Our Attempts to Kill Rats Are Making Them Evolve at Super Speed – Futurism

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Sickly or Super?

Efforts to control urban rat populations rarely if ever result in the complete eradication of the pests. Most of the time, the goal is to simply reduce rodent numbers enough to minimize the spread of disease or damage to property.

But according to Jonathan Richardson, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Richmond, letting some rats slip through the cracks can cause a local population to swiftly evolve, leading to either of two long-term outcomes: sickly rats or super ones.

In June, the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution published a study in which Richardson and his colleagues analyzed the genes of rats in Salvador, Brazil, before and after the city launched a 2015 eradication campaign that ultimately cut the population in half.

They found that the campaign eliminated 90 percent of the genetic variation in the rats, meaning the rats that remained were far more alike genetically than the population as a whole prior to the campaign.

In a newly published Conversation post, Richardson explained how that could impact the future rat population in two distinct ways.

On the one hand, because the rats lack genetic variance, they could produce offspring that are more sickly, the same way inbreeding in people can cause health problems.

But on the other, if the rats who survived the campaign did so because they were the fittest, they could pass along whatever made them fit to future generations leading to a population of super rats that are even harder to kill.

READ MORE: Super rats or sickly rodents? Our war against urban rats could be leading to swift evolutionary changes [The Conversation]

More on rats: Scientists Taught Rats How to Drive Tiny Cars

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Our Attempts to Kill Rats Are Making Them Evolve at Super Speed - Futurism

The Evolution of Threat Hunting – Security Boulevard

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Wikipedia defines cyber threat hunting as the process of proactively and iteratively searching through networks to detect and isolate advanced threats that evade existing security solutions. In practice, this is a very manual process where trained hunters combine expertise in attacker behavior and techniques with deep knowledge on the networks and assets that they are protecting to iteratively search for and uncover threats that have otherwise gone undetected by deployed security tools.

Depending on who you ask, threat hunting has been around for upwards of 20 years, with the job title, threat hunter, originating in the last 5-6 years. Today, there are nearly 1000 profiles on Linkedin with either a headline or job title matching the term, reflecting simultaneously the explosion of popularity of threat hunting techniques in the enterprise and the cool factor of the name.

Initially, hunters sought to identify Indicators of Compromise (IOCs). At its simplest, an IOC is evidence that an attack of some sort has occurred. Examples of IOCs include malware infection, unexpected outbound traffic from an internal asset, large outbound data transfers, etc. The goal behind IOC identification is to shrink the 170 day average dwell time before a company detects a threat. The problem with the IOC approach is that its completely reactive the damage has already been done.

This IOC shortcoming has lead infosec teams to move up their detection capabilities, focusing not on What has happened, but to What is happening. The hunt for Indicators of Attack (IOAs) focuses more on the activities and behaviors that adversaries undertake leading up to an attack, often corresponding to the reconnaissance step of the Cyber Kill Chain. While IOA detection helps to identify threats sooner in the process, its Achilles Heel is that detection is still only possible after an initial infiltration event has occurred.

In light of these challenges, threat hunting teams are increasingly turning their attention to indicators that are observable before the adversary has infiltrated the organization Indicators of Risk (IORs). As with the IOC and IOA models, the threat hunter starts with hypotheses on how attacks might be conducted, and iterates through testing, but the difference with IORs is that the focus is on conducting this analysis before any attack begins.

IORs tell the threat hunter whether the organization is vulnerable to a particular type of attack, not whether or not an attack is happening right then. Lets look at how this works in practice.

Suppose your organization hosts several of its most mission critical applications on Linux servers running SMB/CIFS. You might hypothesize that attackers would go after these assets, potentially exploiting the SambaCry vulnerability. With an IOA/IOC approach, you need to wait for this vulnerability to be exploited, and then catch the adversary red handed. Using the IOR approach, however, you can check proactively with a simple query no need to search through old vulnerability scan reports or manually check hundreds of software versions.

Heres an example using Balbix. With a single query using the built-in natural language search capability, you can see that there are 105 Linux servers still vulnerable, across a range of different corporate locations.

Consider a more general example, where you simply want to look for critical assets that are unpatched and subject to a broad range of exploits. Another simple search shows 157 critical assets, including Exchange Servers and Domain Controllers that have not been properly patched.

One final example illustrates the human factor involved in the threat. Suppose you suspect that web browsing activities on smartphones connected to the corporate network are exposing individuals in one of your offices to increased risk of being phished. Here we see 59 individuals with iPhones in the Bangalore office with elevated risk of being phished, perhaps an indication that additional security training is in order.

Reacting to threats after theyve happened, or even as they happen, will always be a losing proposition. As the enterprise attack surface continues to grow, proactive cybersecurity posture transformation is the only viable path forward. Balbix can help take a look.

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The Evolution of Threat Hunting - Security Boulevard

Making of ‘Frozen 2’: Disney Aimed to Mark an "Evolution" for Elsa and Anna – Hollywood Reporter

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It seems fitting that Frozen 2 is a film about change. As the animated sequel was being made, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and especially Jennifer Lee who directed the original and sequel with Chris Buck and also wrote both screenplays were going through some pretty big metamorphoses of their own.

The Oscar-winning 2013 musical Frozen, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, followed the tale of two princess sisters, Elsa and Anna, forced to grow up isolated from each other and the world because of Elsa's potentially dangerous magic ability to conjure ice. The film grossed a whopping $1.27 billion worldwide, and fans were so charmed by the characters voiced by Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell that they weren't able to "Let It Go" (the catchy power ballad that earned songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez an Oscar), making a sequel all but inevitable.

But where to go with the story? When last we saw the sisters at the conclusion of Frozen, they were back in their home of Arendelle, celebrating the return of spring with Anna's love interest Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven and sentient snowman Olaf (Josh Gad). Lee and Buck, who stayed onboard for the sequel, as did producer Peter Del Vecho and many other collaborators, thought long and hard, ultimately deciding to go where few fairy tales have gone before: into adulthood.

"What we really wanted to look at was change and maturity as you go through life," notes Lee. "We didn't want to stay in the same place and repeat ourselves. It's an evolution with the characters and thematically looking at love and fear and family from the point of view of change."

Frozen 2 takes place three years after the events in the original and begins with one simple question: Why does Elsa have powers? To discover the answer, she leaves Arendelle, joined by Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf, on a quest. Explains Lee: "One of the things we'd heard a lot in response to Frozen particularly Elsa and 'Let It Go' [is that] it set [the audience] free from something that was really weighing on them some aspect of themselves they couldn't release into the world or the pressure they feel [of] high expectations, which a lot of kids feel."

The filmmakers started by going back to basics and studying ancient myths and archetypes. "The mythic figure, who's usually magical, carries the weight of the world on their shoulders," Lee says. "They usually end up sacrificing for us, carrying our wounds, and that was fascinating because it really felt like Elsa. We realized it was only through Anna [that] a tragic fate didn't happen to her. Anna fights to be the optimist to get through everything. We knew this is how they'd go through their journey. It wasn't sisters against each other, which is more of a cliche to me, but really two women who are on each other's side. And yet life challenges us so much, and it's hard at moments to know when to protect and when to let go."

As a new story expanded the scope of Elsa and Anna's journey, the voice cast expanded as well, with Evan Rachel Wood signing on as the sisters' mother, Queen Iduna (in flashbacks), and Sterling K. Brown as kindly new character Lieutenant Mattias, whom the sisters meet in an enchanted forest. There's also a water creature, Earth Giants and a fire-breathing salamander (more about them later).

Of course, music is every bit as important to a Frozen movie as its archetypes. And the seven new original songs in the sequel are once again penned and composed by husband-wife duo Lopez and Anderson-Lopez. Christophe Beck, who scored the first Frozen, also was brought back for the second, while country singer Kacey Musgraves, '90s alt-rock band Weezer and pop-punk band Panic! at the Disco contribute tunes to the end credits.

Menzel's Queen Elsa, who made "Let It Go" a feminist anthem to millions of girls around the globe, gets two featured songs in the new movie, the first being "Into the Unknown," in which she decides that she must follow a mysterious voice calling to her. Anderson-Lopez says that discussions with Lee, Buck and the story team inspired the song, which also features a mysterious ethereal voice (belonging to Norwegian artist Aurora). "That voice is a metaphor for the voice inside of us that really seeks to find where you belong in the world, and your purpose, which to me is the most exciting thing about why we did Frozen 2 to tell the story of a woman who has to learn to listen to her gut and find where she belongs in the world," says Anderson-Lopez. "The idea was that this voice was calling Elsa away from comfort and Arendelle." She adds that they took some inspiration for the number from a herding song used in parts of Norway and Sweden to call livestock. "It's a beautiful sound, so we adapted it to a duet with Elsa," Anderson-Lopez explains.

Reflecting their growth and seriousness, the filmmakers traded in the princess ball gowns for autumn travel attire. Anna was given a Parisian-inspired black dress, and, for a pop of color, the inner lining of her burgundy cape and the sole of her boots were magenta. Anna's new look references Christian Dior's 1947 New Look debut haute couture collection, as well as contemporary designers including Valentino, Elie Saab, Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton and Manolo Blahnik. Her cape is embellished with designs drawn from Norway's traditional folk Bunad costumes.

For magical queen Elsa, visual development artist Brittney Lee explains that she wanted "to celebrate that she is of snow and ice."

"We decided to open up the back of her coat to have a peek-a-boo back with a snowflake emblem encrusted on it," she adds. The cape has strong shoulders to "feel a little militaristic and like this is a bit of her queen uniform."

Along with these new looks came fresh locations. Production designer Michael Giaimo notes that a September 2016 research trip brought the filmmakers back to Norway as well as to Finland and Iceland. An 8-mile hike in Finnish forests to Pielpajrvi Wilderness Church gave them plenty of ideas for the enchanted forest where Anna and Elsa begin their quest. "Our fall palette is basically oranges, orange red, to red violet," says Giaimo. "Very narrow. We don't have a lot of yellow a little bit of it. But in narrowing that red, we can focus on the characters and create special palettes for them. We noticed on the hike this incredible ground cover that was turning from green to rust to reds. Most of it was bearberry; there were also crowberry plants. They just created beautiful fall carpet." It also steered the art department toward tree varieties including aspens, alders and birch.

During the journey, Elsa finally must leave Anna behind because she can't protect her sister in the Dark Sea, where she meets the mythical water spirit, the Nokk, a creature made of water that takes the form of a horse.

The sequence proved to be the most challenging for VFX supervisor Steve Goldberg. "We wanted to make sure it didn't end up with the appearance of a glass horse or a crystal horse, so [the water visible inside the horse is] always dynamic and moving, as is the mane and the tail," Goldberg says. "What we also wanted to do was support the amount of ripple, which really had to do with the horse's mental state."

When the horse was underwater, the challenge was to distinguish the Nokk from the sea water. "If it's made of water and it's in water, what are we seeing?" Goldberg says. The mane and tail were given a gentle flow, "almost like a sea grass or a kelp, like hair underwater," he explains.

The Nokk isn't the only mythical character that the ragtag adventurers meet on their journey. There's the wind spirit Gale, visualized as a force of energy made up of fall leaves, darting and dancing between the characters. The massive Earth Giants are made up of rock formations with some set in the riverbank while others are animated to walk through the enchanted forest and then there's the adorable fire spirit Bruni, a pale blue baby salamander that spits fire.

"They spent a lot of time coming up with the right technology, called Swoop, that allowed them to turn the wind into a character and show some personality," explains producer Del Vecho. "But each one of those, in and of itself, is a technical challenge. I think this whole movie is probably one of the more technically complicated movies that we've ever attempted to make."

During the middle of production, however, Jennifer Lee and Disney went through some growing pains of their own, when, in spring 2018, chief creative officer John Lasseter exited Disney following misconduct allegations. Lee was promoted to chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios but kept working on Frozen 2 despite the bigger job. "It was a struggle a little with my schedule," she says. "But as a studio, we all rally together on films in production anyway. I was writing [script revisions] early in the morning, and we just stayed very connected."

Meanwhile, as Lee and the team put the final touches on the film, Disney fired up its marketing snow blowers, with a blizzard of publicity that included a global tour with premieres in Los Angeles and London as well as the launching of a whole new wave of Frozen toys just in time for Christmas.

And, as with all the best fairy tales, even the sequels, there's a happy ending, at least for Disney, Lee and Buck. Since its Nov. 22 release, Frozen 2's box office has been piling up higher than the snows of the northern realm, soaring toward $1 billion.

This story first appeared in a December stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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Making of 'Frozen 2': Disney Aimed to Mark an "Evolution" for Elsa and Anna - Hollywood Reporter

Evolutionary Innovation In Healthcare: Helping Providers Deliver The Best Possible Care – Forbes

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Technology solutions must make care delivery easier not frustrate providers.

If you take a close look inside todays health information technology (HIT) environment, youll encounter a fundamental frustration by providers struggling to master the technology that is intended to ease the delivery of patient care.

Simply put, we need ways to remove the technological frustration that pervades the healthcare world.

As the chief technology officer of a leading healthcare IT security company, I regularly see this frustration firsthand. I have an operating model, which I call QS4, that helps HIT leaders address this challenge. Its been my North Star when conducting IT operations.

To break down QS4, quality is at the top, supported by four S's representing stability, security, speed and simplicity, in order of priority.

Speed, in this case, refers both to the speed of compute and the speed of deployment, leaning more toward deployment.

Stability, security and speed are all built on the foundation of simplicity. The simpler you can make things, the more stable, secure and speedy they will be.

Using the theory of QS4, I believe HIT leaders can improve IT operations and innovation processes.

Navigating Innovation In Healthcare

I believe there are two types of innovation: evolutionary and revolutionary.

Im not a revolutionary kind of guy I just dont have the right thought processes for it. I am, however, a huge fan of evolutionary innovation. Ignore thoughts of Darwin that slow generational timeline think about the type of evolution that happens quickly. Evolutionary innovation involves the kind of rapid change that, in a business setting, new technologies can bring to bear on how companies are run. Sometimes it appears an industrywide disruption, or it can be simply new software that completely changes almost overnight how certain business practices are run.

Within evolutionary innovation, there are two subcategories: operational and strategic. I think QS4 is well suited for use in operational evolution because it is, at its core, an operating model. It also plays an important, although smaller, part in strategic evolution. But its fundamental utility is helping improve operations.

Processes and practices dont just evolve, though. Theres a trigger or catalyst for that evolution. In healthcare, that catalyst should derive from observations done at the point of patient care. Healthcare providers are, almost without exception, laser-focused on patients when theyre delivering care. They dont have time to examine new technologies that may help them deliver more value to their patients and families, nor do they have time to suggest ways to remove the technological friction that exists in todays HIT environment.

Indeed, this friction reflects the increasing burden routinely placed on doctors and nurses, creating challenges for clinical staff that are truly immense. When our healthcare system reaches a point where clinicians feel that technology is the problem, the entire healthcare industry should take notice.

For HIT vendors, the key is to realize that no matter how small our contribution, we can and must play a central role. We are perfectly positioned to bring evolutionary innovation directly into the marketplace, and help it work across health networks. How?

Vendors must first fully understand the form, function, application and significance of clinical workflows. By engaging directly with clinical staff, vendors can ideally support and streamline those clinical workflows all under clinician guidance.

Doctors and nurses will always do whatever it takes to complete their work and care for their patients this is their mission. This commitment to care is so prevalent that if healthcare administrators arent careful, care providers can get dangerously overworked. HIT leaders can protect against this possibility and avoid taking advantage of the mission-based devotion to care by providing clinicians with tools that let them fulfill their ethical commitments. At the same time, this investment will help these dedicated providers maintain a sustainable life balance.

As HIT leaders, we must step up to this challenge. We must work alongside caregivers to find evolutionary innovations that remove technological friction, or, if we cant do that, provide more value for the friction that cant be eliminated.

We must stop expecting technological innovation from our clinical and business partners because they're focused on working in the business and have no time to work on the business. I depend on them to provide great patient care and outstanding support; they should rightfully depend on people like me to bring them technological innovation.

Its important to look beyond titles that serve only to separate us from working together. Thats why my favorite title from my various workplaces is partner experience and innovation. It describes exactly what the old desktop titles are evolving into. Im also stuck on calling the clinical and business folks we support partners rather than "customers."

The QS4 model comes in handy for partner experience and innovation teams. They already know, from an operational perspective, how they support their business and clinical partners on a day-to-day basis, and how the QS4 model helps separate the wheat from the chaff in operational priorities. They know that if they work on simplicity, theyll be able to affect the stability, security and speed of the service their partners are depending upon.

All we need to do, HIT leaders, is give our folks the time to focus on using QS4 for something other than break-fix operational prioritization. That just perpetuates the current friction and doesnt increase value.

Instead, use QS4 to advance the kind of evolutionary innovation described above and (hopefully) experience what delighting your partners feels like! Thats the best way we can help our clinical and business partners deliver the highest-quality, most compassionate care to our patients and families.

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Evolutionary Innovation In Healthcare: Helping Providers Deliver The Best Possible Care - Forbes

Pokmon Sword and Shield egg glitch hatches evolved monsters – Polygon

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Usually, when you hatch a Pokmon egg, youre left with the earliest creature in an evolutionary line. This monster will only know basic moves. If you want a stronger creature, you have to level it up ... that is, unless you know of a new exploit discovered in Pokmon Sword and Shield.

The trick is simple, yet tricky you need exact timing. First, you get the egg parent of the same species and place it in your party. The parent needs to be one rare candy away from leveling up and evolving. Then, you put the egg directly below the parent in the party menu. From there, you take the rare candy and use it on the parent. Immediately upon doing so, press down and hold the button. If you miss the timing, nothing will happen. But if you get it right, the process will somehow affect the egg, rather than the parent. The game will say that the egg is evolving, which shouldnt be possible, except that it is! You can see it in action in this video by Austin John Plays:

You still need to actually hatch the egg, but once you do, it wont be a baby it will be evolved. You can use this process to skip the typical evolutionary process and go straight into, say, a monsters final evolution. Except that evolved monster will be level one, somehow.

You can also use this exact same trick to teach an egg TMs before it actually hatches. The moves need to be in the Pokemons actual repertoire, but still, its a neat (and bizarre) trick. Thats not all: you can also use this method to bypass an evolutions gender requirements, thereby allowing you to do things like hatch a Salazzle from a male Salandit (which normally wouldnt be possible.) Wild, but also, proceed with caution, as theres no telling whether or not Game Freak will patch this out.

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Pokmon Sword and Shield egg glitch hatches evolved monsters - Polygon

The Origin And Evolution Of The Homunculus – Science 2.0

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How did the most famous concept devised in neurobiology--the homunculus of neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield - originate?

Some answers derive fromassessing Penfield's archives at the Osler Library of McGill University, as well as the only known copy from which the beginnings of the homunculus may be traced--Edwin Boldrey's 1936 McGill master's degree thesis supervised by Penfield.

The iconic homunculus was devised by Penfield as a teaching tool to aid memory, and was drawn by Hortense Cantlie, a medical illustrator at McGill. She rendered the complex idea simply for its first appearance in 1937 as an acrobat hanging from a trapeze by his knees, with his head tilted up to look at the audience. The areas devoted to the opposable thumbs, necessary for grasping tools, and to the tongue and lips, necessary for speech, are disproportionally large, reflecting their relative importance with respect to human experience.

Boldrey, one of Penfield's neurosurgery trainees, wrote the analysis of the largest and most intricately studied collection of intraoperative stimulations and mappings during human brain surgery ever performed up to that time and his thesisprovides an incredible record of electrical brain stimulations of over 100 patients studied from 1928 to 1936 during open brain surgery, and includes later additional cases. Each stimulation point was assigned to one of 28 brain maps, each representing a specific function. These included movement and sensation of the tongue, mouth, jaw, face, and throat; swallowing; vocalizing; and sensation and movements of fingers, hand, arm, shoulder, trunk, leg, and foot.

Vision and audition were also represented, as were autonomic functions and head and eye movements. Each stimulation point was placed on the appropriate composite map according to its distance from the sylvian and rolandic fissures, thereby creating a cluster diagram of individual data points. In this way, probabilistic maps with widely outlying points were created, a reflection of the individual variations that one sees in grouped data obtained from biological systems.

Drs. Mark Preul, Gurpreet Gandhoke, and Richard Leblanc state, "Penfield's homunculus is a symbol of the extraordinary efforts that were expended in the exploration of the conscious human brain, which was achieved with the most rudimentary technology, and captured the imagination of succeeding generations of neurobiologists. One of Penfield's greatest contributions may be that he sought to explain the mysteries of the brain to everyone, as proclaimed by his own notes and letters, and he realized that there was no better way to understand cerebral functional organization than by a humanoid mnemonic, 'the sort of thing that people in general understand,' as he wrote in his letters. Boldrey's thesis is one of the most remarkable publications in the history of neuroscience and provides a fascinating window into the origin of the extraordinarily influential and endearing concept of Wilder Penfield's homunculus."

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The Origin And Evolution Of The Homunculus - Science 2.0

Human Ancestors May Have Evolved the Physical Ability to Speak More Than 25 Million Years Ago – Smithsonian

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Speech is part of what makes us uniquely human, but what if our ancestors had the ability to speak millions of years before Homo sapiens even existed?

Some scientists have theorized that it only became physically possible to speak a wide range of essential vowel sounds when our vocal anatomy changed with the rise of Homo sapiens some 300,000 years ago. This theoretical timeline means that language, where the brain associates words with objects or concepts and arranges them in complex sentences, would have been a relatively recent phenomenon, developing with or after our ability to speak a diverse array of sounds.

But a comprehensive study analyzing several decades of research, from primate vocalization to vocal tract acoustic modeling, suggests the idea that only Homo sapiens could physically talk may miss the mark when it comes to our ancestors first speechby a staggering 27 million years or more.

Linguist Thomas Sawallis of the University of Alabama and colleagues stress that functional human speech is rooted in the ability to form contrasting vowel sounds. These critical sounds are all that differentiates entirely unrelated words like "bat," "bought," "but" and "bet." Building a language without the variety of these contrasting vowel sounds would be nearly impossible. The research teams new study in Science Advances concludes that early human ancestors, long before even the evolution of the genus Homo, actually did have the anatomical ability to make such sounds.

When, over all those millions of years, human ancestors developed the cognitive ability to use speech to converse with each other remains an open question.

What were saying is not that anyone had language any earlier, Sawallis says. Were saying that the ability to make contrasting vowel qualities dates back at least to our last common ancestor with Old World monkeys like macaques and baboons. That means the speech system had at least 100 times longer to evolve than we thought.

The study explores the origins and abilities of speech with an eye toward the physical processes that primates use to produce sounds. Speech involves the biology of using your vocal tracts and your lips. Messing around with that as a muscular production, and getting a sound out that can get into somebody elses ear that can identify what was intended as soundsthats speech, Sawallis says.

A long-popular theory of the development of the larynx, first advanced in the 1960s, held that an evolutionary shift in throat structure was what enabled modern humans, and only modern humans, to begin speaking. The human larynx is much lower, relative to cervical vertebrae, than that of our ancestors and other primates. The descent of the larynx, the theory held, was what elongated our vocal tract and enabled modern humans to begin making the contrasting vowel sounds that were the early building blocks of language. The question is whether thats the key to allowing a full, usable set of contrasting vowels, Sawallis says. Thats what we have, we believe, definitely disproven with the research thats led up to this article.

The team reviewed several studies of primate vocalization and communication, and they used data from earlier research to model speech sounds. Several lines of research suggested the same conclusionhumans arent alone in their ability to make these sounds, so the idea that our unique anatomy enabled them doesnt appear to hold water.

Cognitive scientist Tecumseh Fitch and colleagues in 2016 used X-ray videos to study the vocal tracts of living macaques and found that monkey vocal tracts are speech ready. Our findings imply that the evolution of human speech capabilities required neural changes rather than modifications of vocal anatomy. Macaques have a speech-ready vocal tract but lack a speech-ready brain to control it, the study authors wrote in Science Advances.

In a 2017 study, a team led by speech and cognition researcher Louis-Jean Bo of Universit Grenoble Alpes in France, also lead author of the new study, came to the same conclusion as the macaque study. By analyzing over 1,300 naturally produced vocalizations from a baboon troop, they determined that the primates could make contrasting proto-vowel sounds.

Some animals, including birds and even elephants, can mimic human voice sounds by using an entirely different anatomy. These amazing mimics illustrate how cautious scientists must be in assigning sounds or speech to specific places in the evolutionary journey of human languages.

Of course, vocalization involves vowel production and of course, vocalization is a vital evolutionary precursor to speech, says paleoanthropologist Rick Potts of Smithsonians Human Origins Program, in an email. The greatest danger is equating how other primates and mammals produce vowels as part of their vocalizations with the evolutionary basis for speech.

While anatomy of the larynx and vocal tract help make speech physically possible, they arent all thats required. The brain must also be capable of controlling the production and the hearing of human speech sounds. In fact, recent research suggests that while living primates can have a wide vocal rangeat least 38 different calls in the case of the bonobothey simply dont have the brainpower to develop language.

The fact that a monkey vocal tract could produce speech (with a human like brain in control) does not mean that they did. It just shows that the vocal tract is not the bottle-neck, says University of Vienna biologist and cognitive scientist Tecumseh Fitch in an email.

Where, when, and in which human ancestor species a language-ready brain developed is a complicated and fascinating field for further research. By studying the way our primate relatives like chimpanzees use their hands naturally, and can learn human signs, some scientists suspect that language developed first through gestures and was later made much more efficient through speech.

Other researchers are searching backward in time for evidence of a cognitive leap forward which produced complex thought and, in turn, speech language abilities able to express those thoughts to othersperhaps with speech and language co-evolving at the same time.

Language doesnt leave fossil evidence, but more enduring examples of how our ancestors used their brains, like tool-making techniques, might be used as proxies to better understand when ancient humans started using complex symbolsvisual or vocalto communicate with one another.

For example, some brain studies show that language uses similar parts of the brain as toolmaking, and suggest that by the time the earliest advanced stone tools emerged 2 million years ago, their makers might have had the ability to talk to each other. Some kind of cognitive advance in human prehistory could have launched both skills.

Sawallis says that the search for such advances in brain power can be greatly expanded, millions of years back in time, now that its been shown that the physical ability for speech has existed for so long. You might think of the brain as a driver and the vocal tract as a vehicle, he says. Theres no amount of computing power that can make the Wright Flyer supersonic. The physics of the object define what that object can do in the world. So what were talking about is not the neurological component that drives the vocal tract, were just talking about the physics of the vocal tract.

How long did it take for our ancestors to find the voices they were equipped with all along? The question is a fascinating one, but unfortunately their bones and stones remain silent.

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Human Ancestors May Have Evolved the Physical Ability to Speak More Than 25 Million Years Ago - Smithsonian

Reese Witherspoon Prepares for Evolution of Elle Woods in ‘Legally Blonde’ Revival – Hollywood Reporter

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6:00 AM PST 12/11/2019byLacey Rose

It was on the 15-year anniversary of Legally Blonde, back in 2016, that Witherspoon and producer Marc Platt decided there may be life left in their celebrated franchise.

"The response was so incredibly strong," Witherspoon recalls of a film that grossed $142 million and still has fans stopping her regularly to heap praise. "So, we discussed it and thought, maybe it's time to revisit."

Though they're still in the development stage of reviving the MGM property, both say that they're excited about seeing Elle Woods in her 40s and, moreover, that her sense of hope and optimism could be exactly what the world needs right now.

"I want to discover what age means to that character," adds the actress. "Aging, contemporary ideas, how things have evolved or not evolved."

Which is not to say she isn't daunted by the idea of returning to the iconic character, which catapulted her onto the A-list nearly two decades ago. She absolutely is, she says, "because it was so beloved and because you don't want to mess it up or do anything halfway."

That said, having had a similar experience with Big Little Lies, Witherspoon suggests she's more confident now that if "there's more story to tell, you're probably in a pretty good space."

This story first appeared in the 2019 Women in Entertainment Power 100 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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Reese Witherspoon Prepares for Evolution of Elle Woods in 'Legally Blonde' Revival - Hollywood Reporter

BevNET Live Winter 2019 Day One Recap: Ethics and Evolution – BevNET.com

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Beverage industry leaders took the stage at BevNET Live Winter 2019 in Santa Monica, California today, offering their insights into the importance for entrepreneurs to take risks and evolve, as well as the importance of knowing when to stand their ground and double down on the issues that matter most to them and their companies.

The event began with opening remarks from BevNET Editor-in-Chief Jeff Klineman, who spoke about the moral evolution of the beverage business in which social missions and sustainability initiatives have become a new norm and a new challenge for brands.

Right now companies and leadership teams regardless of category are of huge importance not just in business but with regard to social and moral leadership, and products are only part of these equations, Klineman said. All those success stories about purpose-driven entrepreneurs, all those Seth Goldmans out there, theyve reset the bar and added this new hurdle. Thats great. Its helped open the door for new products and ways of doing business, but now youve got to live up to that success and keep your moral position in mind.

In particular, Klineman highlighted the efforts of La Colombe co-founder and CEO Todd Carmichael, who earlier this year made headlines when he paid off the entire lunch debt for all Philadelphia public school students. His donation was initially rejected by the city government, but a public backlash led the city to reverse its plans to penalize parents of children with outstanding debt and accept Carmichaels check.

With that segue, Carmichael and Chobani president Peter McGuinness sat down with Klineman to discuss the value and risks of corporate social missions and why taking a controversial stance can be a benefit to your brand.

If youre trying to do lowest common denominator and safest and market to the middle, then youre nothing to anybody, McGuinness said. The more you stand for something, the more polarizing you are, you rally your base and your base loves you more and consumes you more. So this whole notion of playing it safe is really pathetic in this day and age.

But risk taking doesnt just apply to social missions. Carmichael and McGuinness also spoke about the need for brands to innovate and how fear helps fuels that pipeline. In particular, the duo discussed the rise of plant-based milks and oat milk in particular, which Carmichael said is now requested by 65 to 70% of La Colombe cafe customers.

According to Carmichael, fear helps create forward-thinking, cutting edge new innovations, while its absence results in me too products.

Next, Continental Grain & Arlon Investments operating partner Tyler Ricks delivered his rules for creating value with investors. His advised entrepreneurs of pitfalls to avoid, noting they should be wary of copying other companies business models if they dont make sense and of entering partnerships with private equity firms with over-aggressive timelines for hitting certain goals. Instead, they should keep it simple and try to stick to a limited number of tightly plotted routes to value creation and to qualify the components of that creation.

As Ricks encouraged brands to evolve their value creation models, natural channel distributor KeHE followed by discussing the companys own evolution into a next generation distributor. Katie Paul, VP of category management & growth solutions, and Alex Marx, director of growth solutions, shared how KeHE is embracing blurred categories, using new technology, and reaching out to the industry through annual events and showcases.

The pair also recommended brands be able to act fast and adapt to changes in the market. As channels distinctions and category differentiations continue to blur, its vital for companies to learn to fail fast and get back up.

Being agile, failing fast, taking the risks and pivoting by learning from those mistakes and opportunities that continuous evolution is whats going to keep you relevant in the marketplace, Paul said.

Next, Brew Dr. Kombucha founder and CEO Matt Thomas told the audience exactly how he managed to be agile, fail fast, take risks and pivot by discussing his brand journey from a small startup tea house chain to a $50 million nationally distributed beverage brand. Thomas discussed raising $45 in 2006 to open his first Townshends Tea location, scaling the companys kombucha business through debt-financing, and even putting his own home on the line for a bank loan to keep the business growing.

In 2016, Brew Dr. opened a 50,000 square foot brewery, putting the company on track to 100% growth in 2017, Thomas said. But the move also forced the brand to level up its team, making dozens of new hires across all aspects of the business to bring Brew Dr. to the next stage. While the expansion was necessary, Thomas noted it had it was a challenge to ensure the companys culture did not radically shift.

As we layered in these individuals with and a lot of times above our legacy employees, that was a real cultural struggle, Thomas said.

After the winners of BevNETs Best of 2019 awards were announced, , BevNET founder and CEO John Craven sat down with Person of the Year honoree Daina Trout, the co-founder and CEO of Health-Ade Kombucha. Trout discussed working with her husband and the need to set boundaries to separate the personal from the professional, the importance of creating space for new entrepreneurs to thrive and passing her success forward by offering young business leaders advice.

Im a big believer that what you feed grows, no matter what it is, she said.

BevNET Live Winter 2019 continues tomorrow, December 10, with a full lineup of speakers and discussions, as well as the final round of New Beverage Showdown 18. The entire event will be streaming live on BevNET.com starting at 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. PT.

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BevNET Live Winter 2019 Day One Recap: Ethics and Evolution - BevNET.com

From ‘Odisea’ to ‘Nibiru’: Ozuna’s Album Evolution, In His Own Words – Billboard

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Ozuna has done it again. For the third consecutive year, he debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums, this time, with his new album Nibiru.

Andon this weeks episode of Billboards The Latin Factor podcast, Ozuna talks about his three albums in interviews conducted in 2017, 2018 and 2019, at the time he released Odisea, Aura and Nibiru, respectively.

"Nibiru is something very difficult to explain because it is different," the singer says at the beginning of the podcast, which stops and goes back to his first interview with Billboard.

At that time, Ozuna used to write songs at any time. Honestly --any time, anywhere. The album described his history, his essence.

A year later, Aura arrived and established him as an urban artist.The set was born because his fans asked for a lot of music. Back then, Ozuna realized that he was famous. "You can't do many things you did before, go to the disco, go out with your children."

In November, Billboard met again with Ozuna, this timeto talk about Nibiru, which, according to the artist, is "a concept that was developed with time to find different producers and artists."

Listen to the Ozuna's 2017, 2018 and2019 interviews in the podcast below, and check out his musical evolution on Billboard.

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From 'Odisea' to 'Nibiru': Ozuna's Album Evolution, In His Own Words - Billboard

‘Heart Of The City’ Profiles The Evolution Of Downtown Cincinnati – WVXU

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The story of downtown Cincinnati's current revival is told alongside similar tales from other cities as told by prominent urban planner Alexander Garvin.

In his new book,The Heart of the City: Creating Vibrant Downtowns for a New Century, Garvin, an adjunct professor at Yale University, traces Cincinnati's renaissance to 2003 with the creation of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC). He notes the targeting of Over-the-Rhine for redevelopment and the launch of the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar.

"The leaders of Cincinnati were convinced that for OTR to become a popular destination, it needed to be connected to the rest of downtown and its sports stadiums by light rail," Garvin writes. "However, streetcars were not needed to spur development in OTR. The revival of OTR was already well under way before the system opened."

Garvin joinedCincinnati Editionearlier this year to talk about his book and the role Cincinnati's urban transformation plays in it.

Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.

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'Heart Of The City' Profiles The Evolution Of Downtown Cincinnati - WVXU

New Atheism: A Shipwreck of Fools – Discovery Institute

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New Atheism is dead. It was conceptually dead from birth, but now its stopped twitching. Ben Sixsmith at Arc Digital has a good article with a lot of insight into its demise. From New Atheism: An Autopsy:

To be sure, New Atheists could be very, very bad at arguing that God does not exist. There was, for example, Lawrence Krauss writing a book about how something can come from nothing while attributing material qualities to the latter. There was Richard Dawkins trying to refute the famous Five Ways of Aquinas without even attempting to understand their terms. (Whereof one cannot speak, groaned Wittgenstein, Thereof one must remain silent.) There was Christopher Hitchens striding into philosophy like an elephant onto an ice skating rink and saying:

the postulate of a designer or creator only raises the unanswerable question of who designed the designer or created the creator.

Why is it unanswerable? People have certainly tried to answer it. Answers readily came centuries prior to Hitchens himself, actually. Hitchens is free to take issue with Aquinas distinction between contingent and necessary existence if he wants, but hes not free to suggest no answers have been offered. How does the concept of the necessary being, for example, fail? Hitchens offers no sign of knowing what it is, because that unanswerable is not a logical conclusion but a rhetorical sledgehammer swung at the readers skull.

I know atheists can make better arguments. But the New Atheists never felt obliged to, because they were so confident in their own rationality that they never learned about the ideas they were mocking. If challenged on their philosophical ignorance as the philosopher Alvin Plantinga brilliantly skewered Dawkins here on this very point they were liable to observe that the average Christian does not have the theological sophistication of an Edward Feser or a John Haldane. True enough. But if Im on the street and ask the average believer in evolution by natural selection to explain it and declare Darwin refuted because monkeys did not turn into men, am I being scientifically honest? No, not really.

The primary autopsy finding here is that New Atheism was born dead. It was an intellectually vacuous vanity project from the start. Its vanguard was a coterie of dullards and narcissists who glanced away from their own mirrors only long enough to beg book deals. The arguments they made in their books were the stuff of comedy acts everything came from nothing for no reason, the universe came from quantum mechanics, which is nothing, acknowledging an intelligent Creator is an impediment to science, but asserting meaningless existence is a boon to science, we are meat machines, and you should pay attention to what we say, there is no good or evil, and if you think there is, youre evil, there is no free will and you should change your mind and agree with me, there is no guilt because there is no free will, therefore livestock management, rather than justice, is best for mankind, things change and survivors survive is a scientific theory, survival of the fittest explains why Im sad your kid has cancer, without evolutionary theory, we wouldnt understand that bacteria arent killed by an antibiotic that doesnt kill them, gene duplication adds new genetic information, and plagiarism is not permitted in my class, kin selection explains altruism, except that bacteria in a clonal colony, which are identical twins, arent altruistic, evolutionary biology is indispensable to medicine, so we should start teaching it in medical schools, evolution is the cornerstone of physiology and medicine, and maybe someday an evolutionary biologist will win a Nobel Prize, information is not detectible in nature, except in my book about it, the selective breeding experiments I designed in my lab are excellent examples of mindless evolution, the First Amendment prohibits questioning a scientific theory in schools, let me show you how undirected natural selection works in a simulation on the computer program I wrote, intelligent design isnt science, and its scientifically wrong (my favorite these two assertions are commonly made in the same sentence), the mind is what the brain does, but Im not a dualist, my assertion that your mind can have no contact with truth is true. The list is bottomless.

New Atheism never had a chance. It was intellectual vapor, and its practitioners were repellent fools. They were defeated by atheisms perennial Achilles heal: they were forced to explain themselves. Atheism never reigns openly and explicitly for long; it cannot withstand even cursory scrutiny. Heck, it cant withstand the scrutiny of schoolchildren witness the panicked litigation to prevent schoolchildren from asking questions about its creation myth.

But rational moral theism will not easily emerge victorious from this little fight. Paganism, not atheism, is the natural religion of unreflective men. We worship, and creation is full of beauty and mystery and ravishing idols. Pride and lust of eyes and flesh reigns in our culture, and Asherah poles are popping up everywhere. The Valley of Hinnom is our altar of child sacrifice, and we tithe in penance for our sins against Gaia.

As New Atheism stops twitching, another beast a rougher beast is rolling the stone from its perennial crypt.

Photo credit:Josh Adams-FordviaUnsplash.

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New Atheism: A Shipwreck of Fools - Discovery Institute

Tim Cahill explains his Everton evolution from Lee Carsley’s partner to goalscoring machine – Liverpool Echo

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Tim Cahill has analysed his evolution at Everton from central midfielder to a goalscoring threat that regularly terrorised Premier League defences.

The former Australian international is widely regarded as one of David Moyes' best signings as Blues boss, joining the club from Millwall in the summer of 2004 for just 1.5 million.

The midfielder went on to make 278 appearances during his time at Goodison Park and bagged an impressive 68 goals as he consistently proved himself crucial to the club.

But the role he was playing when he left Everton in 2012 was very different to the one he started out in.

Speaking to The Coaches' Voice, Cahill explained that he often played further back when he first joined the club to accomodate Thomas Gravesen.

Cahill said: "Tommy [Gravesen] was our luxury player, I knew very early on that in defence after play had progressed, there would be a possible overload in attack. I had to find myself playing alongside Lee Carsley when the opposition had the ball.

"I think the biggest thing is, when we could win the ball back after their attack, we could get the ball wide, Duncan Ferguson could show for Tony Hibbert.

"If Fergie was looking on receiving the ball then Tommy would be ready in transition but then I would be on the front foot looking for the ball in behind [to Arteta].

"In this instance it would be Tommy, Kevin Kilbane and Lee Carsley bringing up the back, I wouldn't make the box. But when this happened on the other side, I could then be the third-man runner to the back post or near post to hopefully score goals."

However, this role soon changed.

When Gravesen left the club, Cahill pushed forward into the No. 10 role he would make his own throughout the rest of his time at Goodison Park.

And the midfielder has lifted the lid on his thinking when taking up that position and how he would use it to his advantage.

He added: "As I evolved through the years, Tommy had left and I'd been lucky enough to convince the gaffer to move higher within the pitch.

"That meant I could then team up with the striker, whoever he was at the time.

"What I liked to do is, whenever we struggled playing out from the back, I used to pull out as a 10 onto the weaker defender. Before the game I used to look at the centre-backs - who was taller, who was stronger - is this defneder who plays on the left side of centre-back right footed or left footed? That affected the way I closed him down.

"What I predominantly wanted to do is that whenever Tony Hibbert was in trouble and couldn't get out I could go high, push the defender back, and I'd want the ball to my chest or to my head.

"I needed bodies so this gave a signal to the midfielders to be on the opposite side once the ball had travelled because nine times out of ten I would win the header, I'd bring the ball down, or the defender would just knock it in this area for the second ball which could then move us higher up the park."

That wasn't the only way Cahill would use his position to great effect, however.

The midfielder knew that getting the ball out to players such as Steven Pienaar or Mikel Arteta on the flanks, with overlapping full backs as well, would give him a great chance to get into the box and score.

"Another ball that was played a lot when we were much higher up the pitch was a diagonal, this was a ball which I loved from Bainesy, Hibbo or even a centre-back bringing it out," Cahill remarked.

"This also sent a signal when the team was quite high up, not because of my pace, but if I've received the ball on a diagonal with my leap onto it - if this was a centre-back I knew I could dominate I'd only want the diagonal from this side.

"If I was playing against John Terry, I don't want this ball at all, the percentages are that I'm not going to win it and they're not getting the knock-downs.

"The diagonal would come to me which meant Pienaar already knew to get on his bike, Bainesy knew that he could get the second ball, then for me to spin and make the box.

"I always used to find myself a lot higher up the park, affecting the play. I knew as a nine, an eight a ten, that once the magic was happening among these players [Baines, Pienaar, Arteta, Hibbert], that I would make one or two movements and they would know - and that would be me making the back post to score."

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Tim Cahill explains his Everton evolution from Lee Carsley's partner to goalscoring machine - Liverpool Echo

Pokemon Sword and Shield – How to Evolve Snom into Frosmoth – Attack of the Fanboy

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The adorable but ultimately pretty weak Pokemon Snom is a wonderful addition to anyones team at first glance, but once you realize its potential in battle isnt too high, youre going to want to evolve it. Snoms evolution, Frosmoth, is an awesome Pokemon that learns powerful moves like Blizzard very early on.

In order to evolve Snom, youll need to have caught one in the first place. Thankfully, Snom isnt too hard to run into. You can find one along Route 8 and Route 10. On Route 8, the Pokemon will show up in the overworld, making it pretty easy to spot if you know what youre looking for. On Route 10, it tends to only spawn in random ! encounters in the tall grass. Route 8 is definitely your best bet if you still dont have your own Snom.

Snoms evolution isnt as straightforward as other Pokemon. The level of the Pokemon does not matter. All that matters when evolving a Snom is friendship, as it will only evolve into Frosmoth once you raise its friendship level high enough. To raise friendship without doing too much extra work, just set Snom as your first Pokemon to be sent out during a battle. Dont actually let it battle, though, because if it faints, its friendship will be lowered. Instead, just swap it out with another, more disposable Pokemon as if you were trying to level up a Magikarp in an earlier generation of Pokemon.

If youre willing to put in some quality time with Snom, then set up your Pokemon Camp and start playing with it. Its pretty slow so the process might get a bit boring. To spice things up, try cooking some curry. If youve got a soothe bell, let the Pokemon hold it while youre out and about. Once youve bonded enough with Snom, all you have to do is level it up at nighttime and it will evolve into Frosmoth. It has to happen at nighttime otherwise it wont evolve.

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Pokemon Sword and Shield - How to Evolve Snom into Frosmoth - Attack of the Fanboy

These 4 Measures Indicate That Evolution Gaming Group (STO:EVO) Is Using Debt Safely – Yahoo Finance

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Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We note that Evolution Gaming Group AB (publ) (STO:EVO) does have debt on its balance sheet. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Evolution Gaming Group

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Evolution Gaming Group had debt of 5.86m at the end of September 2019, a reduction from 6.94m over a year. But on the other hand it also has 141.1m in cash, leading to a 135.3m net cash position.

OM:EVO Historical Debt, December 14th 2019

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Evolution Gaming Group had liabilities of 117.3m falling due within a year, and liabilities of 17.6m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had 141.1m in cash and 121.5m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it can boast 127.6m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus suggests that Evolution Gaming Group has a conservative balance sheet, and could probably eliminate its debt without much difficulty. Succinctly put, Evolution Gaming Group boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

On top of that, Evolution Gaming Group grew its EBIT by 67% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Evolution Gaming Group's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. While Evolution Gaming Group has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Over the most recent three years, Evolution Gaming Group recorded free cash flow worth 79% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.

While we empathize with investors who find debt concerning, you should keep in mind that Evolution Gaming Group has net cash of 135.3m, as well as more liquid assets than liabilities. And it impressed us with its EBIT growth of 67% over the last year. So we don't think Evolution Gaming Group's use of debt is risky. We'd be very excited to see if Evolution Gaming Group insiders have been snapping up shares. If you are too, then click on this link right now to take a (free) peek at our list of reported insider transactions.

Story continues

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

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These 4 Measures Indicate That Evolution Gaming Group (STO:EVO) Is Using Debt Safely - Yahoo Finance

Accenture and Assifact Unveil Trends and Evolution of the FinTech Industry – PR Newswire UK

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The UK strengthens its role as EU leader thanks to a flexible regulatory regime, a supportive government policy and strong interest from investors, according to a new study commissioned by the Italian Factoring Association

LONDON, Dec. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --The United Kingdom represents the European hub of the FinTech ecosystem, with a total funding of 3,9 bn$, out of 6,9 bn$ in Europe (2018), according to a study presented today by Accenture Strategy and Assifact, the Italian Factoring Association.

Thanks to a less regulated scenario and a supportive government policy, the British FinTech sector is growing exponentially, attracting a large amount of capital. In particular, the number of larger SMEs using invoice finance and asset based lending increased by 13% in 2018.

Assifact and Accenture analysed more than 250 players (Incumbent, Fintech, Corporate and Tech Giants) in seven countries, with the aim of identifying the most innovative solutions and business models that are arising in the Supply Chain Finance.

More than 70% of analysed Fintech Fin and Tech Giants offer financing solutions for SMEs not covered by Incumbents due to a too high cost-to-serve. These players show further specialization towards specific targets and niches (freelancers, e-merchants, unserved).

While Fintech Fin are mainly focused on offering Invoice Financing marketplaces, Fintech Tech are more specialized on the realization of B2B "open" digital platforms integrated with corporates' management systems, enabling a further disintermediation from the banking players.

More than 30% of Fintech Tech leverage on digitalization, process automation and analytics to speed up and improve the service level provided to customers. Around 25% of Fintech Tech leverage on Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning Solutions to strengthen internal processes as fraud detection, while Blockchain has a lower adoption.

Alessandro Carretta, Secretary General of Assifact, said: "Italian banks and factoring companies need to improve their profitability by strengthening and evolving their operating and business model through digital transformation, service quality improvement and new products and services to customer segments not yet covered, either via internal development or the activation of partnerships."

Stephen Pegge, Commercial Finance Managing Director at UK Finance said: "Yes, there continues to be successful and competitive banks and traditional specialist firms that have longstanding relationships with clients but digitisation, innovation in products and new competitors mean there is now more choice than ever before."

CONTACT:Andrea Giannotti (Mr.) Director ReeNew PR On behalf of ASSIFACT Mob. +44 7825 892 640 Mail giannotti@reenewpr.uk

Giovanna Marchi Comunicazione ASSIFACT Press office Ph. +39 02 49722332 Mob. +39 335 7117020 Mail info@giovannamarchicomunicazione.com

SOURCE Assifact

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Creative agency predictions 2020: Creativity wins, purpose and the evolution of technology – AdNews

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As the year and decade draw to a close and we enter the roaring twenties, the power of creativity has never been more important.

2019 was the year of purpose and activism with creativity becoming a driving force for good.

The work which won big at Cannes Lions was overwhelmingly focussed on social good, with brands using their voice to stand for a cause beyond their own business.

Whether it be the climate emergency the world is facing, taking a stand for democracy, feeding starving children or championing diversity, the creative industry has used its talent to create change.

WPP AUNZ interim CEO John Steedman took on the anonymous trolls and PwCs Nicky Bryson joined forces with Youngbloods to help mentor the industrys young people with the launch of The Trenches.

This year also saw the industry try to find its feet following the WPP mergers of 2018 some working out better than others.

We were introduced to WPP AUNZs new CEO Jens Monsees who joined the holding company from BMW Group in Germany and saw a string of executives come and go across adland.

The year also saw some more mergers including BMF and Naked Communications, Switched On and AKQA, With Collective and Isobar and redundancies across the networks including one-year old GrowthOps.

It was also a big milestone for many including Saatchi & Saatchi and AWARD who both celebrated 40 years.

Weeks away from the 2020, we asked creative leaders to share what they predict 2020 will hold for the industry.

The Ogilvy Groupchief executive of Australia& executive partnerDavid FoxIn a world where common sense seems to have all but disappeared, I believe 2020 will see the marketing and communications industry re-introduce it back into the brand building debate. Common sense that suggests it is not TV versus tech, but TV and tech; its not about one-off tactical ads, but long-term sustainable brand building campaigns and short-term tactics; its not about pitching or not pitching, its about finding the right cultural and capability fit and working hard at it every day like in any relationship. It will be about understanding that building modern brands is a team sport and that sometimes uncomfortable collaborations will create the best work. The agencies, clients and consultants who get this will get ahead and win in 2020.

CHE Proximity chief creative officer Ant WhiteBrands will take responsibility for the impact they are having on the world. If the airline industry were a country, it would be the seventh largest polluter in the world. When you look at a brands footprint this way, it makes you realise that they need to start taking responsibility for their contribution to global warming and become part of the solution. With governments in disarray, and not acting fast enough to fix climate change, it really is up to brands to take action. They have deep pockets and mass reach. And its already happening. From KLM asking people to fly responsibly to grocery chains removing plastic bags. 2020 will see more brands sticking their neck out and owning the problem. I hope so anyway.

Thinkerbell co-founder Adam FerrierJust three predictions. 1. Accenture Interactive buys WPP2. Mutiny buys S4 Capital3. Creativity wins

DDB Australia CEO Andrew LittleThe more things change the more they stay the same and 2019 has been a testament to that. Bill Berbachs insights from the middle of the last century are more relevant today than they were when he uttered them. As an industry, weve become obsessed with change, but I see 2020 as the year that we will shift focus on the unchanging. It will also be the year that more brands commit to embracing the long AND the short of it with a handful of smart marketers already leading the way. As always, were set for an eventful year.

Wunderman ThompsonCEO ANZJohn GutteridgeAIand biometric data will drive brands to personalise customer experiences. 2020 is the tipping point in AI and biometric data. With an exponential amount of biometric data that were creating every second, AI will allow us to utilise this information to create an ultra-hyper-personalised experience and begin to predict customer needs. We can already see the beginning of this, as consumers happily trade-in data for better customer experiences. In fact, 75% of consumers use biometric technology already to simplify their life, whether its from using their Google Home to turn on the TV to facial recognition to open a banking app (Statista, 2019). It's this biometric data that will allow us to identify customer pain-points, personalise experiences, and with AI predict consumer needs.

Clemenger BBDO Sydney CEO Pete BosilkovskiMake utility, not just a sale. We are in the customer centric era, where brands will increasingly move from extracting value from customers to finding new ways to enhance the experience people have with brands. They will go beyond the products and services they sell to creating a form of utility that helps people in their lives. Brands that do this will solve problems for customers in a non-commercial interaction, and over time will only strengthen their engagement and relevance with customers - ultimately translating to future sales.

Saatchi & Saatchi Australia CEO Anthony GregorioA dawning realisation that you cant cost cut your way to success in an increasingly commoditised world and that creativity is the last legal way to create genuine business advantage.

Switched Ondirector, brand, social& content APAC Yash MurthyAt 10am last week, there were hordes of teenagers assembling outside the Enmore Theatre. Harry Styles in town? Some dire American YouTuber? No. Turns out K-Pop act Day6 were playing in 10 hours. As they danced and Tik-Toked their way through the day to pass the time, it struck me that the pop-cultural axes have certainly shifted. The regional influence on our art and food have long been apparent, but finally, from platforms to pop stars, I think 2020 is the year our commercial creativity draws upon the mainstream appeal of our continental neighbours. Were uniquely placed to seize upon it, and I hope (and believe) we will. Tik Tok, it's Asia o'clock.

VMLY&R CEO ANZJon BirdI see two overarching and competing trends the tug of war between technology and humanity which may be better resolved in 2020. Artificial Intelligence will continue to ramp up to make things more efficient. At the same time, Human Insight will be ever more valued to make things more compelling. Agencies that can balance both effectively and creatively will win. I also believe in Cannes Chairman Phil Thomas analysis of three keys from this years Lions: Access, Activism, Commerce. Considering those for 2020 - diversity and inclusion will be critical; having a purpose fundamental; and linking to a sale essential.

Apparent CEO Phil Smith20/20 presents as the year of hindsight? Look back to plan forward. Doing this would help move on from the tired focus of the "Year of " to the year of the business of our business. Customer insights driving effective and engaging creative solutions all of which deliver on client business problems. Done with the agility and speed of the market.

DDI managing director Caroline McLaughlin Bots become flagbearers of positive change. Anyone who hasnt cottoned on to the fact that bots are here to stay has been living in a dark cave. I foresee 2020 will be the year when the ingenuity of automation really takes flight, and this conversation moves out of the shadows. Its human nature to be resistant to unseen machines that may take your job so the companies that win big in this space will be those who seamlessly integrate automation but also embrace cultural initiatives that allow their people to reinvent themselves.

The Works managing partner Tom HarberWith the experience economy stronger than ever, 2020 will be the rise of the CXO. Data sophistication will win the day. Brands and agencies included. Conversation and voice will feature in more marketing plans. New pricing models will emerge and value based remuneration will get more air time. We will see an increased demand for outsourced inhousing. Human Centred Design will play a more prominent role in creativity. Despite best efforts to ditch the pitch, we will continue to get RFPeed on.

The Hallway CEO Jules Hall The 10s was the decade of understanding advertising effectiveness. Weve had seminal text after seminal text - from Byron Sharp to Binet & Field, Karen Nelson-Field, Orlando Wood and of course the ever-entertaining, but slightly foul-mouthed Mark Ritson, and all the rest. The researchers have spoken: Creativity is critical. 70% of advertising effectiveness is determined by the content rather than the placement. More importantly weve learned what qualifies as effective creativity. 2020 is the year the word will spread. The industry is realising that optimisation is table stakes. Creativity is the differentiator. The smartest marketers will invest in re-learning what has become too much of a forgotten art. Get ready for the fun!

Spinach CEO Craig Flanders2020 will be a very tough year for anyone trying to get your average Aussie to part with money. They want to pay less for the same stuff they bought a year or two ago, and want to spend less time figuring it out you should know, I bought from you before!. So we all need to give them the stuff they intuitively want, in an easier to find/acquire (or delivered) package faster than they could get it last year. And at the same time, making more margin to keep our shareholders at bay. Easy right? Well, yes it is if youve been planting the seeds to provide you marketing strategy with the ability to mass personalise.

Bastion Collective CEO Jack WattsRealising they can no longer shrink their way to greatness through cost cutting, brands will be forced to invest in growing the top line and communications/marketing will have greater priority as a result. Consumers will continue to gravitate towards brands that talk to them in their language, in their time and in their place. Brands will demand fully integrated communications solutions from agencies that can deliver the breadth of services. Traditional agencies and media outlets will continue to be challenged and make more drastic changes, creating opportunities for nimble agencies built for the modern communications world.

Town Square chief strategy officer Neville DoyleChange will be most notable in its absence. VR and AR are not suddenly going to transform our industry. Consumers are not suddenly going to want an in-depth relationship with their given brand of toothpaste on social media. TikTok, whilst infinitely entertaining, is not going to change everything (after all, its just Vine with better CX). And behaviour change will be something that we all strive for but rarely achieve (ask yourself, when was the last time you truly changed your own behaviour). Instead, those who continue to embrace creativity as a competitive advantage will thrive whilst those who dont will struggle.

Digitas CEO Adrian FaroukAccording to Gartner in 2016, next year we will all be having more conversations with bots than with our partners while I wouldnt go quite as far as this, we have certainly evolved our thoughts of chatbots as being more than just crap interfaces for FAQs. People are now booking dinner reservations, plane tickets, receiving boarding passes, sharing feedback and more, all through messaging interfaces. At Digitas, our clients are already experimenting with highly sophisticated conversational interfaces. This 2-way dialogue can be the best way to establish individual audience needs to deliver truly personalised experiences. These programs will span into next year and we expect them to be just the beginning.

McCann Queensland executive creative director Ben DavisTruth Well Told. Its as timeless as ever, and never more relevant than today. Next year brands will continue to redefine their identities as they navigate their way through the next phase of what has been a global purpose revolution. This year weve seen many brands criticized for rushing towards purpose-led work, launching campaigns that havent fit the truth of the brand or the relationship it enjoys with its customers. In a climate of mistrust and fake news, there has never been a better time for brands to stand for something. It wont be long however, before consumers reach a saturation point. This is the point where the stakes are raised, the point in which only some genuinely great work will hit home. Clever agencies will understand that sometimes its OK to just be fun, or funny, or undeniably cool, because that may be at the heart of a brands truth. When meaning works its genuinely wonderful! But it can only be successfully navigated by Truth.

Loyal co-founders Paulie Fenton and Joshua Hunt

DAYLIGHT Agency executive creative director Chris MitchellIf data could predict the future, wed all know the winner of the last race at Randwick tomorrow. But data cant predict the future. Yet. So, at the risk of sounding analogue, Ill have a go at my prediction based on what Im seeing in the marketplace. Prediction One: Companies who lose sight of their purpose will continue to fall into obscurity. Prediction Two: The global supermarket trend will continue with expanding private label ranges forcing remaining brands to survive on reduced margins. Prediction Three: Short term sales targets will reduce the ability for CMOs to invest in building long term brand purpose and trust. Prediction Four: Lapsed brands will make a comeback. Prediction Five: Agencies will need to ensure they talk value not price.

Common Ventures co-founder James CrawleyIve read the last few years of these and theres nothing I can say that hasnt been said. So I put it to you: 2020 will rock. We will all be nicer to each other. Agencies that churn less staff will win more work. Storytelling will continue to be the most effective part of what we do, although Im sure well call it something else.

Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au

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Creative agency predictions 2020: Creativity wins, purpose and the evolution of technology - AdNews

12 Ways The Gig Economy May Evolve In 2020 And How It Will Impact The Business World – Forbes

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The gig economy plays a major part for many international business operations. Companies have realized the benefits of hiring freelancers or project-based contractors to perform tasks for their businesses as it comes with more flexibility, lower liability and fewer costs than hiring full-time employees.

As the gig economy continues to grow, due to greater demand and technological advancements, its impact on the world of business is also increasing, with unprecedented opportunities for freelance workers and companies alike. Below, 12 members of Forbes Coaches Council delve into the ways that the gig economy may change in the coming year, and how it may impact the world of business moving forward.

Forbes Coaches Council members weigh in on how the gig economy will evolve in the new decade.

1. A Shifting Landscape Of Employee Loyalty

"To thine own self be true" has never been more true than in today's world of work. In fact, in the resume writing industry we held our first-ever career portfolio resume competition due to the enormity of the side-hustle, gig-focus taking place inclusive of executives. Companies will need to be able to entice candidates with flexibility and part-time benefits to have a chance at retention. - Laura DeCarlo, Career Directors International

2. Expansion As A Result Of Growing Demand

Aside from just the Ubers and Lyfts, companies seek more flexibility in managing their fixed labor costs, so they're often turning to contingent workforces as a way to manage the varying labor demands. This will not only increase their demand for temporary or "gig" workers, but also for service suppliers that are willing to provide functional support for roles previously handled by internal staff. - Scott Singer, Insider Career Strategies

3. A Conveyor Belt Of Options To Choose From

The gig economy will evolve to become a conveyor belt of options so employers and businesses are able to develop customized ways to better cater to customer needs. Small businesses will start using gig services to generate efficiencies and, gradually, this will create opportunities for larger organizations to learn from the way small businesses use gig services. - Faisal Khan, 1ExtraordinaryLife, LLC

4. The New Workforce Optimization Strategy

The gig economy will continue to broaden its definition from sporadic, opt-in labor to also include more specialized high-end expertise and consulting. Companies will more deeply focus on how to best optimize a mix of both permanent and on-demand talent to achieve their profit goals. Some firms have created leadership positions focused on this very thing. - Karan Rhodes, Shockingly Different Leadership

5. Pending Legislation's Potential Negative Impact

The gig economy is thriving and is now a vital element of business agility and innovation. Although it has some downsides, a majority of the impact of the gig economy is beneficial. New legislation (CA Assembly Bill 5 - AB5) aims to address some of the downsides, but could inadvertently shut down the gig economy in the biggest state economy in the U.S. This is a critical element to watch in 2020. - Jim Vaselopulos, Rafti Advisors, LLC

6. Business Necessity Clashing With Legal Compliance

The gig economy will continue to expand. In order to attract talent, organizations will have to hire people for "gigs." There is just one problem. The IRS rules regarding whether jobs require an exempt employee, non-exempt employee or contractor are decades old. The need to compete will clash with compliance requirements. Businesses will have to lobby the government to update their regulations. - Brad Federman, PerformancePoint LLC

7. Unprecedented Opportunities For Those In The Gig Economy

As business growth continues, those operating in the gig economy are looking at unprecedented opportunity. Low unemployment means companies are stretched to leverage more deeply their arsenal of service providers. Independent contractors can not only raise their prices, but also enjoy more consistent relationships with their clients that should hold out through future economic downward trends. - Laura Camacho, Mixonian Institute

8. Chaos As A Result Of More Growth And Disruption

In 2020, the gig economy would continue to experience rapid acceleration and evolution, changes that would demand flexibility and adaptability. In this VUCA 2.0 world, businesses have become nimble and selective with what they focus on. More growth will lead to more disruption and uncertainty, so it's incumbent upon businesses to embrace VUCA 2.0 as the new normal and adjust accordingly. - Dr. Flo Falayi, Hybrid Leaders, Inc

9. Higher Demand For Project-Based Contractors

In 2020, you will have more people working as contractors for companies of all sizes. This will affect business as they hire more remote project-based contractors and freelancers to get the work done instead of hiring full-time employees. This trend will become more popular with workers as it provides more opportunity for them to live the lifestyles they desire by providing flexible work schedules. - Katrina Brittingham, VentureReady LLC

10. Increased Flexibility As The New Benefit

The gig economy is gaining momentum as people are placing a higher value on acquiring experiences rather than material things. This can have a ripple effect on other businesses in both talent acquisition and retention. The need to offer flexible scheduling, remote work opportunities and work-life balance will become even more important in 2020 to maintain an engaged and committed workforce. - Shelley Hastings, Synergy Empowerment Coaching, LLC

11. Accelerated Onboarding And Engagement

If you're a business hiring more short-term or freelance workers, how do you get them quickly onboarded and engaged? After you clarify role expectations, take time to ask questions like, "How do you most like to work?" or "What can I do to help you produce your best work?" or "What would have you really engaged in your work here, and what could inadvertently decrease your engagement?" Show you care. - Dr. Joel M. Rothaizer, MCC, Clear Impact Consulting Group

12. The Traditional Worker Role Fading Even Quicker

As Generation Z begins to enter the workspace, the traditional worker as we "know it" will begin to fade even quicker. Gen Zs have grown up seeing their parents work multiple jobs, take on gigs and become entrepreneurs. The gig economy will no longer be a trend, but the norm. The impact on businesses will either make them more agile and innovative or they will find themselves in a world of hurt for workers. - Shelley Smith, Premier Rapport

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12 Ways The Gig Economy May Evolve In 2020 And How It Will Impact The Business World - Forbes

Healthcare or Health Care Whats the Difference? – Writing …

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The longer a language is spoken and written, the more it changes. When two-word phrases are used frequently, they often become hyphenated or compounded.

Such is the case with health care. In Western society, health care is one of the primary concerns of day-to-day life for many people. The policies surrounding health care service delivery, and their associated costs, are a large part of the national discourse in many countries.

Some countries have different spelling conventions for these words, depending on how they are used in a sentence. Continue reading to learn about these spelling differences.

In this post, I will compare health care vs. healthcare. I will use each variation in at least one example sentence, so you can see it in its proper context. Plus, I will give you a mnemonic device that will help you choose either healthcare or health care in your own writing.

Is healthcare one word or two? Lets find out.

What does health care mean? Health care (two words) is a noun. It refers to maintenance of ones wellbeing, either by medical means or otherwise.

Here are some examples,

When this term is used as an adjective, it is hyphenated to form health-care, like in the below examples,

For anyone using AP Style, The AP Stylebook requires health care to be spelled as such: health care.

What does healthcare mean? Healthcare (one word) is a variant of the same term. It is not yet considered standard, but it is being used more and more often as time progresses.

See the below charts,

This next graph isolates the use of healthcare as an adjective, where it is actually surpasses health-care in popularity,

These data are not exhaustive, and the charts should not be considered scientifically accurate. Still, they illustrate clear usage trends, and healthcare is clearly becoming more popular with each passing year.

Heres a helpful trick to remember health care vs. healthcare.

For now, healthcare is still not accepted as standard in American English, despite its increasing popularity. At least in formal writing, you will want to stick with health care as a noun and health-care as an adjective for American audiences. As I mentioned above, place like The AP Stylebook still require the two-word health care.

For British audiences, healthcare is an accepted adjective, but health care is still more common as a noun.

Remember that healthcare is a compound adjective in British English, much like another British English adjective, gobsmacked. This memorable term, which is spelled as a single word, should help you remember to spell healthcare as a single-word adjective in British English.

Is it healthcare or health care? Health care is an incredibly important subject, so its best to know how to write about it.

Healthcare and gobsmacked are two British English compound adjectives that are spelled as a single word. Remembering the similarities between these two words will help you remember when to use healthcare, and as what part of speech.

English can be confusing, so dont forget to check this site any time you have questions. If you are ever stuck choosing health care or healthcare, you can revisit this page for guidance.

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Healthcare or Health Care Whats the Difference? - Writing ...

High health care costs limit Americans’ Christmas and holiday spending – CBS News

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Very real health care costs not a fictional Grinch are taking away holiday cheer from more than half of Americans.

Fifty-three percent of individuals say health care bills have eaten into money they would have otherwise spent celebrating the season, according to a survey from insurer Aflac. Sacrifices they've made include cutting back on or forgoing altogether traditions like gift-giving and travel. They also say they're borrowing money from friends or relatives and working extra hours, just to keep themselves healthy.

"Health care costs are affecting Americans' financial security, particularly around the holidays," said Aflac's Stephanie Shields.

The share of families with kids whose medical costs have led them to make a "sacrifice or hard decision" is even higher. Seventy-one percent said doctor's office visits and other medical expenses have hamstrung their holiday spending during the past two years.

Shields attributes the financial burden to high out-of-pocket expenses. Nearly 30% of families with kids who visited a hospital in the past two years said they spent $1,000 or more in out-of-pocket costs, according to Aflac.

"One of the themes is medical expenses outpacing the amount of insurance people have," Shields said. "They are beyond what co-payments or deductibles will cover and that results in greater out-of-pocket costs."

Some of those families that are struggling to keep up are opting for health care rather than holiday gifts. Nearly 1 in 4 families said they spent less on gifts during the past two years, and 1 in 5 decided against purchasing a gift for a loved one altogether, according to the survey.

Medical costs also affect how people finance their pared-down spending. Nearly one in five families chose to finance paying for holiday events, travel and gifts with credit cards, and more than one in four say they borrowed money from a friend or family member. Twelve percent of families with kids said they took out a loan in order to finance the holidays because of medical costs.

Also sobering: Medical costs are influencing when and how individuals access healthcare, all throughout the year. Thirty-five percent of families said they postponed their own medical appointments due to cost concerns, the survey found.

A recent Gallup poll found a record 25% of Americans said they or a family member delayed treatment for a serious medial condition because of cost, up 19% from a year ago. Another 8% put off treatment for a less serious medical condition.

Shields stressed the importance of families paying close attention to the details of their insurance plans and to select a plan with benefits that fulfills their needs. After all, 42% of families with children say they've made mistakes in choosing coverage or seeking out care.

She encourages families to review their plans' benefits annually and adjust selections based on evolving needs, as well as to make the most of flexible spending accounts and other services available through insurance plans like telemedicine, which can help lower costs.

"Health care costs are a continuing financial burden to families and they need to decide how to spend their dollars. Ultimately, we don't want to see Americans go further into debt over this," she said.

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High health care costs limit Americans' Christmas and holiday spending - CBS News