth about any of this, and Dolan is, by all available evidence, directing their PR efforts.

And anyone still wondering why the worst NBA franchise of the 21st century cant reverse course, this is exhibit A. (Sell, the team, Jim.) Honestly, its exhausting, feeling as if nothing will change, that awful men will continue to spout bile and wreck formerly functional, even beautiful things. Yet the conniption fits and the mindless incompetence will have no impact on the constant stream of profit, and the idea theyd ever face any repercussions is bound to provoke more peals of laughter than anything Dolan J. Trump might post.

Why anyone (like Lee and I) would continue to fork over dollars and emotional currency remains a mystery. Or maybe Lee had it dead right: Were all mamalukes.

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The Donald Trump of the NBA Wages War on Spike Lee, His Team's Biggest Fan - The Daily Beast

Donald Trumps war on coronavirus is just his latest war on truth – The Guardian

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The coronavirus crisis is a war against a disease, but its also the most serious battle yet in the war on truth. That much was clear from the start, as China moved to hush up the first outbreak and gag the doctor who had spotted it. It was a classic case of what we might call Chernobyl syndrome: the tendency of authoritarian systems to react to disaster by rushing to downplay or cover up the problem, focusing more on shifting blame than tackling the threat head on. Viewers of last years TV dramatisation of the Chernobyl nuclear accident could recognise the pattern immediately, as the priority of those in charge becomes avoiding embarrassment rather than saving lives.

There was some of that in the Iranian reaction to the virus, as the countrys deputy health minister coughed and sweated his way through a press conference called to reassure citizens, only later for it to be confirmed that he had himself been infected. (There were already suspicions, since Tehrans official numbers didnt add up.) And there was a grim logic to the fact that at the heart of the outbreak in South Korea is a religious sect similarly devoid of transparency.

Usually, the democratic world can contrast itself flatteringly with such closed, controlled societies, proud that its approach to calamity is openness and the free flow of information. Indeed, crises like this one can serve as test cases for the competing merits of free systems v authoritarian ones. True, democracies cannot match Beijings ability to lock down whole cities and build an entire hospital in a week. But when it comes to a global pandemic, its free speech, full disclosure and cross-border scientific cooperation that ultimately save lives.

The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the Wuhan coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.

The UN agencyadvisespeople to:

Despite a surge in sales of face masks in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, experts are divided over whether they can prevent transmission and infection. There is some evidence to suggest that masks can help prevent hand-to-mouth transmissions, given the large number of times people touch their faces. The consensus appears to be that wearing a mask can limit but not eliminate the risks, provided it is used correctly.

Justin McCurry

Except this time, the familiar authoritarian v democratic contrast has become muddled. Thats because the current leader of the worlds most powerful democracy, the US, has the same instincts as the authoritarian rulers he so admires, and those instincts have coloured his response to coronavirus. The result is that what for many must have seemed an abstract concern Donald Trumps assault on facts, experts and science is now a matter of life and death.

So while US medical officials have been at pains to brace Americans for the inevitability of coronavirus a matter of when, not if Trump and his outriders have worked hard to minimise the threat. On Thursday, Trump repeatedly referred to the figure of 15 cases in the US, when the actual figure was 60, and promised that that number would go down rather than up: Its going to disappear. One day its like a miracle, it will disappear.

Trumps chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, breezily assured the US public that the bug had been contained and that the country was sealed pretty close to airtight against the disease, when of course it is not. One of the administrations most influential propagandists for whom Trump paused his state of the union address this month so that his wife, Melania, might garland him with Americas highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom the talk radio host Rush Limbaugh has been telling his vast audience that the coronavirus is the common cold, folks, and that it had been overhyped and weaponised to bring down Donald Trump.

Trump has nodded in a similarly conspiracist direction, tweeting that the media are doing all they can to make the Caronavirus [sic] look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. That reference to the markets is key. Trump believes his chances of re-election in November hinge on his stewardship of the economy, betting that voters will back him if their pensions linked to the stock market are up. That the Dow Jones suffered the biggest one-day drop in its history on Thursday has him rattled.

And so his first instinct is that of the Manhattan hustler-hotelier loudly assuring guests that the strong smell of burning coming from the ground floor is merely the chef trying out a new barbecue rather than a sign that the building is on fire. Crucial to that effort is talking loudly over the fire marshals, or even gagging them altogether.

You could see that when Trump spoke in the White House briefing room, brazenly contradicting the experts by his side. But its now become formal policy, with Trumps insistence that all federal officials including those with deep scientific expertise are to say nothing that has not first been authorised by the White House.

Note the fate of Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. On Thursday he dared say that we are dealing with a serious virus with a higher mortality rate than regular flu. That was deemed insufficiently upbeat for the great leader. According to the New York Times, Dr Fauci has told associates that the White House had instructed him not to say anything else without clearance.

The new mantra, it seems, is to be one of Trumps favourite phrases: repeated again on Thursday: Nobody really knows. That could be the motto of post-truthists such as Trump, conveying the hope that voters will become confused, concluding that no truth is ever even possible, and that in the fog of information and rumour its best simply to trust the man in charge. Thats what Trump wants every American to believe, about coronavirus and everything else for that matter: nobody really knows.

Now Trump has put his slavishly deferential vice-president, Mike Pence, in charge of the coronavirus effort. Put aside Pences appalling record as governor of Indiana, when his response to an HIV outbreak was to veto a medically recommended needle exchange programme and to offer his prayers instead.

Focus instead on the fact that Pence has been appointed over the head of the health secretary, Alex Azar, whom Trump deemed too alarmist. In that same spirit, Trump has gutted the very agencies that the US will now desperately rely on. In 2018, he slashed health spending by $15bn, binning the Obama-era programmes and teams established for the express purpose of leading the US response to a pandemic. Among those cut: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now in the frontline against coronavirus which was forced to reduce by 80% its efforts to prevent global disease outbreak. The consequences are clear enough: only eight of the USs 100 public-health labs are now even able to test for Covid-19.

This onslaught against the health agencies is of a piece with Trumps entire approach to data, science and truth. You might remember Sharpiegate, when the president all but got out a black marker pen and amended a map issued by the key US meteorological agency so that it appeared to support his tweeted, and false, claim that Alabama was about to get hit by a hurricane. Trump has installed cronies and business pals at the helm of a raft of agencies previously respected as providers of neutral, factual data, the better to ensure those bodies say only what he wants them to say. He has moved to shrink their budgets whether at the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps or the Census Bureau and allowed experts with deep knowledge to retire and not be replaced.

We cant say we werent warned. On Trumps first full day in office, he telephoned the head of the National Park Service, angered by photographs showing that crowds that had gathered for his inauguration the previous day were smaller than those for Barack Obama. The head of the NPS duly passed on the instruction from the president, and new, more flattering images appeared.

We laughed about it at the time because it was so petty, so vain and so trivial. But the mindset was clear. The US president is a man who does not want the facts or the truth. He wants only what makes him look good. That impulse might not have mattered much in January 2017. But it matters gravely now.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

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Donald Trumps war on coronavirus is just his latest war on truth - The Guardian

Guest Opinion: Some of the things Donald Trump is getting done – Burlington County Times

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A recent letter to the editor decried alleged anti-Trump rants by various Burlington County Times readers. The letter writer contends that, three years into the Trump administration, the economy is doing well and things are getting done.

He also contends that these rants dont add anything to the conversation. Assuming this is all true, lets have a conversation that may, hopefully, add to our understanding of what is actually going on.

For starters, while the economy is doing well for the top 1% and those who have 401(k)s, it has essentially left 40% of the population behind economically. Add to this Donald Trumps proposed budget to make substantial cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and you can easily see how the disparity in income will only worsen.

Second, the letter writer is absolutely right: Trump is getting things done. And at the top of his agenda is destroying our democracy and creating a dictatorship. Some of the things he has and is currently doing to achieve this are:

Denigrating our Constitution, referring to it as phony;

Attacking the press as the enemy of the people;

Demanding loyalty to him personally rather than to country;

Characterizing his political opponents as criminals and threatening retaliation;

Encouraging and endorsing violence, tacitly or overtly;

Speculating that he would like to look into libel laws, thus weakening freedom of speech;

Tweeting denigrating comments about anyone who criticizes him;

Alienating our allies and cozying up to and expressing admiration for dictators;

Appointing an attorney general who serves him rather than the American people;

Disparaging our intelligence agencies while allying himself with our enemies, namely Vladimir Putin;

Making a mockery of our system of government; for example, by appointing incompetent and inexperienced advisers.

If any of this seems far-fetched, I refer you to two books: Fascism: A Warning, by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.

The daily assaults on our democracy continue, not the least of which are Trumps serial lying and insulting tweets. Our democracy is being destroyed by a thousand cuts. And if and when it finally dies, it will not be because of some coup or uprising. It will be because we have become complacent and refused to heed the warning signs.

Oh, yes, those who are personally benefiting from an alleged solid economy will dismiss this as hyperbole and insist we just need to move on. I advocate a different approach: Wake up, get your head out of the sand, and educate yourself.

Antoinette Auger is a resident of Burlington City.

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Guest Opinion: Some of the things Donald Trump is getting done - Burlington County Times

APAC Automation & Control Systems Market in the Upstream Oil & Gas Industry, Forecast to 2023 – Positive Market Sentiments Point to Slow…

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The "APAC Automation and Control Systems Market in the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry, Forecast to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This research service discusses revenues generated by various automation and control system (ACS) companies in Asia-Pacific that supply to organizations involved in upstream oil and gas activities. The companies included in this study are all major ACS vendors or service providers.

Research Scope

The objective of this study is to identify the major end users, distribution channel for each product segment, and the major suppliers of ACS in APAC. The study also discusses the revenue contribution of major vendors in the market. Historical data from 2015 to 2017 are examined and included. Considering the prevailing political, legal, and economic situation and other trends, the study also forecasts revenue and growth rates till 2023 and discusses major factors affecting the industry. Drivers, restraints, and initiatives and support from public and private organizations are also provided.

It is seen that national oil companies across APAC are facing problems due to their maturing assets and growing domestic energy demand, which points toward more collaboration/need for partners with technical and financial capabilities to help maximize recovery. It is also seen that by 2020, companies across Australia will be investing in building sizeable utility storage, solar, other renewable sources. As many environmental agencies and governments are focusing on replacing conventional sources with green energy, there is a lack of transparency or clarity at different levels, especially in Southeast Asia. While benefits of using cleaner sources are well understood, it is not clear if energy generated from such sources will meet the requirements over the long term. Revenue split among major vendors has been discussed for the total market while analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the market.

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Product Scope

The product segment includes the following categories:

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)

Distributed Control System (DCS)

Human Machine Interface (HMI)

Safety Systems (SS)

Key Issues Addressed

What is the total revenue generated in the ACS market from upstream O&G industry, and what factors will impede/help the adoption of automation systems?

Who are the major market participants, and what is the competitive scenario currently?

What are the prevailing trends in the ACS market, and how will these shape up in the years to come?

What factors do end users look at while choosing a supplier and why?

What opportunities are likely to come up in the future that will be of interest to the automation suppliers?

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

2. Market Overview

Overview of APAC

Research Scope

Market Segmentation

Product Definitions

Key Questions this Study will Answer

Percent Revenue Breakdown by Automation Component

Percent Revenue Breakdown by Product

Market Distribution Channels

3. Automation Trends in O&G Industry

Key Trends in O&G Industry

Opportunity Areas for ACS Suppliers

Profiles of Select Channel Partners (EPCs and SIs) Across APAC

Supply Chain Stakeholders

4. Drivers and Restraints - Total ACS Market

Market Drivers

Drivers Explained

Market Restraints

Restraints Explained

5. Forecasts and Trends - Total Market

Market Engineering Measurements

Forecast Assumptions

Revenue Forecast

Revenue Forecast Discussion

Revenue Forecast by Product

Revenue Forecast Discussion by Product

PESTLE Analysis

6. Market Share and Competitive Analysis - Total Market

Market Share

Competitive Environment

Automation Vendors' Presence Across Products

Best Practices from the Market Leader

Key Success Factors for Market Leader - Yokogawa

Key Success Factors for Yokogawa

7. CEO's 360 Degree Perspective on the Total Market

8. Growth Opportunities and Companies to Action

TIES Project - Major Growth Opportunities

Growth Opportunity 1 - Monitoring and Managing Legacy Systems

Growth Opportunity 2 - Integrated Unit Instead of Silos

Growth Opportunity 3 - Digital Stocks

Strategic Imperatives for Success and Growth

9. PLC Segment Analysis

10. DCS Segment Analysis

11. SCADA Segment Analysis

12. HMI Segment Analysis

13. SS Segment Analysis

14. The Last Word

15. Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hxv81e

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200305005619/en/

Contacts

ResearchAndMarkets.comLaura Wood, Senior Press Managerpress@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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APAC Automation & Control Systems Market in the Upstream Oil & Gas Industry, Forecast to 2023 - Positive Market Sentiments Point to Slow...

Microsoft Goes All-In On RPA (Robotic Process Automation) – Forbes

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UKRAINE - 2020/02/25: In this photo illustration the Microsoft logo is seen displayed on a ... [+] smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which involves automating repetitive and tedious processes within organizations, is dominated by three pure-play software vendors:UiPath, Blue Prism and Automation Anywhere.These companies are some of the fastest growing in the tech industry and have raised substantial amounts of venture capital.

But the mega software companies want to get a piece of the RPA opportunity.And the one that is perhaps best positioned is Microsoft.

This should be no surprise.The company has a massive roster of corporate customers, a strong global infrastructure and a vast ecosystem of partners and developers.It also helps that Microsoft has been aggressively bolstering its cloud business, which is now second only to Amazon.

The key to the strategy for RPA has been to leverage the Power Automate platform, which helps automate legacy systems.Just some of the features include:the understanding of structured and unstructured data (say for invoices) and the integrations with more than 300 modern apps and services.There are also numerous AI capabilities.

Ok then, so what about RPA? Well, it was added last year. Its called UI Flows, which has both attended and unattended automation.The application also is fairly easy to use as it allows for the recording of workflows (keystrokes, mouse movements, data entry, etc) and provides for low-code and no-code approaches.For example, Schlumberger has used the technology to drive efficiency with 13,000 botsand a majority of them were built outside of IT.

Everybody can be a developer, said Charles Lamanna, who is the CVP of the Citizen Developer Platform at Microsoft.It takes less than 30 seconds to sign up.You can then create a bot in a few minutes.

However, might the accessibility of this technology lead to security issues?For instance, could an employee do something like put payroll information in Dropbox storage?

Microsoft is certainly mindful of the risks and has created a system to enforce compliance.This is possible since the platform is cloud native.You have complete visibility with every bot, said Lamanna.

So how big is UI Flows in the RPA market?Well, its not clear.But in a blog post, Microsoft noted:Power Automate already helps hundreds of thousands of organizations automate millions of processes every day.

For example, Ingram Micro uses Power Automate across its organization to help with onboarding, account creation, management of credit lines, and other critical workflows.About 75% of the projects took less than 30 days to develop.

Yet I suspect we will see accelerated growth of UI Flowsand soon.A big part of this will certainly be the core technology.But I think the business model is also likely to be disruptive to the RPA industry.

Consider that its typical for a software vendor to charge on a per-bot basis, which could come to over $1,000 per month.This does not include the fees for orchestration and other modules.

But Microsoft is breaking this model, which involves two tiers. First, there is a $40-per-user monthly fee for running attended or unattended bots.Next, you can elect to pay $150-per-month for each unattended bot.

In other words, this low-cost strategy should greatly expand adoption.It will also likely have a major impact across the RPA landscape.Cost has certainly been a major point of concern for customers, especially those that are looking to scale the automation.

There are three trends on the horizon for RPA, said Lamanna.First, cloud is inevitable and cloud hosting will be the only environment that matters end-to-end. Second, if RPA wants to become mainstream, it has to be democratized. The reality is Windows didnt become a big deal until it was on everybodys desk. For RPA to be transformative, it has to be on everybodys desk. And the need for RPA is real. Over 60% of all positions for information workers spend over 30% of their time doing rote, automatable tasks. The economic benefit for companies, and even more importantly the fulfillment at work for employees, is very, very large. We just have to make it possible and affordable. And third, automation is going to stretch beyond UI automation. True automation has elements like chatbots and forms that collect information and these will all start to mix together with digital process automation and robotic process automation. Customers want to solve an automation problem with one integrated solution.

Tom (@ttaulli) is the author of the book,Artificial Intelligence Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction, as well as the upcoming book, The Robotic Process Automation Handbook: A Guide to Implementing RPA Systems.

Originally posted here:

Microsoft Goes All-In On RPA (Robotic Process Automation) - Forbes

Aging and automation shaping workforce, labor secretary tells Worcester business group – Worcester Telegram

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WORCESTER - State Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rosalin Acosta visited the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce on Thursday touting upbeat economic numbers - including just a 2.8% unemployment rate in Worcester and the state - and a technical training initiative modeled in part on Worcester Technical High School.

But she also warned of the two As - aging and automation - that will define the future of work.

Seventy percent of current jobs in food service and retail will no longer exist in 2030, Acosta said, citing a recent report, as an example of the changes to come in the economy. We have to get ready for this displacement.

Acosta was the keynote speaker at the Chambers Breakfast Club meeting held at the College of the Holy Cross on Thursday.

Preliminary numbers (to be revised later this month) indicate that last year more than 45,500 jobs were added in Massachusetts, with the education and health services sectors accounting for more than 50% of those jobs.

Moreover, the unemployment rate in Worcester has decreased from 7% to 2.8% during the Baker Administration.

But while the economy as a whole is doing really well, we also know that were seeing a very tight labor market, Acosta said.

In the last quarter there were more than 200,000 job openings in Massachusetts, but only around 110,000 people looking for work, Acosta said.

For all of the employers who say they cant find people, thats one of the reasons they cant find people, Acosta said.

But the administration is aware of the problem.

Acosta cited two initiatives the administration is pushing to help employers find people.

The first focuses on the technical trades, with the Career Technical Initiative - a program that hopes to train 20,000 people in the next four years in trades and technical jobs.

The goal is to expand technical high schools into three-shift institutes. Enrolled students will be at the school from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; then, from 2 to 5 p.m. the school and its resources will be open to other high school students in the area; and from 5 to 9 p.m. the school will be available for adult education.

It is a model that Worcester Tech already uses, and Gov. Charlie Baker visited the school two weeks ago to launch the program. The initiative leverages the $78 million that the Baker administration has invested in technical and vocational schools through Workforce Skills Grants, and Acosta compared the schedule to that of a high-tech factory.

If you are buying capital for your factory, you wouldnt close your factory at 2 oclock; you would keep it going, Acosta said. Thats the idea here, making sure that were using those technical schools to the maximum.

A second initiative is an apprentice program focusing on technology - particularly web developers, software developers and cybersecurity experts - and health care workers.

The program consists of five months of classroom training followed by a yearlong apprenticeship with partners such as Wayfair, Harvard University, Liberty Mutual, and Eversource.

When you say to me, I have no people, I want to supply those folks, Acosta said.

And all of these training opportunities will be important, as the future of work looks turbulent with the two As - an aging and retiring workforce and automation of many jobs.

To help navigate this uncertainty, Acosta encouraged employers to tailor job descriptions to emphasize skills - rather than degrees - required. In addition to attracting a wider applicant pool, this could also attract more diverse candidates, Acosta said.

And as to how the state will handle this economic uncertainty, Acosta expressed measured optimism.

Im optimistic but realistic, Acosta said.

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Aging and automation shaping workforce, labor secretary tells Worcester business group - Worcester Telegram

Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India 2020-2024 | Evolving Opportunities with ABB Ltd. and Eaton Corp. Plc | Technavio – Yahoo…

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The industrial automation and instrumentation market in India is poised to grow by USD 2.58 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 10% during the forecast period. Request free sample pages

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200303005718/en/

Technavio has announced its latest india research report titled Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India Analysis Report by Product (Industrial automation and Industrial instrumentation), and End-users (Process industry and Discrete industry), and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024".

https://www.technavio.com/report/industrial-automation-and-instrumentation-market-in-india-industry-analysis

The market is driven by the simplification of manufacturing through automation. In addition, the shift toward lean manufacturing is anticipated to boost the growth of the industrial automation and instrumentation market.

Manufacturing firms in India are increasingly adopting automation to overcome various complexities and simplify the manufacturing processes in a bid to improve productivity. The integration of technologies such as robotics, AI, and machine learning is helping manufacturing firms reduce labor costs, eliminate human errors, and automate the entire process with improved lead times. Also, the incorporation of sensors, analyzers, and transmitters provides valuable insights and ensures controlled production operations. With increasing competition in the Indian market, the adoption of automation systems is expected to gain momentum during the forecast period. This will fuel the growth of the industrial automation and instrumentation market in the country.

Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free.

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Major Five Companies in Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India:

ABB Ltd.

ABB Ltd. operates its business through segments such as Electrification products, Robotics and discrete automation, Industrial automation, and Motion. The company offers a wide range of industrial automation process products such as PLC automation, control systems, motors and generators, and measurement products.

Eaton Corp. Plc

Eaton Corp. Plc operates its business through segments such as Electrical products and electrical systems and services, Hydraulics, Aerospace, Vehicle, and eMobility. The company offers a range of contactors and starters, sensor and limit switches, pump panels, soft starters, and control relay and timers.

Emerson Electric Co.

Emerson Electric Co. operates its business through segments such as Automation solutions, Climate technologies, and Tools & home products. The company offers a wide range of industrial automation products. Some of its key offerings include control valves, pressure transmitters, remote automation and SCADA solutions, and liquid and gas analyzers.

General Electric

General Electric operates its business through segments such as Power, Aviation, Lighting, Renewable energy, Healthcare, Oil and gas, and Transportation. The company offers automation and protection equipment and software solutions.

Story continues

Honeywell International Inc.

Honeywell International Inc. operates its business through segments such as Aerospace, Honeywell building technologies, Performance materials and technologies, and Safety and productivity solutions. The company offers standalone instruments, smart sensors, and integrated systems.

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Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024)

Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India End-user Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024)

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Related Reports on Industrials Include:

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About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200303005718/en/

Contacts

Technavio ResearchJesse MaidaMedia & Marketing ExecutiveUS: +1 844 364 1100UK: +44 203 893 3200Email:media@technavio.com Website:www.technavio.com/

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Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India 2020-2024 | Evolving Opportunities with ABB Ltd. and Eaton Corp. Plc | Technavio - Yahoo...

Cisco Focuses on Industrial Cybersecurity and the Edge – Automation World

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Best known for its front office networking technologies, Cisco is increasingly developing technologies for industrial networks. Of course, Cisco is not new to the industrial networking realmthe company has worked with Honeywell on industrial wireless, Claroty on cybersecurityand produces its own industrial network switches.

Now Cisco is offering industrial cybersecurity and edge software technologies.

Cisco Cyber Vision screenshotOn the cybersecurity front, the company has released Cisco Cyber Vision, which it describes as the first software-based security product for automated discovery of industrial assets [that] analyzes traffic from connected assets and creates segmentation policies to prevent lateral movement of threats across operational environments. Ciscos Talos threat intelligence enables Cyber Vision to monitor cybersecurity threats in real time that affect uptime, productivity, and safety.

Cisco is embedding Cyber Vision in its industrial network equipment.

Cisco's Liz CentoniDescribing the industry drivers behind the companys development of this product, Liz Centoni, senior vice president and general manager of cloud, compute and IoT at Cisco, says, While the communication network has always been the backbone for IT, it is becoming foundational for operational environments where customers require real-time access to machine data. But access to this real-time data is seen as being risky by many industrial companies because its been nearly impossible to know what is out there in those vast operations. I have never talked to a customer who says they know 100% of their devices and industrial controls. Industrial environments have been operational for decades, grown to meet demand and through mergers and acquisitions. So theres a mix of legacy and IP-based equipment that customers dont want to touch for the fear of disrupting current operations.

Acknowledging that the identification of assets and vulnerabilities is the first phase to successfully securing an industrial network, Vikas Butaney, vice president of product management at Cisco IoT says, Ciscos Cyber Vision enables organizations to gain a full understanding of what devices are on the network, what devices are communicating to each other, and what the devices are saying. Using this information, Ciscos Cyber Vision can identify known vulnerabilities, enabling organizations to quickly identify where they are and how to correct or protect against them.

Cisco's Vikas ButaneyButaney explains that Cyber Vision is integrated with Ciscos IT security to provide device data directly to Ciscos DNA-Center for policy creation, as well as with Ciscos Identity Services Engine for segmentation and enforcement, and with Ciscos Stealthwatch to provide the context of the asset behind the IP address. We also have OT-specific intrusion prevention (using Snort rules to detect the actual vulnerability, rather than an exploit) that can be enforced in our OT-specific firewall, the ISA3000, he says.

He adds that Cyber Vision has the ability to understand and decode industrial protocols used in the manufacturing, utilities and oil and gas industries, and that Cisco strives to cover the majority of protocols that customers will see. Cyber Visions RESTful API (application programming interface) can be used to connect Cyber Vision to proprietary protocols in any industrial environment.

With Cyber Vision, Cisco claims it has removed the complexity of a multi-vendor, multi-data, and multi-asset infrastructure to deliver simple IoT cyber security solutions that can be managed on any of Cisco's gateways, switches, or routers, bringing end-to-end security and simplified data management together.

For edge applications, Cisco offers Edge Intelligence. According to the company, this product simplifies the extraction of data at the network edge to streamline data delivery to multi-cloud and on-prem destinations to help businesses better manage data from start to finish.

Centoni says she often hears customers lament that current approaches [to edge computing] require custom software and integrations of technologies from multiple vendors both on the IT and OT side. These projects quickly become overwhelmingly complex to deploy and manage. These solutions are further challenged with no easy way to control what data is delivered to specific applications running in modern multi-cloud (public, private, and hybrid) environments.

Cisco Edge Intelligence reportedly addresses these issues by allowing operators to create data flows that deliver data from the IoT edge to multi-cloud destinations reliably and securely. Like Cisco Cyber Vision, it is a software service deployed onCiscos IIoT Networkingportfolio for out-of-the box deployments, Centoni says.

Features of Cisco Edge Intelligence include:

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Cisco Focuses on Industrial Cybersecurity and the Edge - Automation World

How automation is taking some of the burden for healthcare workers – Tech Wire Asia

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Hospitals should focus on reducing staff workload and human errors. Source: Shutterstock

The concept of going digital can sometimes be misinterpreted as hoarding complex technologies in a bid to be more advanced, which is actually inaccurate.

Instead, going digital means deploying technological solutions to help improve processes and solve operational issues that are hampering an organization from achieving its goals. Chief information officers (CIOs) know this best.

Hua Chiew Hospital CIO Panuratn Thanyasiri recently revealed in an interview that a successful digital transformation within the healthcare space must satisfy certain efficiency and productivity benchmarks.

Specifically, he elaborated that the key to success relies on whether or not the digital strategies implemented and solutions deployed result in the reduction of healthcare providers workload burden and errors.

True enough, back-office workloads have been affecting the performance of doctors and medical staff in delivering patient-care services. In fact, according to a study, doctors who spend more time on administrative tasks have lower career satisfaction.

Thanyasiri, who was once a cardiologist, explained that going digital should benefit the staff while at the same time, improve the delivery of healthcare services.

He explained that while administrative tasks are part of the staffs workload, they are essentially unnecessary and burdening, as they limit staff from focusing on patient care

Not only that, the CIO explained that this burden then result in medical data that are ridden with human errors. Especially when it comes to tasks like transcribing and data-entry which by right, requires high focus and attention, and an ample investment of time.

With an immense amount of affordable digital tools available in the market, hospitals can now easily automate these tasks and improve work processes for their staff.

He emphasized the fact that reduced workload and fewer errors would significantly impact how staff can deliver excellent services as he shared that the vision for the Hua Chiew Hospital is to improve patient care and drive sustainable business growth.

Additionally, he also made it clear that digitalization should result in operational processes that are easier to manage. The systems and devices used must be easy to operate allowing staff to focus on attending to patients instead of configuring complex technology.

One of the primary focuses is to develop a standard interface system that would allow information to flow from one device to another. He pointed out that an effective standard interface enables data from medical devices to be delivered smoothly to the health information system.

Having achieved this would mark a success in a hospitals digital transformation journey which is admittedly true because going digital is an emphasis on greater efficiency and higher productivity. After all, improving operations and driving efforts towards delivering patient-centric services can only result in greater business development opportunities.

Adlina AR | @RahimAdlina

Adlina A. Rahim is a content writer, looking for innovative technologies and solutions that help SMEs move forward in the digital-first world.

Read the original here:

How automation is taking some of the burden for healthcare workers - Tech Wire Asia

Automated Material Handling (AMH) Market, Forecast to 2025 – Daifuku, BEUMER Group, Siemens, JBT, and Honeywell Intelligrated are Dominating – Yahoo…

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DUBLIN, March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Automated Material Handling (AMH) Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Research and Markets Logo

In 2019, the automated material handling market was valued at USD 6.42 billion and is expected to reach a value of USD 10.96 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of about 11.3%, over the forecast period 2020-2025.

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, which has been conducted under the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, has established that workplace injuries have decreased by 25% in 10 years, due to the advent of various technologies in the workplace. This helps in boosting the automated material handling market.

Key Highlights

Major Market Trends

Airport Developments to Significantly Drive the Market Growth

Asia-Pacific to Witness the Fastest Growth

Competitive Landscape

The automated material handling market is fragmented and highly competitive in nature. Some of the major players are Daifuku Co, BEUMER Group, Siemens, JBT Corporation, Honeywell Intelligrated amongst others. Product launches, high expense on research and development, partnerships and acquisitions, etc. are the prime growth strategies adopted by these companies to sustain the intense competition.

Some of the recent developments are:

Key Topics Covered

1. INTRODUCTION1.1 Study Assumptions and Market Definition1.2 Scope of the Study

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

4. MARKET INSIGHTS4.1 Market Overview4.2 Industry Value Chain Analysis4.3 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Forces Analysis4.3.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers4.3.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers4.3.3 Threat of New Entrants4.3.4 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry4.3.5 Threat of Substitutes

5. MARKET DYNAMICS5.1 Market Drivers5.1.1 Increasing Technological Advancements Aiding Market Growth5.1.2 Industry 4.0 Investments Driving the Demand for Automation and Material Handling5.1.3 Rapid Growth of E-Commerce5.2 Market Restraints5.2.1 High Initial Costs5.2.2 Unavailability for Skilled Workforce

6. SEGMENTATION - BY PRODUCT TYPE6.1 Hardware6.2 Software6.3 Services

7. SEGMENTATION - BY EQUIPMENT TYPE7.1 Mobile Robots7.1.1 Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)7.1.1.1 Automated Forklift7.1.1.2 Automated Tow/Tractor/Tug7.1.1.3 Unit Load7.1.1.4 Assembly Line7.1.1.5 Special Purpose7.1.2 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR)7.1.3 Laser Guided Vehicle7.2 Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS)7.2.1 Fixed Aisle (Stacker Crane + Shuttle System)7.2.2 Carousel (Horizontal Carousel +Vertical Carousel)7.2.3 Vertical Lift Module7.3 Automated Conveyor7.3.1 Belt7.3.2 Roller7.3.3 Pallet7.3.4 Overhead7.4 Palletizer7.4.1 Conventional (High Level + Low Level)7.4.2 Robotic7.5 Sortation System

8. SEGMENTATION - BY REGION8.1 North America8.2 Europe8.3 Asia-Pacific8.4 Latin America8.5 Middle East & Africa

9. KEY VENDOR PROFILES9.1 Daifuku Co. Ltd.9.2 Kardex Group9.3 KION Group9.4 JBT Corporation9.5 Jungheinrich AG9.6 TGW Logistics Group GmbH9.7 SSI Schaefer AG9.8 KNAPP AG9.9 Mecalux S.A.9.10 System Logistics9.11 Viastore Systems GmbH9.12 BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG9.13 Interroll Group9.14 WITRON Logistik9.15 Dearborn Mid-West Company9.16 KUKA AG9.17 Honeywell Intelligrated9.18 Murata Machinery Ltd.9.19 Toyota Industries Corporation

10. INVESTMENT ANALYSIS

11. FUTURE OF THE MARKET

Story continues

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Automated Material Handling (AMH) Market, Forecast to 2025 - Daifuku, BEUMER Group, Siemens, JBT, and Honeywell Intelligrated are Dominating - Yahoo...

HomePod volume blasting you away? Try this volume automation – 9to5Mac

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Ever play music or talk to Siri on your HomePod only to be blown away by the volume, and not in a good way? Me too, but theres an automation that can help.

HomePod has two characteristics that make this automation useful for me.

First, Apples smart speaker has a remarkably long memory of what it played last and how loud it played. Tap the top of the HomePod after a week without use and it will blast you with the last played track.

That tap behavior is the other thing. You can disable Hey Siri voice control, but you cant set a HomePod to ignore touch input. This can result in unexpected loud music when you bump the top dusting or when your toddler learns what that button does.

New features added in iOS 13 introduce a useful workaround. You still cant set your HomePod to ignore touch input, but you can automate how loud it plays.

A similar feature supported by Amazon Echo smart speakers motivated me to find the same behavior for HomePods.

Apples Home app lets you automatically set AirPlay 2 speaker volumes at specific levels based on triggers like time or location.

Each night at midnight, the volume on my HomePod resets to 30% so its not too loud (or too quiet) the next time I use it.

You can choose your own schedule and volume.

Start by creating an automation in the Home appon iOS 13 or macOS Catalina for when a time of day occurs.

Choose your time and schedule, then proceed to select AirPlay 2 speakers in your Home app. Finally, look for the Media section and click Audio, then select Adjust Volume Only and set your custom volume on the slider.

Save your automation, then enjoy the quality of life improvement from your HomePod and other AirPlay 2 speakers consistently starting each day with a reasonable volume. Know someone else with HomePods? Share this tip to teach them how to automate HomePod volume too!

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Original post:

HomePod volume blasting you away? Try this volume automation - 9to5Mac

IS AUTOMATION A THREAT TO CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCES? – KHL Group

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According to a 2017 survey by PwC, 37%[1] of people are worried about automation putting jobs at risk. But with around 23% of roles in construction globally likely to be affected by high automation rates[2], is there really anything to worry about?

Not new and needed

Concerns about the impact of technology on the UK labour market are nothing new. Going back to the Industrial Revolution, the UK saw protests in the streets over the effects of machinery in the textile industry. But in reality, the changes had limited impact on roles and led to huge improvements in productivity.

Looking to our industry and current times, similarly, its projected that the increase in automation may actually cause greater investment in infrastructure and in turn, construction, meaning job gains[3] and significantly, will likely lead to a marked increase in productivity. When you consider that the construction sector remains the least productive industry in the UK economy, at more than 20 percentage points below the average output per hour for the whole economy in 2017, this is something we desperately and urgently need to improve.

A technological evolution or revolution?

When some people think about technology in construction, initial thoughts might be of exoskeleton suits and robots. Yet the replacement of skilled bricklayers with machines isnt something were going to see overnight. Instead, we can expect the role of automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to continue to penetrate and enhance our industry as it is already doing so in many places.

Within its Will robots really steal our jobs? report, PwC described three waves that were likely to see in the next 10 years. Algorithm, it outlines, is the automation of simple tasks such as payments and scheduling. Augmentation covers the use of automated statistical analysis of data and human controlled UAVs two technologies already heavily used in our industry to positive effect. Then a final wave, Autonomy, which may see the automation of labour and is more akin to the futuristic view of what technology in construction means to some.

As part of this phased approach, PwC predicts that around 15% of jobs in construction globally may be at risk of automation in the Algorithm and Augmentation waves broadly where we are now with a further 15% likely affected when we the third Autonomy stage.

In essence, this report and intelligent, measured thinking in our industry shows that there is no significant or immediate threat to our sector, with people simply replaced by technology and rendered useless. In reality, this is far from the case.

Yes, roles are likely to change due to the emergence of new technologies, but it doesnt necessarily mean they will disappear altogether. Whats more likely is an evolution, with jobs changing overtime to, amongst many things manage, control and complement technology.

A change in skillset and mindset

When looking at the emerging role of technology in construction, we must be aware of our language and refrain from extremes and hyperbole. As you might expect, stating we should automate everything creates resistance from those who, naturally, are afraid of their career lifespan as a result.

Yet when we frame it as adaption and talk about how technology can complement, remove laborious manual tasks and improve worker safety, were likely to be met with a different response. In fact, around two-thirds of people are ready to learn new skills or re-train to remain employable in the future[4].

By harnessing the appetite for technology amongst digital natives and re-training and establishing continuous learning programmes with our more traditional workforce to change perceptions of technology, we can alter the skillset of our workforce for the better and at the same time, build their confidence and flexibility.

A great example of how Topcon is helping to narrow the skills gap is through Class Of Your Own (COYO). Weve been a supporter of the initiative for many years, as we believe this is an organisation that is tackling the skills problem in ways that are having a real impact. The team has delivered its Design Engineer Construct! (DEC) learning programme in around 100 schools so far, but not alone. COYO has been training up industry experts to support the delivery of the programme, enabling them to develop their own classroom skills and have an opportunity to speak to the next generation on behalf of their business.

Technology and change in action

Within vertical construction, we have been putting these principles into practice with great success, focusing on how, as the PwC report outlines, technology can augment processes and methodology.

When building upwards there is a significant investment of time in design and planning to ensure the structure, while being built and once complete, is stable and safe, which requires project delivery teams to meticulously verify their work. Without this, misplacements and deviations are easily missed, which can have a knock-on impact on progress and of course, safety.

Verification technology exists to help with this process allowing project teams to account for and adapt to unanticipated design variations almost instantly. Yet many construction firms have needed to outsource the equipment and expertise needed to third-party scanning teams, affecting cost and meaning there can often be months between scans.

In reality, for verification technology to be powerful, it needs to be scanning constantly and with the capability to interpret and monitor these scans done by those already on-site.

Fortunately, the advent of new workflow software and technologies means that this is now a reality. With comprehensive manufacturer training, these systems are quick and easy for site engineers to use to identify out of tolerance items in near real-time.

This is a great example of how technology can augment a process, giving those on-site new skills and capabilities, as well as improving cost and job productivity.

A top down approach

While a great example of whats possible when technology, employee training and a change in mindset come together, the benefits of verification technology are currently only being realised on a project by project basis. And this is symptomatic of a wider challenge in our industry: getting full buy in.

As Topcon Positioning Great Britains own research with the Institution of Civil Engineers, Breaking Barriers in Infrastructure in 2018 found, current corporate culture is one of the biggest barriers to the adoption of new technology and working processes, second only to financial implications.

At corporate level, there can be adversity to risk and a belief that change isnt necessary. But if we are to at least catch up with other industries and finally put to bed the critical comments of the 2016 Farmer Review, our industry needs the support of everyone not just those on the ground, or in technology or innovation departments, but those at board level too.

At present, we sit at a huge intersection in our industry. My hope is that as more businesses realise the opportunities and possibilities of technology and as more millennial digital natives move into leadership and management roles, we can build on the successes and momentum achieved at project level, becoming a whole industry that showcases the complementary nature of people power and technology, building smarter and more productively.

[1] Workforce of the future. The competing forces shaping 2030), PwC, 2017

[2] Will robots really steal our jobs? PwC 2018

[3] Ibid

[4] Workforce of the future. The competing forces shaping 2030), PwC, 2017

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IS AUTOMATION A THREAT TO CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCES? - KHL Group

Growing Importance of Automation and Robotics in Manufacturing & Supply Chains – Analytics Insight

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Autonomous robots are in a growing class of devices, consisting of drone aircraft (aerial robots) that can be customized to perform tasks with next to zero human mediation or interaction. They can shift fundamentally in size, functionality, mobility, dexterity, artificial intelligence, and cost, from robotic process automation to flying vehicles with ground-breaking picture and information capturing capacities. Progressively, autonomous robots are programmed with artificial intelligence to perceive and learn from their environment and settle on choices independently.

Autonomous robots are characterizing the supply chain of the future by helping organizations decrease long-term costs, provide labor and utilization stability, increase worker productivity, reduce error rate, reduce the frequency of inventory checks, optimize picking, sorting, storing times and increase access to difficult or dangerous locations.

Robots have a long history of keeping the supply chain moving. Truth be told, one of the worlds first industrial robots was made for the sole purpose behind transferring objects starting with one spot then onto the next. Today, most tasks that are indispensable to the supply chain, similar to the movement of products through a warehouse, rely on robots as standard.

Think about Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) for instance. These convenient robots use markers, magnets and vision systems to explore a warehouse floor. The machines can move faster than a human laborer, moving merchandise from one place to another without the requirement for any intercession. Furthermore, they are not confined to the weight limits that a human worker could be fit for lifting.

Autonomous robots are required to see solid development over the following five years, especially within supply chain operations that incorporate lower-value, possibly risky or high-hazard tasks. Autonomous robots have a solid presence as of now in manufacturing, final assembly, and warehousing, for instance. The store chain of the future is probably going to see the continued growth of autonomous robots in these regions, permitting individuals to move to progressively strategic, less dangerous, and higher-value work.

Autonomous robots will be increasingly omnipresent in the store chain of future advances because they work with progressively human-like abilities. For instance, enhancements in haptic sensors, those identifying with the feeling of touch, will permit robots to grasp objects extending from delicate eggshells to multi-surfaced metal assembly parts without changes in programming or robotic components.

As autonomous robots become progressively modern, the arrangement times are diminishing, they require less supervision, and they can work next to each other with their human partners. The advantages are extending as autonomous robots become fit for working independently nonstop with progressively predictable levels of quality and productivity, performing tasks that humans cannot, should not, or do not want to do.

As the market for autonomous robots develops, the end-to-end supply chain operations alignment will turn out to be progressively fluid. Right now, numerous organizations utilize autonomous robots for targeted functions in the supply chain, piloting various robots to verify gains. As imaginative organizations develop and grow operations, robots that build robots could be one of the future trends in the supply chain, turning into the standard for enhancing manufacturing tasks.

Later on, its conceivable that what could be portrayed as the traditional linear conveyor system, or production line, will to a great extent vanish. Its most likely hard to envision that, yet the option as of now being inquired about is fairly intriguing. Research is being led by different organizations into the future of automotive manufacturing, and one situation being explored includes autonomous mobile robots carrying vehicles through the production procedure, starting with robotic cell to another.

One robotic cell may install the electronics system, another put in the motor, at that point another welding the body parts together, and others doing things like get together, painting, etc. This robotic cell-based process may bring about the autonomous mobile robot carrying the vehicle in a wandering manner through the plant, though now, we principally observe a straight production line.

Introducing conveyor systems and a linear production line is more costly than utilizing autonomous mobile robots since its fixed infrastructure costs more to develop. Autonomous mobile robots dont require any fixed infrastructure to be set. Every little thing about them from the machines themselves to their charging points is moveable.

Another large advantage of what might be called the flexible production line including autonomous mobile robots is that it empowers manufacturers to change designs in any way, shape or form. Reasons may incorporate finding and implementing processes that are increasingly effective and changes in product or system design.

Generally, changing a fixed-infrastructure operation includes enormous cost and a great deal of time. It should be included, notwithstanding, that there might be advantages to having a fixed infrastructure that autonomous mobile robot-based system will be unable to beat, speed is one of the biggest. Nonetheless, autonomous mobile robots are getting quicker and greater. Some have payloads moving toward three tons and they may get modular in that robotic arms could be joined to them.

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Growing Importance of Automation and Robotics in Manufacturing & Supply Chains - Analytics Insight

United States Library Expenditure Market Outlook to 2024 – Increasing Spending on Automation in Libraries Drives Market Growth – PRNewswire

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DUBLIN, March 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "The US Library Expenditure Market: Size, Trends and Forecasts (2020-2024)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The US library expenditure market has increased at a significant CAGR during the years 2015-2019 and projections are made that the market would rise in the next four years i.e. 2020-2024, tremendously.

The library expenditure market is expected to increase due to an increasing number of academic libraries, rising higher education enrollment, growing higher education research & development (R&D) expenditures, soaring urban population, increasing spending on automation in the library, etc. Yet the market faces some challenges such as budget constraints, availability of open-source software, etc.

The US library expenditure market is highly fragmented with many market players operating in the region. Further, key players of the library expenditure market are Clarivate Analytics PLC, RELX Group (Elsevier), Alphabet Inc. (Google), Cambridge Information Group (ProQuest LLC) are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.

Report Scope

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the US library expenditure market by value, by component, etc. The report also provides a detailed analysis of the US materials library expenditure market by value, by category, etc.

The report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the US library expenditure market has also been forecasted for the period 2020-2024, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.

Key Topics Covered

1. Executive Summary

2. Introduction2.1 Library: An Overview2.1.1 Importance of Library2.2 Library Expenditure: An Overview2.2.1 Factors that Affect the library Expenditure2.2.2 Sources of Library Funding2.2.3 List of Colleges & Universities with Library Expenditures2.3 Library Expenditure Segmentation: An Overview2.3.1 Library Expenditure Segmentation by Component

3. The US Market Analysis3.1 The US Library Expenditure Market: An Analysis 3.1.1 The US Library Expenditure Market by Value3.1.2 The US Library Expenditure Market by Component (Materials and Other Expenses)3.2 The US Library Expenditure Market: Component Analysis 3.2.1 The US Materials Library Expenditure Market by Value 3.2.2 The US Materials Library Expenditure Market by Category (Ongoing Subscriptions, One-Time Materials and Other Materials)3.2.3 The US Ongoing Subscriptions Library Expenditure Market by Value3.2.4 The US One-Time Materials Library Expenditure Market by Value3.2.5 The US Other Materials Library Expenditure Market by Value3.2.6 The US Other Expenses Library Expenditure Market by Value

4. Market Dynamics4.1 Growth Drivers4.1.1 Increasing Number of Academic Libraries4.1.2 Rising Higher Education Enrollment4.1.3 Growing Higher Education Research & Development (R&D) Expenditures4.1.4 Soaring Urban Population4.1.5 Increasing Spending on Automation in Library4.2 Challenges4.2.1 Budget Constraint4.2.2 Availability of Open Source Software4.3 Market Trends4.3.1 Rising Libraries' Budget on Digital Materials4.3.2 Escalating Expenditure of Libraries on Virtual Reality

5. Competitive Landscape5.1 The US Library Expenditure Market Players by Product Comparison5.2 The US Library Expenditure Players by Market Share Among Top 500 US Universities

6. Company Profiles(Business & Financial Overview, Business Strategy)6.1 Clarivate Analytics PLC6.2 RELX Group (Elsevier)6.3 Alphabet Inc. (Google)6.4 Cambridge Information Group (ProQuest LLC)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ah9j0m

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United States Library Expenditure Market Outlook to 2024 - Increasing Spending on Automation in Libraries Drives Market Growth - PRNewswire

Global Welding Equipment Market 2020-2024 | Evolving Opportunities with ACRO Automation Systems Inc. and AMADA HOLDINGS Co. Ltd. | Technavio – Yahoo…

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The global welding equipment market is poised to grow by USD 2.54 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of nearly 5% during the forecast period. Request free sample pages

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200305005298/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Welding Equipment Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Welding Equipment Market Analysis Report by End-user (Automotive, Construction, A and D, Shipbuilding, and Others), Geographic segmentation (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America), and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024".

https://www.technavio.com/report/welding-equipment-market-industry-analysis

The market is driven by the emergence of friction stir welding technology in automotive sector. In addition, the emergence of laser welding equipment is anticipated to boost the growth of the welding equipment market.

The friction stir welding technology is gaining popularity in the automotive industry as it carries out whole process under low operating temperature to prevent mechanical distortion. The products that are manufactured using this technology possess high integrity and are defect-free. This process has varied advantages such as improved mechanical properties, low operating cost, and ability to handle variations in the production process. The use of this technology helps in minimizing the overall weight of the automotive and consumes less power in comparison to welding processes. Thus, the emergence of friction stir welding technology in automotive sector is expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.

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Major Five Welding Equipment Market Companies:

ACRO Automation Systems Inc.

ACRO Automation Systems Inc. operates the business under various segments such as Services, Solutions, and Spare and replacement parts. The company offers Automated Welding Solutions. The company also provides retool and rebuild services, quality assurance process services, customer service and training services, and more.

AMADA HOLDINGS Co. Ltd.

AMADA HOLDINGS Co. Ltd. offers products through the following business units: Metalworking Machinery business and Metal Machine Tools business. The company offers laser welding equipment and resistance spot welding. The company also provides punch presses, press brakes, and laser machines.

Banner Welding Inc.

Banner Welding Inc. operates under various business segments, namely Automation, Standard Resistance Welders Product Line, and Contract manufacturing. The company offers welding equipment such as longitudinal type seam welder, press type roller ram welder, coil joining welder, frame welder, and more.

Colfax Corp.

Colfax Corp. offers products through the following business segments: Air and Gas Handling and Fabrication Technology. The company offers welding equipment under the brand name ESAB. The company also supplies industrial centrifugal and axial fans, ventilation control systems and software, gas compressors, and more.

Fronius International GmbH

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Fronius International GmbH offers products through the following business segments: PERFECT WELDING, SOLAR ENERGY, and PERFECT CHARGING. Through the PERFECT WELDING, the company offers a wide range of manual and robotic welding equipment. The company also provides automation services, manual welding equipment, and more.

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Welding Equipment Market End-user Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024)

Welding Equipment Market Geographic Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024)

Technavios sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

Related Reports on Industrials Include:

Ultrasonic Metal Welding Equipment Market Global Ultrasonic Metal Welding Equipment Market by geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America) and application (mobility, electrical and electronics, and alternate energy).

Arc Welding Robots Market Global Arc Welding Robots Market by geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America) and product (consumable method and non-consumable method).

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200305005298/en/

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Global Welding Equipment Market 2020-2024 | Evolving Opportunities with ACRO Automation Systems Inc. and AMADA HOLDINGS Co. Ltd. | Technavio - Yahoo...

Need to upgrade worker skills to cope with automation, tech intensive jobs of future, says analyst – iTWire

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The jobs of the future are highly technology intensive and the combined effort of governments and international organisations must pick up pace to upgrade workers skills, according to one economic research analyst at analytics firm GlobalData.

Kausani Basak, analyst at Global Data says up-skilling workforces is crucial to arrest job losses due to automation across the ASEAN region.

If left unchecked, it has the potential to create severe macroeconomic imbalances, creating both supply and demand chain disruptions, says Baska.

In the high growth ASEAN countries - Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - more than 50% jobs are vulnerable due to automation in the long run, and as a result, up-skilling the workforce becomes a pre-requisite for strong, sustained and balanced growth of the economy.

GlobalData says the traditional educational and training institutes are yet to adopt according to the changing times, leading to a huge skill mismatch in these countries, and consequently, the structural unemployment in countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam has been rising.

The labor market in countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam are already facing heat from high unemployment among people with basic education, says Basak.

On the other hand, these countries also have a huge working age population, thus further adding to the issues.

GlobalData says hotels and restaurants, wholesale and retail trade and construction and manufacturing are the sectors which are particularly staring at the risk of job losses due to automation.

More specifically, hundreds of thousands of sowing machine operators in Cambodias garment manufacturing, millions of shop sales assistants and office clerks in Thailand and Indonesia, respectively, are expected to experience high volume of job losses, Global Data says.

According to GlobalData, the emerging new occupations that are replacing the old ones require up-graded skills that will deepen their competencies and enhance career prospects.

GlobalData says that in the recent years, there has been a rising concern among the governments to reduce the skills mismatch and as a result they have taken some preliminary steps towards increasing the technological education penetration and re-designing the existing curriculum.

Countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia have been substantially emphasising on the skill development of workers. However, these measures are not providing enough support so as to integrate the workers into the labor force seamlessly.

Nevertheless, positive re-enforcements have started appearing in the region as multinational employers are driving the up-skilling and training initiatives. In November 2018, the World Economic Forum along with top tech companies pledged to develop technological skills for the employees of the ASEAN countries by 2020 through ASEAN Digital Skills Vision 2020.

As of August 2019, more than US$4.4m was raised for providing scholarships to tech students and about 9 million SME workers were trained across the ASEAN.

In March 2019, JP Morgan announced plans to invest US$350m for a period of five years worldwide to up-skill employees. In October 2019, Microsoft announced partnership with Grab and universities in South East Asia to facilitate industry relevant technological learning through hackathons and internships, GlobalData concludes.

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Need to upgrade worker skills to cope with automation, tech intensive jobs of future, says analyst - iTWire