Monthly Archives: June 2017

Julian Edelman’s dad: ‘We’d love to be a Patriot for life’ – WEEI.com (blog)

Posted: June 12, 2017 at 8:06 pm

After Julian Edelman reportedly signed a two-year contract extension last week, many speculated this could be a sign the receiver plans to finish his career in New England, meaning he will go wire-to-wire with the franchise.

"Boston loves their athletes, and if you're in, you're in. Boston is also all about what Julian is; you just go to work and grind it out," Frank Edelman, Julian's dad, said to ESPN's Mike Reiss. "He loves Boston and everything about the Patriots. There are also a lot of off-field opportunities if you stay in Boston. We'd love to be a Patriot for life."

Frank Edelman noted the contract negotiations started a few months ago and they never wanted to see the talks get to apoint where anger or jealousy started to happen between the two sides.

"For a time, you're thinking maybe it won't happen," Frank said. "So it's always nice when it does, even when you get a feeling that it might have been hard for them to do it."

Edelman is now signed through the 2019 season when he will be 33 years old. It's also worth noting Tom Brady's contract is also up after this year.Given all the hits Edelman has taken over the course of his career, the 2019 season potentially could be his last, but if he does playbeyond that, he likely would be on one-year deals the rest of the way.

By him signing his extension now, before he hitsfree agency, it seems because of the good business relationship with the organization he will not play for another team the rest of his career.

View post:

Julian Edelman's dad: 'We'd love to be a Patriot for life' - WEEI.com (blog)

Posted in Life Extension | Comments Off on Julian Edelman’s dad: ‘We’d love to be a Patriot for life’ – WEEI.com (blog)

INWork – INnovate, INvest, INspire – Skills for Tomorrow’s Workforce program – Purdue Agricultural Communications

Posted: at 8:06 pm


Purdue Agricultural Communications
INWork - INnovate, INvest, INspire - Skills for Tomorrow's Workforce program
Purdue Agricultural Communications
The purpose of Purdue Extension's INWork INnovate, INvest, INspire Skills for Tomorrow's Workforce program is teaching life skills necessary to increase the number of qualified applicants for Indiana job openings. The Indiana Department of ...

See the rest here:

INWork - INnovate, INvest, INspire - Skills for Tomorrow's Workforce program - Purdue Agricultural Communications

Posted in Life Extension | Comments Off on INWork – INnovate, INvest, INspire – Skills for Tomorrow’s Workforce program – Purdue Agricultural Communications

A heartfelt and valuable –

Posted: at 8:06 pm

Seoul has a new horizontal landmark -- "Seoullo 7017," an overpass-turned-park opened last month. While many think a landmark is a high rise, a low-rise horizontal landmark with an easy access to people is getting attention.

Seoullo 7017 seems to have demonstrated the zeitgeist of urban regeneration in that it is not about removal but regeneration, not a street but a pedestrian road, and not vertical but horizontal. It remains doubtful, however, whether it will give an impression other than curiosity to visitors because it has no story with it.

New Yorks High Line Park, which Seoullo 7017 modelled after, has a dramatic story behind it. It was originally a nine-meter high railroad for cargo trains running through Manhattan. The New York City decided to remove the hideous structure, and held a public hearing in 1999. Unexpectedly, some wanted to keep it at the hearing where two young men decided to preserve the facility, objecting to the idea to remove it.

They held many gatherings to increase supporters and raised funds. They filed a lawsuit to nullify the citys decision for removal and garnered support from officials based on the study that making it into a park is more profitable than removing it. They persuaded people who opposed the idea due to their property near the railroad by offering them a right to develop other area. The 9/11 attack in 2001 threw a curve ball to the movement. New Yorkers healed the sense of loss by joining the movement instead. Ten years later, the High Line Park finally opened in June 2009 despite many twists and turns. With a pin reading I saved the High Line, some 1,000 New Yorkers were pleased about the opening, saying, Dreams come true in New York.

If the High Line is made bottom-up, Seoullo 7017 is a top-down development project led by the government. The High Line movement was the result of a series of discussions Is it worth keeping it? If so, how can we use it? How can we cover the expenses and who will operate this? The 60 billion won (53 million dollars) Seoullo project was announced by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in September 2014 and completed in less than three years.

Winy Mass, a Dutch architect who designed the overpass park, said to Korean media, (Mayor Park said) he couldnt wait for a long time. He stressed the importance of execution. I was really surprised at the unimaginable speed. He added, It would have taken about a decade in other countries. Many things have been missed out to meet the deadline."

What the Dutch architect felt missing pale comparison to what Seoul citizens missed at the expense of the surprising speed. How many people would feel proud that they saved the overpass, watching Seoullo 7017? People would rather be curious about Mayor Parks plan for presidential election, saying former Seoul Mayor and former President Lee Myung-bak restored Chunggyecheon Stream and (incumbent Seoul Mayor) Park Won-soon Seoullo. Regeneration is more difficult than creating a new thing because it involves more stakeholders. Seoul citizens lost a chance to learn from how to reach an agreement by coordinating different views.

A good-looking landmark structure does not make a city competitive. The process makes the city more attractive when it becomes part of the lives of people and the completion of the landmark gives a sense of accomplishment to people. I would like to deliver a message from the High Line movement to Korean politicians who want to become famous by building a landmark within their term while not caring about taxpayers money. (A public project) can become more successful by giving credit to more people for the success.

Continued here:

A heartfelt and valuable -

Posted in Zeitgeist Movement | Comments Off on A heartfelt and valuable –

Monterey Pop: The Event That Pioneered the Power of Music Festivals – Everfest

Posted: at 8:06 pm

Monterey Pop Festival 1967 Movie Part 1

Even more than Woodstock, the Monterey Pop Festival which took place in California almost fifty years ago to the day reflected the themes of freedom, consciousness, and experimentation that defined the Summer of Love in 1967 and the countercultural movement from which it sprung. Moments like Jimi Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire while frying on acid, Otis Redding introducing Motown to a captivated, white audience, or The Grateful Dead jamming out for thirty minutes over their set limit in protest, will forever be hallmarks of rock and roll history, even Americana itself. The Monterey Pop Festival is the event that brought together disconnected communities from San Francisco, London, and Los Angeles, and crystallized them into a movement, launched the careers of legends, and captured the cultural zeitgeist.

Now, in 2017, the Monterey (International) Pop Festival has been revived. Taking place June 16-18, 2017, on the very fairgrounds where it made history fifty years ago, the fest features new names like Jack Johnson, Father John, Misty, and Jim James, alongside a smattering of holdovers from the original including Eric Burdon & The Animals, Booker T., and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. The return of Monterey Pop, this time as a branded modern festival enterprise, provides a poignant moment to look back at the human experiences of San Francisco and the Summer of Love, to see what it felt like to be in the midst of such a powerful movement, and ask if that energy can ever be recaptured. After all, its original incarnation harnessed a moment in time so perfectly that it pioneered the "you had to be there" vibe modern music festivals now strive to embody. That's a difficult je ne sais quoi to replicate.

We spoke with four people who were in the thick of Monterey Pop Festival in 1976: Elaine Mayes, a photographer whose pictures of the festival feature in her book It Happened in Monterey , Joel Selvin, who wrote extensively on the movement in his book Monterey Pop , Paul Ryan, a cinematographer who went on to capture footage for the seminal Maysles Brothers' documentary Gimme Shelter, and Marty Pinsker, for whom that weekend was a coming of age. What follows chronicles the legacies of The Summer of Love and the Monterey Pop Festival, in their own words.

San Francisco in the 1960s was very experimental. Not self-consciously so, but the rules of life had been suspended. People felt free to try things they never had before in terms of relationships, where they could go, what was possible. Paul Ryan

1966 was a very different world than 1967. One of the main elements was psychedelic drugs. It had an impact first with the musicians, and then with the audience. January of 1967, they had the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park. Nobody took tickets, so nobody can say how many people were there, but probably between 60,000 and 100,000. The Human Be-In marked the beginning of national media exposure and the whole 'hippie scourge' being broadcast. One hundred thousand people showed up in Golden Gate Park...and they picked up after themselves! Nobody was arrested! Couldn't do that at a football game. It really sent a message. Joel Selvin

As a photographer in that era, the access to the music was extraordinary. Any Sunday in Golden Gate Park, you could walk out to find Jefferson Airplane playing, The Grateful Dead, Steve Miller. You could just walk up to the stage, there were no barriers, no police. It was just like your friends playing in the park. Paul Ryan

We all knew each other. There weren't any cell phones. There was barely even television! We didn't have any encumberments. That made a big difference. I lived in the neighborhood with Janis [Joplin]. We knew her, and we knew she was amazing before she happened outside of San Francisco. Jimi Hendrix was the same thing! Nobody knew who he was! Elaine Mayes

You walked into those concerts at The Fillmore or The Avalon it cost $3 to get in you went up the stairs, and it felt like entering a new realm. You felt that bond walking in the room. You knew how special it was, you knew that everybody else there knew it was that special. And you were all joined in that knowledge. The music was captivating and imaginative. Every week or two, there'd be some new band playing at a club, and you'd go over there on Tuesday night and there'd be 75 people and the band is Creedence Clearwater Revival. The weekend of the Monterey Pop Festival, The Who played The Fillmore the week before. The opening act, a group so new they didn't get their name on the poster...The Santana Blues Band. Even by June of 1967, there is no underground rock establishment. There's one tiny FM station in the country playing new music. The San Francisco bands never really performed outside of the Bay Area, and the bands from London were largely unknown outside of small scale in the U.S. Joel Selvin

The backdrop to Monterey was The Beatles putting out this album, Sgt. Peppers [Lonely Hearts Club Band], that really reeked of San Francisco. Everything was pointing to San Francisco in June of 1967. It was a summit meeting of immense proportions. Joel Selvin

My cousin was in town from L.A. and I traded him a tab of acid for a ride, even though we didnt have tickets. So we go over there in his beat up old Buick, just having the time of our lives. We get there, and its just a sea of people spilling out of the grounds thousands and thousands camping in the parking lot, having their own party. It was chaos, but we were loving it. We knew we had to get in somehow. Marty Pinsker

I was in the press pit taking photos. I had a magazine assignment. I didn't dare leave, even to go to the bathroom, because if you left, it was so crowded that you couldn't get back in! Elaine Mayes

I got a job shooting for Newsweek shooting stills. I was very close to the stage. They had these lights that were around the edge of the stage, bulbs. They were in the way of my photograph, so I unscrewed one. All of the sudden, one of the guys from the Pennebaker film ran over to yell at me about ruining their cues! Paul Ryan

The band everyone wanted to see was Jefferson Airplane. A couple weeks before the festival, they sprung 'Somebody to Love.' It was in the Top 5 the week of the festival. Me and my pal drove down on Saturday night and crashed the festival when people were leaving Jefferson Airplane. It was our intention to see Otis Redding. Joel Selvin

Otis Redding, without a doubt, struck me the most. That was true for everybody. He was just incredible. White people didn't know Motown then, not really. When he hit that stage, they couldn't keep people in their seats. Someone came out and said that if the audience didn't calm down they would have to close the concert down! It was quite a moment! Elaine Mayes

Everybody was impacted by Otis Redding. When he came on, with his bright green suit, and said Well, I guess this is a love crowd, huh? and then opened up with I've Been Loving You Too Long.' I don't think the crowd was prepared for the impact of his performance. And then there was Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar, which has become so iconic. On Sunday afternoon, while Ravi Shankar was playing, I walked out into the crowd and it was amazing to see that many people enjoying Indian music. They were totally transfixed. Paul Ryan

I remember the festival sent Peter Tork of the Monkees out to make a stage announcement in the middle of The Grateful Dead set. The announcement was: We hear rumors that The Beatles are gonna be here tonight. They're not! And Phil Lesh just took one look at that, just disgusted as he could have been, and then invited all the people who didn't have seats and were outside of the arena to come on in. And then they played one song for the rest of their set! Joel Selvin

I lost my cousin after we snuck in. He had found some girl and they were making out in the crowd. Somewhere between The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix, it think I lost myself, man. I have a fuzzy memory of the whole thing. I just remember looking at peoples faces, looking around, it felt like something very special was happening, like it was an important moment. Eventually I hitched a ride back to the Bay. I didnt see my cousin again until two Christmases later! Marty Pinsker

From the perspective of the mainstream media, it wasn't a big thing. As it turned out, it was a much bigger thing than anybody anticipated. The people at the core of San Francisco started to realize their impact on the world in general. In that sense, there was a big change afterwards. Grace Slick was a friend of mine. We all knew each other and they had a little band, Great Society. Suddenly, there we were at Monterey, and Grace Slick is with Jefferson Airplane! What was just somebody around the corner [turned out to be] a superstar. Things grew from very humble beginnings. Nobody had any anticipation of it being that big. Paul Ryan

Monterey Pop Festival was a watershed moment in the whole rock culture movement. Although it had this outsized historical influence, it really was a small-scale event. The arena sat 8,500 people. There were another 5,000-8,000 people admitted to the festival grounds, and possibly as many as 15,000 hanging out outside the fences. The groups that came into that weekend on topThe Mamas and Papas, Jonny Rivers, The Associationthey were done by the end of the weekend. The ascendance of Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, was assured. Joel Selvin

The Fantasy Fair was a watershed. Having a bunch of people smoking pot was a watershed. The Human Be-In was a watershed. All of it added up. And Monterey was probably the last time that it all seemed to work well. The East Coast was not part of this. When 1969 came along and people went to Woodstock, they had learned about it because of what happened in 1967, but by then, it was not the same anymore. Elaine Mayes

We knew [the original festival] was special. There was never anything like it before. But when you're in it, you're in it. You're not thinking about what's gonna happen in 50 years. Who even knew 50 years ago that what we were doing was going to matter later on? Elaine Mayes

Rock is an art form in decline. That's in the nature of art movements. You have an avant-garde that seeps ideas into the mainstream. Then you get this bell curve where people keep repeating ideas until you get diminishing returns. And it's been a long time since there were any important popular new ideas in music. I guess hip-hop was the last one, but even that has become formalized. And when an art form becomes formalized, it will no longer innovate. Joel Selvin

I went to the opening at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. They tried to put Haight-Ashbury and 1967 into a museum. But the idea of putting your experience into a museum is a tough call! As far as the new Monterey Festival: I think it's totally impossible to catch that moment again. It's not the same culture! You can't go back. There's always a thread, but you cant bring back the same moment. When I see things revived, I don't think they're the same. Elaine Mayes

There is no evidence that there's some creative renaissance that's going on in pop music reflected in the stage right now, or a popular groundswell that would take those tickets. The original was a really incredible convergence of history and place and personalities. I don't see that happening next month in Monterey. I have no doubt that it will be a pleasant jaunt, but I don't think any history will be made this time. They couldn't even do a second Monterey the year after the original...And they tried! Joel Selvin

Link:

Monterey Pop: The Event That Pioneered the Power of Music Festivals - Everfest

Posted in Zeitgeist Movement | Comments Off on Monterey Pop: The Event That Pioneered the Power of Music Festivals – Everfest

How automation is going to affect jobs in pharma, core,auto and consumer sector – Economic Times

Posted: at 8:03 pm

The workplace is at a tipping point with automation changing the way companies work. A host of sectors are beginning to adapt to the future of work in the context of automation. ET brings you a lowdown on how the pharma, core, automotive and consumers sectors are responding to automation, and what it means for skills and jobs in these industries.

PHARMA Reskilling at the organisation level. Areas where automation is happening. Manufacturing and supply chain, sales, labs, clinical trials, compliance, training.

IMPACT Near Term

Long Term 3D printing will transform drug delivery. Personalised drugs will be delivered at your doorstep.

ROLES THAT COULD SEE CHANGES Shop-floor personnel, lab analysts, front-end sales and R&D might see rationalisation.

NEW SKILLS NEEDED Basic digital literacy (operating tablets, think systems, think data, etc). Managing automated systems. Problem solving. Design thinking. Adaptability to new technologies, ability to work collaboratively and flexibly.

HOW TO PREPARE EMPLOYEES Sensitise employees that work in the machine age need not be a battle of human versus machines.

Quote: Automation at Cipla is helping us deliver on our credo Caring for Life. Organisations need to reskill and upskill their employees by developing skills that machines cant replicate creativity, problem-solving, ingenuity Prabir Jha, global chief people officer, Cipla

CORE SECTOR Automation essential for competitiveness.

Areas where automation is happening: Automation is happening at a rapid pace. In the power sector, for instance, one can see state electricity boards go in for smart grids to control power distribution.

IMPACT Imperative for improving competitiveness, not only in the domestic market, but also in increasing exports. Will have a multiplier effect of increasing domestic demand, leading to increased job creation. Will result in reduction of some manual jobs.

ROLES THAT COULD SEE CHANGES Onsite work. Things are gradually moving to a point where one can sit in a control room and monitor everything. Planning. In areas such as infrastructure building where roads are being laid in a far more efficient way, or in smart grids, things are far more predictive.

NEW SKILLS NEEDED Ability to analyse data. Knowledge management. Virtual communication and collaboration. Adhering to agile and lean principles.

HOW TO PREPARE EMPLOYEES Get them ready to work across regions and virtual platforms to solve problems. The use of digital devices will be a gamechanger, along with social media skills.

Quote: Digitalisation in manufacturing is opening up new opportunities to make products and solutions smarter. This means, for the manufacturing industry to expand and stay competitive, it needs a diverse workforce with high levels of expertise, capabilities and high level of engagement Ramesh Shankar S, head-HR, Siemens

AUTO SECTOR Not a threat yet to your job areas where automation is happening: Fabrication and welding of frames, machining of critical parts, testing of higher-end engines and vehicles, painting.

IMPACT Robotisation is not a threat yet to human employment. The ratio of men versus machines is skewed towards humans. Certain areas require human inspection and intervention. Quality checks, judgement, opinion and logic cannot be replaced by robots.

ROLES THAT COULD SEE CHANGE Depending on the nature of automation and extent of embedding artificial intelligence, most of the roles are likely to get upgraded.

Repetitive jobs and those such as coordination will see changes in the immediate future.

Players in most roles are likely to feel the need for stepping up their skill levels, as part of their jobs will be automated.

NEW SKILLS NEEDED Cannot be generalised. However, learnability will be the most important competence for anyone. This can help people up-skill themselves at a quick pace. People need to understand the importance of digitisation and its impact and prepare themselves.

HOW TO PREPARE EMPLOYEES Offer quality training and education to produce effective and competent professionals.

Quote: The automotive industry is among early adopters of automation, with constant focus on improving productivity and product quality. The role of automation is also constantly evolving, with vehicles getting more advanced and complex. Automation is closely linked to predicting the future via data analytics and IoT R AnandaKrishnan, senior vicepresident, HR, TVS Motor Company

CONSUMER SECTOR Will boost demand for skilled labour.

IMPACT Will increase productivity and competitiveness in existing workforce. Will boost skilled labour demand and have a positive impact on wages. May pose challenges in enabling the middle and low skilled to upskill and in retaining them. Fear and insecurity in the workforce can result in attrition and demotivation.

SKILLS NEEDED Knowledge and understanding on the next level or future technology. Cognitive, behavioural and people skills.

HOW TO PREPARE EMPLOYEES Upgrade the Generation Y employees by offering courses and engage them in conversations beyond comfort zone. Develop emotional intelligence. Business leaders need to conduct a thorough revision of their inventory and create a heat map of where automation potential is high. They should strategise on the types of skills they want be installed within their employees in order to enhance their workability.

Quote: Automation is about technology and I see it as a means of empowering oneself and others. As the industry gathers pace and moves into the fourth industrial revolution, we need to start training the workforce in ways so they can work efficiently with the machines Adarsh Mishra, CHRO, Panasonic India

View post:

How automation is going to affect jobs in pharma, core,auto and consumer sector - Economic Times

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on How automation is going to affect jobs in pharma, core,auto and consumer sector – Economic Times

Bindery: Too Much Automation? – Printing Impressions

Posted: at 8:03 pm

A senior technician and Iwere at a system install last week when we got into aphilosophical discussion on bindery system design. I noted that bindery systems weregetting to the point where the only hands on requirement for an operator was the ability topush the right buttons. My technician friend immediately jumped in and said (in no uncertain terms) that this was not a good thing. Why? I asked.

He countered that all bindery systems process paper. Paper is an organic substance. And all saddle-stitched, perfect-bound and hardcover products (and more) are builtof this organic material. Therefore,an operator should know how paper behaves. They should know how it flows through a system, how it should fold (properly), and how moisture, heat and cold affect it. They should know what the grain direction of a sheet should be for each process. They should also know what the properties of offset, text, cover, tag and newsprint stocks are, and how they perform in different binding processes.How does the speed of the machine affect it? (And believe me, it does). How does the print affect the binding?

After some minutes of discussion with my friend, I began to see his pointabout the dangers of pushing too many buttons and not knowing enough about the finerpoints of the process you are dealing with.

Isthis an argument for better (and more in depth) training for both offset and digital bindery people? You bet. Thats a real investment in both dollars and time, but the result is an operator who both understands their machine automation, and also the underlying processes that the machine is trying to achieve. The end result is a system thatruns better, with less downtime and fewer defective products. So as we were troubleshooting our machine on thatFriday afternoon, I began to pay very close attention to all of those little belts, rollers, scoring wheels and others that had an impact on our high-speed paper path and their proper adjustment with regard to our paper source.

I will leave you with a quote from the great Professor Emeritus Werner Rebsamen of RIT who knew how paper behaved in binding like no one else, and who once described the perfect book block as well pressed is half bound. Thats an accurate statement!

The rest is here:

Bindery: Too Much Automation? - Printing Impressions

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on Bindery: Too Much Automation? – Printing Impressions

ISG Research: Automation and AI Use to Triple by 2019 – PR Newswire (press release)

Posted: at 8:03 pm

Overall investment in automation technologies including robotic process automation (RPA), autonomics, virtual customer service agents and personal assistants, natural language processing and machine learning is expected to double in the next two years, the survey finds, as enterprises look to harness technologies that have the flexibility to solve more than one business problem.

"Automation and artificial intelligence are top of mind for business executives and service providers alike and with good reason," said Todd Lavieri, partner and president of ISG Americas. "Robotic process automation, autonomic systems and cognitive agents are making employees more productive by taking over routine, process-oriented tasks. At the same time, data scientists are using machine learning to find patterns and make predictions on vast troves of structured and unstructured data. These technologies, taken together, promise to usher in the next wave of enterprise growth and profitability."

A Strategic Imperative

Some 75 percent of respondents indicate automation and AI will be critical to their ability to deliver products and services competitively, and two-thirds say such technologies will be required to fend off competition from digital disruptors. An equal number say cognitive systems will be central to strategic decision-making.

From a functional perspective, nearly 70 percent say information technology will be most impacted by automation and AI specifically by autonomics in the next two years. Nearly 60 percent believe autonomics will double IT productivity by 2020.

Other key areas of impact are customer care, where more than 60 percent say virtual agents and chatbots will improve customer experience by 2020, and finance and accounting, where more than 50 percent say RPA will automate more than half of F&A processes in the same time frame.

Automation and AI also will force enterprises to completely reimagine their talent acquisition and retention strategies, more than 60 percent of respondents say, particularly for such hard-to-obtain-and-retain skills as software development and data science.

Disruptive to Outsourcing

More than 60 percent believe automation and AI will decrease the need to outsource IT and business-support functions, and more than half say it will enable them to repatriate work now performed offshore.

Among enterprise buyers, 54 percent say they expect providers will need to lower their costs by 25 percent or more as a result of automation and AI, and an even greater number 65 percent say such technologies will reduce the cost to manage their service provider relationships significantly.

Nearly half of enterprise buyers believe service providers are avoiding automation and AI to preserve short-term revenue. Yet, 54 percent say they prefer to buy the business outcomes of automation and AI (cost avoidance, productivity, quality, etc.) from a service provider rather than buy automation and AI software themselves.

"As ITO and BPO buyers increasingly look to automate processes before they outsource them, the need for traditional tower-based outsourcing services will wane as will the need to have a significant number of delivery resources offshore," said Stanton Jones, director and principal analyst at ISG Research, and a co-author of the survey research report. "Buyers also are becoming savvier about the use of automation and are realizing their managed services providers are not always passing savings back to them as services become more automated."

More than 80 percent of respondents say the most important outcomes from enterprise automation and AI are avoiding long-term costs (such as adding new hires), boosting productivity and improving customer experience. The vast majority do not view automation and AI as a way to cut jobs, with nearly 70 percent saying such technologies are focused on automating tasks, not entire roles. Nearly three-quarters feel automation and AI will free up employees to work on more value-added activities.

To learn more, click here.

About the ISG Automation and AI Survey

The ISG Automation and AI Survey asked 532 IT and business leaders in April 2017 about their current and planned adoption of automation and AI solutions, the reasons behind their adoption, their success to date and how such technologies would impact their talent acquisition and retention strategies both internally and through service providers.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (NASDAQ: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including 75 of the top 100 enterprises in the world, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; technology strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 professionals operating in more than 20 countriesa global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry's most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit http://www.isg-one.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/isg-research-automation-and-ai-use-to-triple-by-2019-300471665.html

SOURCE Information Services Group, Inc.

http://www.isg-one.com

Go here to read the rest:

ISG Research: Automation and AI Use to Triple by 2019 - PR Newswire (press release)

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on ISG Research: Automation and AI Use to Triple by 2019 – PR Newswire (press release)

ET India Leadership Council: In times of automation, job creation … – Economic Times

Posted: at 8:03 pm

MUMBAI: Job creation is the number one challenge for India at a time when digitisation and automation are disrupting traditional roles across all sectors, panellists at the ET India Leadership Council said. The India Leadership council is an exclusive peer group platform working towards bringing change in the country's business environment.

Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, ICICI Bank MD Chanda Kochhar, Marico chairman Harsh Mariwala, HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri, YES Bank MD Rana Kapoor, Amazon India country manager Amit Agarwal and BCG Asia Pacific chairman Janmejaya Sinha held the inaugural meeting of the ET India Leadership Council. After the closed-door meeting, Mariwala, Kapoor, Agarwal and Sinha participated in a panel discussion, which focused on the challenges in job creation for India in the next few years.

Speaking at the inauguration, Times Group MD Vineet Jain said, "I am confident that ILC holds the potential to knit the business fraternity together and create 'Change' that will be impactful at multiple levels. Together, we will also enlist the brightest minds, thought leaders, senior academicians and visionaries, as we seek to create the next wave of leaders by encouraging conversations around macro issues like capacity building, innovation and digitisation."

One very real challenge is disruption due to automation which will have to be dealt with by finding new opportunities in areas like design, innovation and creativity, they suggested. Digitisation has already replaced many manual jobs and will continue to do so but there are also new avenues opening up where a different set of skills will be required, the panel felt.

Harsh Mariwala, Rana Kapoor, Amit Agarwal, Janmejaya Sinha at panel discussion.

For instance, the banking sector has already seen an impact due to automation, which is forcing it to change the way bankers work.

"Today the alliances-relationshiptechnology model of a business has been disturbed. We will have to create an economy led by design, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship (DICE) to bring about a transformation," Rana Kapoor said.

Besides banking, another sector grappling with change led by automation is information technology (IT). Falling margins, a changing political environment and automation are forcing these companies to innovate or shed jobs. Marico chariman Harsh Mariwala said flexible labour policies are crucial if companies are to continue to invest. "Labour reform is a state subject.

But in spite of many states being ruled by the NDA government, we have not seen labour reforms taking place in states. There is clearly a hesitation in bringing about radical reforms. What the industry needs now is flexibility in employment so that in case of a downturn, the workforce can be reduced. Otherwise, it tempts you to invest in capital and equipment," Mariwala said.

However, BCG Asia Pacific chairman Janmejaya Sinha said flexibility will prevail if it is rewarded accordingly. "It is important that flexibility in employment is rewarded, in which the flexible workers are taken care of, given appropriate health insurance etc, so it is not a win-loss situation for people engaging in flexible ways of employment and it is a fair and just process," he said.

Amazon country manager Amit Agarwal who has recently been promoted to the position of global vice-president, however, said internet has created a unique method of job creation in non-linear ways.

"Amazon has created close to 1,50,000 jobs in India in the last four years and that has happened because of non-linearity. It was not because of a law that enabled us to do this. It happened because internet, when left barrier-free, lets people innovate," Agarwal said defending the ecommerce sector which he said should not be judged so early for its potential.

There are some areas somewhat immune to effects of automation, the panel felt. "There are three sectors, namely tourism, housing and agriculture and associated sectors, that will not be affected either by automation or lack of labour reforms," Mariwala said.

The government with its various skilling programmes is trying to bridge the gap between eligibility and employability. The panel felt that while some good ideas have been developed on this front, implement is lagging ideation, and regulation needs to be closely looked at in this area.

Read more from the original source:

ET India Leadership Council: In times of automation, job creation ... - Economic Times

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on ET India Leadership Council: In times of automation, job creation … – Economic Times

The scout system at Oxford must be scrapped – Cherwell Online

Posted: at 8:03 pm

The Fay School is an independent, coeducational boarding school located near Boston, Massachusetts. It enrols students between grades seven to nine in a boarding program, that is, the British equivalent of years eight to ten. Among other things, Fay students are expected at that age (eleven through 14 years old) to take care of their own laundry, clean their own rooms, and dispose of their own trash, as they board year long as the school.

Who knew, that expecting a 12 year old to be able to manage a cordless handheld vacuum cleaner to suck up spilt ramen powder could be such an easy request? Apparently, Oxfords colleges thinks much less of us, and that its students, the supposed best and brightest in all of Britain, if not the world, are less competent at cleaning up their crisp crumbs and bread dust than prepubescent children.

As we know, each college has their own system of housekeepers, known colloquially as scouts. Scouts perform a variety of housekeeping duties for each individual students room typically during morning hours. Scouts also clean and maintain a number of communal living areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and showers. The system has existed nearly as long as Oxford has, and well into the 60s and 70s, scouts were still openly referred to as servants, bringing bottles of milk to the doors of students.

To be fair, while Fay might not get parents rolling in to complain of the dreadful living conditions that their students might have to live in, its not entirely unimaginable to picture Oxford mothers railing one out at a college principal for daring to ask their child, god forbid, unclogs their own sink, is it? That being said, this comparison is wholly unnecessary. If we have reduced ourselves to asking each other to perform basic duties such as taking care of ourselves, the same way children half our size and age do, which apparently we have, we should actively recognise that there is something seriously wrong with the way the university is shaping our behaviour and expectations.

The claim, furthermore, that scouts fill a necessary role, is ludicrous. Imagine any other world-renowned institution telling its students that they need to hire cohorts upon cohorts of cleaners to vacuum their floors them and scrub their windows to a shine. They would be laughed at, as Oxford is. A concept straight out of Downtown Abbey, it is, and should be, considered an ancient practice. The practice continues, regrettably so, at Cambridge University, and Durham University, where they are otherwise known as bedders. Outside of these three universities, there is no equivalent at any other major educational institution in the entire world.

Why that is not concerning to the main body of administrators and students at Oxford, I will never understand. The former equivalent system at Trinity College Dublin, where scouts were known as skips, was abandoned in the 70s, when British civilisation also typically abandoned other archaic practices such as restricting university admission to men only. Apparently this idea of progress has been lost on Oxford. The idea that adults, or anyone over a reasonable age, cannot be expected to clean after themselves, and instead, require other grown adults to clean after them, in spaces as small as college rooms, is utterly absurd.

The entire system, thus, reeks of the same problems of potential for human trafficking and wage slavery that the entire housekeeper labour supply industry stinks of. In fact, some members of the administration at Oxford have clearly had the time to think it through and realise the very real grey area that exists. The Oxford University Council Secretariat has its own dedicated page towards compliance issues regarding Modern Slavery in its supply chains, for both labour and material goods. Now thats a term that you wont find, or need to find, in every other universitys websites, no matter how much you Google. It is a well known fact that at many colleges in Cambridge, nearly half of the bedders are Polish.

The system of scouts also removes any sense of privacy, and automatically places students and scouts on a hostile ground over this effect. As if the smattering of CCTV cameras that spy on every nook and cranny of your college were not enough, the scout system is the icing on the cake that reminds you that the college you live in will never truly be your home. We are forced to give daily access to our rooms. The positive spin is typically presented as the requirement for scouts and students to develop a trusting relationship. I suppose that is the best way of phrasing the concept of being forced to agree to a system in which the posessions of students, both valuable and not valuable, are constantly accessible. This, along with the fact that many days of the week, scouts often have nothing to do, combine to create a naturally toxic relationship between scouts and students.

This occurs especially potently when scouts have to deal with the vibrant community of the spoiltthey face mockery and judgment from students who are faced with the existential conundrum of wanting everything done for them, but at the same time, naturally desiring privacy over their baubles, and so the cooking pot of rage boils. Reports of students unleashing verbal tirades on scouts, who do not speak English as a first language and thus dont even understand what is being said, are not unheard of. Fortunately, we can see colleges such as Jesus addressing the issue at hand properly, which have been reported in the past to force scouts to adopt Anglicised names, and colleges such as Christ Church who have been reported to force their scouts to learn English. In this manner, these two wonderful colleges have ensured that the scouts can receive a good scolding from entitled students and understand it too!

If all of the above were not concerning enough, what we should be most shocked at is that many scouts are not even paid a living wage. The Oxford Living Wage, separated from the national living wage costs because of the ridiculously high costs of living in Oxford, is 8.93 per hour, below the London living wage of 9.75 per hour. Despite this having been made clear by the Oxford City Council numerous times over the past and visibly declared on their online platforms, Oxford continues to pay its scouts below the Oxford Living Wage. More than 2,000 employers in Oxfordshire have signed up to the living wage scheme, and yet, according to vacancies advertised online, most colleges continue to pay their scouts below said wage. Hertford, which I regret to mention, because I suspect that they pay their scouts above the par in comparison to most other colleges, pay their scouts 8.45 an hour. It is reported that numerous other colleges continue to pay their scouts 7.85 an hour.

Harvard students famously campaigned for living wages for their own staff between 1998 and 2002. This past autumn, 750 workers went on strike, with the support of numerous student groups, to protest minimum wages that were not considered enough to afford a decent living, i.e. below the living wage. As a result, numerous dining halls closed all over Harvard, with the majority of the students on campus standing in solidarity with the workers, until the protest ended all dining halls return to normal operation. Unfortunately, I have the disappointment in believing that the same protest could never happen at Oxford, understandably so, as students study in one of the shortest year long undergraduate programmes ever, with tiny eight week terms.

Related Becoming a metropolitan through life in slow motion

The existence of terrible treatment outside of already terrible wages is no conspiracy. In a Cherwell investigation two years ago, incidents reported from scouts all over Oxford including instances of being forced to work from nine to 11 overtime with no compensation or apology, contracts that prevent scouts from having a lunch break, scouts forced to wear makeup and skirts, and persistent harassment from managers. Scouts themselves also lack the capacity to bargain or even remotely protest. The scouts at Oxford certainly have not unionised, and I suspect that they fully lack the ability to do so.

Reports at Jesus College of the harassment of scouts and the complete denial and gaslighting of scout concerns goes towards this belief. It is also well understood that scouts often refrain from discussing their wages or their working conditions in fear of losing their job, a state that no labourer should have to experience. Furthermore, while some scouts might be somewhat satisfied with their jobs and colleges, we should remember that is no prerequisite for the acceptance of the conditions and treatment of others, or for the existence of the system in general.

Finally, it is listed as a final resort, often by college principals themselves who relish in receiving housekeeping in their own college accommodations to free up time for their exhausting duties as revered heads of colleges of Oxford, that the colleges need tending to over the holidays. It is heavily ironic that college principals deliver platitudinous sermon after sermon about how learning takes precedence above all at that their colleges are first and foremost institutions of learning. If I were a wanderer with no prior knowledge of the colleges, I would not be able to tell the difference between most colleges at Oxford, and vaguely colonial hotels.

Then again, when colleges become displayed on TripAdvisor and get five star ratings for services, I begin to question myself if I am in a college that I am supposed to call my home, or a Hilton stuffed with tutors and an only somewhat meaningful history. How different really, are term stays from eight-week bookings at the Marriot?

The system of scouts makes a laughingstock out of the University of Oxford and each of its individual colleges. I would say that it contributes to the outsider picture of Oxford students as posh spoilt twats that puts so many off even bothering to apply, but how far would that picture really be from reality? How the system remains to the present day confuses me because I thought that the university had moved past inflting the egos of the talcum-powdered brats that genuinely believe that less time spent scrubbing the mirror clean of last nights spilt Dom Perignon means more time reading Isaiah Berlin and Sartre. Apparently, this is not the case. Get a grip, Oxford.

Original post:

The scout system at Oxford must be scrapped - Cherwell Online

Posted in Wage Slavery | Comments Off on The scout system at Oxford must be scrapped – Cherwell Online

Exeter car wash owner in court accused of posing modern slavery risk – Devon Live

Posted: at 8:03 pm

The manager of two car washes in Exeter has appeared in court accused of posing an exploitation risk to his Romanian workforce.

Luan Sinanaj, 44, of Harrington Road, Pinhoe, has been made the subject of an interim slavery and trafficking risk order.

It follows concerns about the poor pay and living conditions of Romanian workers at car washes, run by Mr Sinanaj and his cousin, in Honiton Road and Main Road in Pinhoe.

Mr Sinanaj appeared before magistrates in Exeter on Monday. The case is one of only a handful of its type ever prosecuted in the country.

Prosecutor Emmi Wilson said Devon and Cornwall Police were bringing the application for a risk order under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Mr Sinanaj's cousin, Vladimir Veliaj, has already been made the subject of a full order preventing him from being involved in the transport of workers from within and outside the UK.

Mr Wilson said Mr Sinanaj was responsible for 'arranging for workers to come over to Exeter from Romania', to work at the two car washes which he ran with Mr Veliaj.

They were promised a good wage but were living in poor conditions and not paid much at all," she said.

Mr Sinanaj said he needed more time to get his lawyers involved and the case was adjourned.

Ms Wilson asked magistrates to impose an interim order until a full hearing could take place.

The test today is whether it would be just to make an order," said Mr Wilson.

The police say it is necessary to protect the public from these sorts of activities continuing in the interim."

READ MORE: 'Incompetent burglar' jailed after raiding bride-to-be's Exeter...

Magistrates agreed the interim order was needed.

An application for a full five-year risk order will be made on July 20. Mr Sinanaj is expected to oppose the application by police when he reappears.

Slavery and trafficking risk orders were introduced in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The risk order restricts the activity of people who have not been convicted of a modern slavery offence but who pose a risk of committing any such offence.

The recent prosecution of Mr Veliaj was the first of its type in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.

RETURN to DevonLive homepage

See the article here:

Exeter car wash owner in court accused of posing modern slavery risk - Devon Live

Posted in Wage Slavery | Comments Off on Exeter car wash owner in court accused of posing modern slavery risk – Devon Live