What's Emerging August 2022
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy
Welcome to our end of August newsletter.
In the next few weeks, Paul will be continuing work with Save the Children on their strategic planning and run a Wardley mapping project for a data company. He will also record a video on Wardley mapping and foresight for a conference in Europe. If you want to register for the live event it is free: Register Here.
Paul is also helping to organise a conference on the future of farming in Southern Australia in early September where he is creating scenarios and is Master of Ceremonies for the conference. He will also be presenting to an internal conference for the Fred Hollows Foundation on how to think about the next 30 years of their journey. He continues to participate in a global research project led by Simon Wardley from the UK and continuing a year long foresight advisory role with Vision Australia. He will also be presenting at the Tasmanian Forest Products conference in late September.
Social Venture Partners Melbourne, where Paul is a director and venture partner is looking for new partners. If you or someone you know is interested in giving back to the community and being directly involved in those efforts with a group of like minded and talented people then go to SEEK Volunteers to learn more. SVPM is also looking for a new executive director, which is a part time role (2 days a week or those hours spread out more flexibly):
Paul: Unfortunately our fantastic Executive Director Dominica Ryan is moving on to a new role related to her research studies but this opens up an opportunity for you or someone that you know to come and join us in making a difference in the not for profit sector.
We are a venture capital style partnership that donates our money and time to innovative not for profit organisations looking to change their business model or scale up.
The ED plays a critical role binding us all together, growing the partnership and managing the relationships with our investees and philanthropic trust partners.
As well as making a contribution to the community it is a great opportunity to learn and mix with a network of talented individuals (and me) who are passionate about making a difference.
Please take a look or share this with your networks: ADVERT
Please Contact Us if you want to talk about any of these approaches for your organisation or industry or want a presentation for your organisation or conference.
The Emergent Futures Team
In case you missed it. The most popular link from the last edition:
How a Ford F-150 Lightning Powered a Night of Rock
While not a stadium show, the EV truck still provided more than enough juice for a band to entertain a summer backyard party—and it hauled all the equipment..……Read more
What are we Writing About?
As all the work and presentations we have been doing have been private and confidential there is nothing in this section in this edition.
What’s Emerging
Baidu secures China’s first permits for commercial driverless robotaxis
Civ 6 players are good managers and science proves it
Civ 6 players tested much higher on organizational and planning tests in a scientific study compared to their non-gaming counterparts.... Read More
New York City is drowning in packages
Online orders, which ramped up with the start of the pandemic, are still clogging city streets......……. Read more
Artificial intelligence model can detect Parkinson’s from breathing patterns
An MIT-developed device with the appearance of a Wi-Fi router uses a neural network to discern the presence and severity of one of the fastest-growing neurological diseases in the world....……read more
Christ Church Cathedral clean-up finished a month early using remote-control digger
"This innovative digital solution has allowed the project's critical work plan to gain about three months. It has marked the start of the major interior clean-up and is another milestone in the cathedral's reinstatement journey," project director Keith Paterson said.
"The safe retrieval of heritage fabric has been a top priority for the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project."..…..Read more
How Tagged Turtles Are Boosting Tropical Cyclone Prediction
Loggerhead and Olive Ridley sea turtles. Now here is a hardy character that can wear a 250-gram tag, travels thousands of kilometers each year, and reliably comes back to its natal beach. This homing instinct makes it easier for scientists to recover the sensor’s full suite of data, instead of just the summaries that the equipment can send to satellites over limited bandwidth while the turtle is out and about.........…..Read more
US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor design
Small modular reactors have been promoted as avoiding many of the problems that have made large nuclear plants exceedingly expensive to build. They're small enough that they can be assembled on a factory floor and then shipped to the site where they will operate, eliminating many of the challenges of custom on-site construction. In addition, they're structured in a way to allow passive safety, where no operator actions are necessary to shut the reactor down if problems occur........….. Read more
The Norwegian library with unreadable books
Some of the world's most celebrated authors have written manuscripts that won't be published for a century – why? Richard Fisher visits the Future Library in Oslo to find out......….. Read more
Bushmaster goes electric: Australia unveils silent, electrified personnel vehicle
An all-electric Protected Military Vehicle (ePMV) concept was unveiled as part of a showcase looking at how the defence force will become “future ready.” Powered by a battery giving a maximum all-electric range of 100km, the ePMV can also be built with a larger battery giving up to 300km range.....…. Read more
Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change
It is relatively well accepted that climate change can affect human pathogenic diseases; however, the full extent of this risk remains poorly quantified.....…..Read more
Snap is giving up on its Pixy drone after just four months
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel apparently told employees at a Q&A session about the choice to no longer develop the Pixy line. A source told the publication the company plans to sell the current Pixy, and that model is still available for purchase on the Pixy website.........….. Read more
Spiders Seem to Have REM-like Sleep and May Even Dream
Jumping spiders have REM-like twitches when they sleep, suggesting dreams may be much more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously realized....….….Read more
Buttons beat touchscreens in cars, and now there’s data to prove it
VB tested 11 new cars alongside a 2005 Volvo C70, timing how long it took to perform a list of tasks in each car. These included turning on the seat heater, increasing the cabin temperature, turning on the defroster, adjusting the radio, resetting the trip computer, turning off the screen, and dimming the instruments......…… Read More
Reserve Bank to trial digital currency in 'limited-scale pilot' scheme
Unlike well known cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether, which were created by private entities or individuals, a CBDC is issued and controlled by the central bank just like cash and electronic stores of sovereign currency sitting in bank accounts.The research project the RBA is undertaking in collaboration with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) will focus on the uses for, and potential economic benefits of, a CBDC......…. Read more
Conflict in the South China Sea threatens 90% of Australia’s fuel imports
Of particular concern is our reliance on liquid fuels imported via South China Sea shipping routes. This reliance has become more pronounced over the past few decades as all but two local refineries have closed. So even while we export crude oil, we import about 90% of refined fuels. Paul: our awareness of supply chain issues and vulnerabilities has been highlighted by COVID and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They will be of critical importance in the coming decades.....…. Read more
Sulfur shortage: A potential resource crisis looming as the world decarbonises
A vital part of modern manufacturing, sulfuric acid is required for the production of phosphorus fertilizers that help feed the world, and for extracting rare metals from ores essential to the rapidly required green economy transition, like cobalt and nickel used in high-performance Li-ion batteries.
Currently, over 80% of the global sulfur supply is in the form of sulfur waste from the desulfurization of crude oil and natural gas that reduces the sulfur dioxide gas emissions that cause acid rain. However, decarbonization of the global economy to deal with climate change will significantly reduce the production of fossil fuels—and subsequently the supply of sulfur. Paul: yet another example of the cascading issues with supply chains...……. Read more
Business Tips
Safeguard your iPhones, iPads and Macs: Apply these security updates now
Apple urges users to patch their devices as newly disclosed vulnerabilities 'may have been actively exploited'.…… Read more
A neuro-metabolic account of why daylong cognitive work alters the control of economic decisions
Taken together with previous fMRI data, these results support a neuro-metabolic model in which glutamate accumulation triggers a regulation mechanism that makes lPFC activation more costly, explaining why cognitive control is harder to mobilize after a strenuous workday. Paul: This resonates with my experience and the design of how I manage my workflow……Read more
TikTok's in-app browser can monitor your keystrokes, including passwords and credit cards, researcher says
Mr Krause said apps in their infancy used this data to find errors and debug before scaling and later delete the functionality — something TikTok had failed to do.
"Those [data tracking abilities] should not end up in the final version of the app that has been used by millions of people," Mr Krause said.....…. Read more
High levels of vitamin B6 in supplements, weight-loss products can cause toxicity, chronic illness
Mater Hospital clinical pharmacist and adjunct associate professor at the University of Queensland's school of pharmacy Geraldine Moses says vitamin B6 toxicity flies "under the radar".
"People have a lovely romantic belief that vitamins, in general, cannot be toxic," she said. "And that somehow your body will know when you've had too much and magically eliminate them … and unfortunately, we now know that's not true.". ..……Read more
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