Employee Happiness and Business Success Are Linked
By: The Economist July 31, 2019 A new study (PDF) by Christian Krekel, George Ward and Jan-Emmanuael de Neve finds a link between employee happiness and business success. “The study, based on data compiled by Gallup, a polliging organization, covers nearly 1.9 million employees across 230 separate organizations in 73 countries,” reports The Economist. From […]
The vexed question of samples and songwriting credits
By: M.H. July 31, 2019 THE THORNIEST question in popular music at the moment is this: who owns a melody? This week two court cases addressed the issue. In California, a jury decided that Katy Perry’s song “Dark Horse” had plagiarised the beat of “Joyful Noise”, a track by Flame, a Christian rapper. Meanwhile the […]
Apple Contractors Hear Sex Acts, Drug Deals in Siri Recordings
By: Kristin Houser July 29, 2019 If you use Apple’s AI-powered voice assistant Siri — or own a Siri-enabled device — there’s a chance a human on the other side of the world may be listening to you have sex right now. Or they may be hearing that conversation you had with your boss about […]
A society’s values and beliefs matter for its economy
By: The Economist July 25, 2019 MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN is more than text on a red cap. It is an argument about the nature of American success: one which President Donald Trump elaborated on in racist comments last week. On July 21st he questioned whether four Democratic congresswomen, all non-white, were “capable of loving […]
Should tech companies be worried about DoJ’s antitrust review?
By: Alex Hern July 24, 2019 The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced a wide-ranging antitrust review of “market-leading online platforms”, suggesting that long-awaited action may finally be taken against some of the world’s largest companies. But the confirmation of the investigation is sparse on detail, revealing only that the review “will consider the […]
Is Congress rigged in favour of the rich?
By: The Economist July 22, 2019 American politicians often rail against the undue influence of the rich. Bernie Sanders, a left-wing senator from Vermont, has decried a political system that allows billionaires to “elect the candidates of their choice”. On the campaign trail in 2016 Donald Trump claimed that the system is “rigged” in favour […]
How Microexpressions Can Make Moods Contagious
Email Us! Twitter Linkedin By: Liana Simstrom July 12, 2019 It’s a common experience for family members or groups of friends: One person’s mood can bring the whole group’s energy down— or up. But why are we so easily influenced? In 1962, the reality television show Candid Camera offered a remarkable glimpse into a psychological […]
The future of insurance is happening without insurance firms
By: The Economist July 20, 2019 EVERY MORNING, from a room in Birmingham, some of the world’s largest firms are briefed by phone on the weather in store. As continents, arrows and weather fronts flicker across their screens, meteorologists at The Weather Company (TWC) help British grocers decide whether to stock soups or salads, and […]
The New Ways Your Boss Is Spying on You
By: Sarah Krouse July 19, 2019 Your employer may know a lot more about you than you think. The tone of your voice in a meeting. How often you’re away from your desk. How quickly you respond to emails. Where you roam in the office. What’s on your computer screen. To be an employee of […]