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Control algorithm for shape-shifting soft robots

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Shape-shifting soft robots: MIT researchers have created a control algorithm that could revolutionise the field of soft robotics 

This innovative technology could pave the way for shape-shifting robots capable of seamlessly navigating through complex environments, including inside the human body.

Shape-shifting soft robots and their ability to fit into their surroundings 

Soft robots can alter their entire shape. This unique characteristic opens up a world of possibilities for applications in healthcare, wearable devices, and industrial systems.

Led by Boyuan Chen, an electrical engineering and computer science graduate student at MIT, the research team set out to tackle the challenge of controlling these shape-shifting robots. 

Their solution was a cutting-edge control algorithm that autonomously learns how to move, stretch, and shape the robot to accomplish specific tasks.

Reinforcement learning

Unlike traditional methods that rely on predefined movements, the MIT algorithm uses a machine-learning approach known as reinforcement learning. 

This technique allows the robot to learn through trial and error, receiving rewards for actions that bring it closer to its goal.

The key innovation lies in the algorithm’s ability to control groups of adjacent muscles that work together, rather than manipulating individual components. 

By adopting a coarse-to-fine methodology, the algorithm explores the space of possible actions at a higher level before refining its approach to optimise performance.

Creating the DittoGym, the shape-shifting soft robot

To simplify this process, the researchers developed a simulation environment called DittoGym. This platform features eight challenging tasks designed to evaluate the robot’s dynamic shape-changing capabilities. From weaving through obstacles to mimicking letters of the alphabet.

“We have a stronger correlation between action points that are closer to each other, and I think that is key to making this work so well,” says Chen.

Central to the algorithm’s success is its ability to perceive the robot’s environment and predict actions based on 2D representations. This approach, similar to analysing images, enables the robot to navigate complex scenarios with better efficiency and accuracy.

It may be many years before shape-shifting robots are used in the real world, but this work lays the foundation for future advancements in soft robotics. 

Young homeowners face retirement mortgage dilemma as rates rise

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image: @jaturonoofer | iStock

Younger homeowners are increasingly opting for extended repayment periods that stretch into retirement for their mortgages

Recent data from the Bank of England reveals a concerning trend that hundreds of thousands of new mortgages issued in the past three years have end dates extending beyond the state pension age.

The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request by Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister turned partner at pensions consultancy LCP, show a shocking trend reported by the BBC. 

Longer mortgage terms into retirement 

In the final quarter of 2023, 42% of new mortgages had terms exceeding the state pension age. This marks a significant increase from 31% in the same period two years prior.

The appeal of longer mortgage terms is clear, particularly for the under-30 demographic. Over two years, the number of under-30s taking out these mortgages has more than doubled, while those under 40 saw a 30% increase, Sky News reported. 

This surge coincides with a challenging mortgage market indicated by higher interest rates, encouraging young homeowners to get extended repayment periods to ease financial strain.

Cost of living and interest rates 

Young homeowners, who are already competing with rising living costs and economic uncertainty, now face the possibility of carrying mortgage debt into their retirement years. 

Sir Steve Webb warns of the potential consequences, expressing concern that borrowers may resort to dipping into their pension savings to settle mortgage debts in a worst-case scenario.

The impact is not confined to the younger demographic alone. Individuals in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s are also increasingly opting for mortgages with extended maturity dates, showing the widespread challenges set by rising housing costs and interest rates. 

In the final quarter of 2023, individuals aged 30 to 39 accounted for over 30,000 new mortgages with terms extending beyond the state pension age, while those aged 40 to 49 comprised over 32,000 of these mortgages.

The rise in mortgage rates, paired with the Bank of England’s efforts to combat inflation, has intensified the appeal of longer-term loans. For many, opting for extended repayment periods offers a way of managing monthly expenses amidst economic uncertainty. However, the long-term ramifications remain uncertain. 

Conducting policy-relevant research on gender and entrepreneurship

Conducting policy-relevant research on gender and entrepreneurship

Here, Dr. Jennifer Jennings and Ms. Jessica Carlson offer suggestions for the actions that scholars and policy practitioners can take – both separately and jointly – to produce knowledge pertinent to the identified priorities

Ideas for bridging the academic policy divide

In a prior Open Access Government article, Dr. Jennifer Jennings (a professor at the University of Alberta) and Ms. Jessica Carlson (a recent Doctorate of Business Administration graduate and policy professional in the Government of Alberta) identified several policy-oriented priorities at the nexus of gender and entrepreneurship. In this follow-up article, they offer suggestions for the actions that scholars and policy practitioners can take – both separately and jointly – to produce knowledge pertinent to the identified priorities.

Converging interests between policymakers and academics

Although policy and academe have long been viewed as ‘worlds apart,’ Carlson and Jennings have noticed a growing convergence of interests between the two domains. Policymakers, for instance, are increasingly recognizing the opportunities of inclusive economic development and are keen to turn to academic information that can help guide policy formation to achieve these multiple objectives.

Reciprocally, academics are increasingly embracing a mindset consistent with what has been called the ‘responsibility turn’. Central to this mindset is the acknowledgement that one of a university professor’s key roles as a public servant is to produce scientific knowledge that can help address the world’s most pressing problems.

Jennings and Carlson have observed the converging interests of policy practitioners and academic researchers not only in regards to entrepreneurship in general, but also at the intersection of gender and entrepreneurship in particular. That being said, they are also aware of the divergent objectives and practices valued within policy versus academic circles, which can create challenges for bridging the divide between the two realms.

Divergent approaches that create bridging challenges

Consider the characteristics of scholarly research that are valued by policy practitioners. As summarized within a forthcoming article by Carlson and Jennings, policy professionals value information that is:

  • practical (i.e., findings that can be implemented to help solve an identifiable problem)
  • accessible (i.e., information that is easy to obtain and understand)
  • credible (i.e., work that is transparent about any influencing factors)
  • complex (i.e., research that accounts for multiple perspectives and stakeholders)
  • responsive (i.e., information that is provided in a timely manner and reflects different circumstances and evolving needs)

In sharp contrast to many of these criteria, the prevailing reward system across many academic disciplines continues to grant greater prestige to research that addresses theoretical problems, typically from a single overarching perspective and in a manner that is comprehensible primarily (if not solely) by specialists in the domain. Moreover, due to the highly-rigorous review process in place at many elite academic journals, scholarly work often takes several years to be published.

Despite these divergences, Jennings and Carlson believe that there are numerous actions that can be taken – by both parties – to generate academic research that has a greater likelihood of being accessed, appreciated, and acted upon by those responsible for developing policy related to gender and entrepreneurship.

Recommendations for independent actions by policy practitioners

Carlson and Jennings have identified several actions that policy-practitioners can take to help in identifying, producing, and using academic research in policy formulation. The following suggestions relate to communicating policy priorities, accessing quality information, and revisiting organizational processes.

Providing leadership in terms of communicating policy priorities

There are opportunities for policy practitioners to proactively identify and communicate what type of information they need from academic research and why. Given that policy practitioners are immersed in policy issues, they are uniquely positioned to voice their perspectives on both current and future needs. By proactively identifying and communicating policy issues, policy-practitioners can support academics in producing relevant information. In health-related domains, for instance, many collaborative structures and processes have already been created, which serve as conduits for policy professionals to provide input on directions for future academic investigation. Carlson and Jennings encourage the creation of similar initiatives pertaining to research on gender and entrepreneurship.

Providing leadership in terms of accessing quality information

In addition to providing a leadership role in identifying and communicating policy priorities, there is also a need for policy-practitioners to provide leadership with respect to accessing quality information. Because policy practitioners are fundamentally knowledge workers, ongoing personal and professional development is critical. At present, policy practitioners are typically supported in professional development based on competencies and skills such as leadership/ management, stakeholder relations, governance, and project management (among others). Jennings and Carlson suggest that increased attention to knowledge areas can and should also be supported. More specifically, they encourage policy professionals to ask for content-focused courses focused upon gender and entrepreneurship (and other topics of socioeconomic significance) to be delivered through executive education programs.

Revising systems within policy organizations to support the above recommendations

Policy practitioners typically have annual performance agreements that include a professional development component. Performance agreements could incorporate the preceding suggestions to facilitate progress with respect to their implementation. Policy practitioners will also need to consider how to orient and train staff to ensure expectations and the provision of opportunities for knowledge development and exchange with academics. Finally, there are opportunities to create ‘communities of practice’ specific to gender and entrepreneurship, as a means of facilitating shared learning about the activities, results, and insights from academic research.

Suggestions for independent actions by academic researchers

There are also numerous actions that academic researchers can implement, on their own, to help ensure that their research on gender and entrepreneurship is accessible to, appreciated by, and acted upon within policy circles. The following suggestions offered by Carlson and Jennings pertain to knowledge production, knowledge dissemination, and scholarly training in particular.

Knowledge production

A key starting point is for academic researchers to enhance their awareness of the issues that policy practitioners are grappling with at the gender and entrepreneurship intersection – particularly those that would benefit from rigorously conducted research (for examples, see the prior Open Access Government article by Jennings and Carlson. Although the issues themselves are practice-oriented in nature, this does not preclude academic researchers from addressing them via scholarly theories and methods. As such, Carlson and Jennings believe that it is possible for academics to conduct studies that are not only relevant to public policy but also potentially publishable in scholarly outlets.

Knowledge dissemination

As for knowledge dissemination, Jennings and Carlson strongly encourage scholars at the gender and entrepreneurship nexus to work with organizations, such as Open Access Government, that are dedicated to informing policy practitioners of the findings from academic research. By sharing this task with entities that are already well-connected to policy circles, academics can realize three key benefits. For one, their research findings are far more likely to be read by policy practitioners who aren’t able to access scholarly journals. Second, by relying on the connections of others, academics free up time to focus on their actual research. Third, because the ‘responsibility turn’ has become increasingly salient and endorsed within many academic circles, scholars who commit to producing an outreach-oriented article related to each of their research projects are likely to be at least recognized – if not rewarded – for doing so.

Academic training

Given that policy practitioners rely upon media outlets for information, Carlson and Jennings strongly encourage academics to invest in media training – including that on how to utilize social media effectively. They also encourage scholars to include policy-oriented (or at least policy-relevant) research in the reading lists for graduate-level courses. Relatedly, Jennings and Carlson believe that it is vital for scholars who have been successful with knowledge translation/dissemination to communicate the benefits of engaging in such activities to their graduate students, their peers, and their university administrators. Indeed, Jennings can personally attest to the kudos that she has received for her efforts in this regard. All of the preceding recommendations are especially important for scholars conducting research on topics of especial socio-economic significance, such as that on gender and entrepreneurship.

Ideas for combined actions by policy practitioners and academic researchers

Last but certainly not least, Carlson and Jennings have ideas regarding the actions that policy practitioners and academic researchers can implement jointly to strengthen knowledge and policy at the gender and entrepreneurship nexus. This final set of suggestions calls attention to the importance of creating connections with opportunities for collaboration, building mutually respectful professional relationships, and viewing knowledge co-generation and co-translation as means rather than ends. In the descriptions below, Jennings and Carlson share how they implemented each idea over the evolution of their own academic-policy collaboration.

Creating connections with opportunities for collaboration

Numerous opportunities already exist for policy practitioners and academic researchers to network with one another during online forums and in-person workshops/conferences dedicated to gender and entrepreneurship. While these events offer a great way for members of either group to listen to and learn from the other, unfortunately, they rarely contain opportunities for members of both groups to work collaboratively on pertinent issues and/or questions. Carlson and Jennings thus encourage event planners to build more opportunities for joint knowledge creation, translation, and dissemination activities directly into the program. They also encourage attendees from the policy and academic realms to request and participate in formal opportunities of this nature.

That being said, Jennings and Carlson believe that policy professionals and university professors can also do a better job of using social media platforms to establish connections with one another in a more informal manner. Indeed, this is how their own collaboration began. In December of 2021, Carlson sent Jennings a message via LinkedIn, introducing herself as an Assistant Deputy Minister and noting their shared interest in gender and entrepreneurship. This resulted in an initial face-to-face meeting in a local coffee shop, which led to an invitation for Carlson to audit a doctoral seminar delivered by Jennings. The two have since become co-authors on an academic publication as well as two outreach-oriented articles and are likely to collaborate on future initiatives.

Building mutually respectful relationships

Once policy practitioners and academic researchers have become connected, Jennings and Carlson believe that it is extremely important for both parties to be cognizant and respectful of one another’s realities in order to collaborate effectively. In their experience, this requires a genuine willingness to understand and appreciate the institutional norms, opportunities, and challenges that exist in the other’s domain. It also requires the ability to refrain from privileging and imposing one reality upon the other.

Carlson and Jennings readily admit, however, that implementing the above advice is not always easy – and can sometimes even be uncomfortable. In retrospect, their instinctual decision to hold discussions in a neutral venue (the local coffee shop) or over the phone was undoubtedly helpful in this regard. This is because doing so did not unintentionally privilege one party’s physical domain, which could have subliminally signaled the prioritization of this individual’s “world”. Indeed, to this day, the duo has not met in either of their professional offices.

Venturing outside of their own domain was sometimes uncomfortable, but Carlson and Jennings are adamant that the occasional discomfort was worth it. It has certainly contributed to their professional development. More importantly, their journey has resulted in the opportunity to help others bridge the academic-policy divide that still exists at the nexus of gender and entrepreneurship.

Viewing knowledge co-generation and co-translation as means rather than ends

The final suggestion for combined action that Jennings and Carlson would like to share is consistent with the proverbial query about whether the chicken or the egg came first. Although the ideas elaborated above might seem like prerequisites for effective collaborations by policy practitioners and academic researchers, it is possible for a shared interest in co-generating, co-translating, and co-disseminating knowledge to serve as the impetus. In some such cases, such as that which Carlson and Jennings experienced, the development of a mutually respectful relationship can become the resultant output. The duo hopes that other academic-policy pairings will attain a similar outcome – regardless of whether they are dedicated to issues at the nexus of gender and entrepreneurship and/or other societally important topics.

Further details on the above points can be found in the full academic article by Carlson and Jennings, which is forthcoming for publication in a special issue of the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research entitled “Exploring Entrepreneurship Policy in a Global Context: A gender perspective”.

To read and download this eBook in full, ‘Conducting policy-relevant research on gender and entrepreneurship’ click here

UK Government is shifting its focus to electricity for low-carbon heating

Central Heating thermostat control adjustment saving energy
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Plans by the UK government for a major hydrogen heating trial have been delayed, signalling a move towards electricity as the primary energy source for household low-carbon heating

The decision to halt preparations for what would have been Britain’s largest hydrogen heating trial, capable of supplying up to 10,000 homes, shows a change in priorities.

Reevaluating net zero strategy

Instead of going ahead with hydrogen as a potential alternative to fossil fuels, the Government reassess their approach in 2026. This review will coincide with a formal determination of hydrogen’s role in the nation’s aim for net-zero carbon emissions.

The move comes after the abandonment of two smaller-scale hydrogen heating trials last year, prompted by local opposition and logistical challenges in sourcing the gas.

These setbacks, coupled with mounting concerns from residents wary of becoming involuntary “lab rats” for unproven technology, have prompted a reevaluation of the government’s strategy.

The need for a suitable low-carbon heating solution

With domestic boilers currently responsible for approximately 14% of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions, finding sustainable heating solutions is critical for meeting ambitious climate targets.

While hydrogen was once viewed as a promising candidate, scepticism over its viability for widespread household use has grown. Instead, attention is shifting towards readily available alternatives such as electric heat pumps and heat networks.

Advocates argue that focusing on these established technologies offers a more practical approach towards decarbonising the heating sector.

While hydrogen may still have a role to play in specific contexts, such as heavy industry where electricity is not always possible, the government’s decision highlights a broader emphasis on electrification for residential heating.

This aligns with recommendations from infrastructure experts who support prioritising electric heating options. The government’s upcoming decision in 2026 will be made on evidence from ongoing pilot projects, including one in Fife, Scotland, and similar initiatives across Europe. By then, the Government hopes to have a clearer understanding of the most effective ways towards achieving carbon neutrality in the heating sector.

Seven steps to boost IT business value and success! – Part II

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David P Jacobs, director of MaxVal Consultancy’s Business Value Maximisation Research and Development Programme, continues this two-part series on increasing business value, success and return on investment (ROI) from IT and digital transformation

In part one, I covered the first four steps of the seven steps to boost IT business value encapsulated within The Golden Value Circle™. I now pick this up at step 4, Design IT Functionality, looking to give optimal power to business processes whose role it is to deliver the objectives defined in the previous step, Design Business Processes.

Design IT functionality

For IT functionality to boost business process performance optimally, its design must be driven by pre-optimised processes. Remember that IT functionality will facilitate a different, more centralised process. Then, incoming IT functionality can further boost this more centralised process with increased quality, speed and accuracy, providing certain key guidelines are followed so that humans and IT do what they are respectively good at.

MaxVal Consultancy uses several models from our Business Value Maximisation Framework (BVMF)® to carry out this important design. Computers and humans think and work differently. We emphasise these crucial differences in our Information Systems Activity/Role Spectrum™. Invariably, not enough consideration is given to these differences. Humans and IT functionality have to combine their respective (different) capabilities to enact a successful business process.

IT should carry out tasks it’s better at, and humans should do what they are good at, complementing each other into a powerful business process ‘team’. BVMF® models and techniques help take this down several levels into the micro aspects of team power optimisation (TPO), which we call Optimal Human-Computer Interaction (OH-CI)™. This is deeper, more fundamental than what used to be called HCI (Human-Computer interface), and more value-driven than whether the user can understand the icons on the screen! We do this business/IT business process ‘team’ optimisation at the macro and micro level, so the macro value conceived is not squandered at micro-implementation, which I see, sadly, so often.

Design IT technicality

Technical professionals, who have the most challenging job on the planet, sadly still don’t always recognise that IT technicality MUST work; often, it doesn’t. When IT systems are not performing optimally at run time, business processes are usually less effective and efficient than in the good old manual days, which I consider immoral, ineffective, and counterproductive.

Yes, IT can do wonderful things, but as a consumer or user, I often experience IT preventing me from doing my work! David Walliams said, “Computer Says No!” which was too bloomin’ true, as good comedy tends to be. We at MaxVal have devised a set of concepts, principles, guidelines and techniques (CPGTs) to optimise such situations.

These CPGTs make up BVMF®’s module Business Practice and Contingency (BP&C)™.

Build, test, deploy, operate

Dependently ‘next’, I suggest you build the IT functionality and the technicality that supports it and test it all together, ensuring you put as much effort into building your optimal business processes that combine human activity with IT functionality in the most powerful way as determined by the Optimal Human-Computer Interaction principles outlined above.

Once you have cut over to your new business processes and associated IT systems, monitor the manifestation of value closely in business as usual (BAU) operation and kick off a continuous improvement (CI) initiative straight away (no rest for the value-hungry) to boost value, success and ROI at regular intervals. Keep boosting value until there is little or no propensity to improve further – a situation most of us are unlikely ever to experience in our business IT project work. Still, it’s a great target to aim at!

Assess, boost, check

Thank goodness, more or less gone are the days when project teams would eventually get a new system live, often years late, celebrate over the weekend and return on Monday to start a new project. Achieving maximum business value requires constant vigilance and effort. Like electricity along a wire, value dissipates if not boosted over time and distance. It can even dissipate through the life of a project before going live, as it often did in the days when waterfall was thought to be the only way to proceed.

The modern iterative approach to IT development has certainly improved value potential in several respects, but only when used with the intelligence and focus I described in part one of this series. Purist agility can throw out as much of a baby’s bathwater as it brings in. Agile may be suitable for IT development, but it’s just one of several methods you must combine for a value-optimal project/piece of work. And do ask how well an agile approach to IT development integrates with the reality of your organisation’s management style and market.

So, once live with a minimum viable product (MVP) or whatever is the first live operation of the new processes/ systems, go back around the loop. Keep going around until the propensity to improve is exhausted. Continuous rounds of assessment, boosting and checking on value will supercharge your auto-assisted processes. We at MaxVal use BVMF®’s Crossword Diagram™ for this. Broadly, this helps break the business process domain down into addressable sub-processes/steps to assess how well each delivers against its objectives. We then split out any sub-standard sub-process/step into its component ingredients and determine whether the process, human users, IT functionality, IT technicality or something else is letting down the holistic delivery of value. The last stage is to fix the problems so the sub-process or step in question contributes more effectively to the value equation.

We also use our Business Value Equation (BVEq)™ to see how each value ingredient affects the others to target any ingredients not pulling their weight. Our module Business Practice and Contingency (BP&C)™ mentioned above is then brought into play to ensure any value designed during planning and development is manifesting at run time. Often, some decent improvement of business process and IT in the design steps doesn’t come through at run time due to a disconnect where such macro value is not properly supported at the micro executional level.

Sadly, too often, run time performance of IT technicality not only fails to support the power of the business processes via the IT functionality but actually degrades the functionality and consequently the business process, sometimes down to levels below where the business processes’ effectiveness and efficiency were before they were transformed! There are many ways to get this wrong and not many ways to get it right!

Good luck, you will get there.

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Study reveals overwhelming heart disease risk among U.S. adults

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Statistics show an increased risk of heart disease among adults in the United States, with allegedly 90% of adults at risk

The research, based on an analysis of data from over 10,000 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), suggests that nearly 90% of adults over the age of 20 are at risk of developing heart disease.

Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic 

The study, led by Dr Rahul Aggarwal from Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School, highlights a newly defined syndrome called Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) syndrome. This syndrome, which contains a range of risk factors, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease, affects major organs in the body, including the heart, brain, liver, and kidneys.

Almost half of the NHANES participants were found to be at stage 2 of CKM, indicating a moderate risk due to factors such as high blood sugar, hypertension, high cholesterol, or chronic kidney disease. More than a quarter of participants were classified as stage 1, meaning they were at increased risk due to obesity or being overweight, without specific symptoms.

CKM and obesity 

The study shows the persistent challenge of obesity in the U.S., with 40% of Americans classified as obese and an additional 32% overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Carrying excess weight significantly increases the likelihood of developing high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol, even among those considered to be at a healthy weight.

Age alone does not provide significant protection against heart disease risk. While participants over 65 were more likely to be at an advanced stage of CKM, the study found that only 18% of adults aged 20 to 44 had no risk factors for heart disease.

These findings show the urgent need for proactive measures to address the growing epidemic of heart disease risk factors in the U.S. Public health initiatives aimed at promoting healthy lifestyle choices, including diet and exercise, are essential for reducing the prevalence of obesity and metabolic risk factors. 

UK Government announces £11.5m funding boost for local water quality projects

Environment engineer Collect samples of wastewater from industrial canals in test tube, Close up hand with glove Collect samples of wastewater from industrial canals in test tube. mobile water laboratory check
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The UK government has unveiled plans to inject £11.5 million into local projects aimed at enhancing water quality, tree planting, habitat restoration, and flood management across England

This funding, supplemented by contributions from the Nature for Climate Fund, is expected to unlock up to an additional £11.5 million from various organizations, resulting in a total potential investment of £23 million.

180 local projects: Protecting the planet

This initiative will benefit 180 local projects, focusing on initiatives such as the Limestone Becks River Restoration project in Lincolnshire, the York Urban Becks project phase II, and the Woods for Devon project. These projects aim to improve wildlife habitats, restore natural river courses, and establish woodlands to support water quality enhancement, wildlife preservation, and carbon capture efforts.

The funding injection is part of a concerted effort to protect and improve England’s waterways. An additional 300 kilometres of English rivers and approximately 160 hectares of inland and coastal waters are expected to be safeguarded and enhanced.

Government and stakeholder commitment to environmental restoration

Water Minister Robbie Moore MP emphasized the importance of supporting these local partnerships, noting their potential to deliver significant improvements in river quality where needed most.

He also highlighted the government’s commitment to recent measures aimed at cleaning up rivers, including consultations on water company bonuses and increased Environment Agency inspections.

Building on previous successes

The announcement of an additional £11.5 million in funding complements the existing £3 million allocated to the Environment Agency for local water quality improvement projects.

Recent measures require companies to monitor 100% of storm overflows in England, providing comprehensive data on sewage spill occurrences. Additionally, the initiative involves eliminating the cap on civil penalties for water companies and expanding their scope to enable faster action against water polluters.

Furthermore, the government has initiated the largest infrastructure program in water company history, committing £60 billion over 25 years to modernize aging assets and significantly reduce sewage spills annually. Prioritizing coastal and estuarine waters, the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan has been expanded to enhance protections, particularly for bathing waters, sites of special scientific interest, and shellfish habitats.

These initiatives are in line with recent measures to improve the water environment, such as establishing the Water Restoration Fund, implementing enhanced monitoring of storm overflows, and investing in infrastructure to mitigate sewage spills and safeguard coastal waters.

Astrophysicist discovers fiery exoplanet with NASA’s TESS

50000 Quaoar, dwarf planet, orbiting near Pluto planet. 3d render
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UC Riverside researcher Stephen Kane reveals a fiery planet, challenging our ideas of planetary extremes

UC Riverside’s astrophysicist Stephen Kane and his team have uncovered a fascinating find, a distant planet that resembles Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Io, but on a larger scale. 

This fiery world, named TOI-6713.01, shows the players shaping planets beyond our solar system.

Examining the fiery exoplanet: A planet engulfed in volcanic activity 

The discovery, detailed in a recent paper in The Astronomical Journal, came from data collected by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Launched in 2018, TESS searches the skies for exoplanets orbiting stars beyond our sun.

This research began with a star system called HD 104067, located 66 light-years away. Initially thought to host only a giant planet, TESS’s observations revealed a new rocky world and another planetary companion.

“This is a terrestrial planet that I would describe as Io on steroids,” Kane said. “It’s been forced into a situation where it’s constantly exploding with volcanoes. At optical wavelengths you would be able to see a glowing, red-hot planet with a molten lava surface.”

Describing the newfound celestial body as “Io on steroids,” Kane paints a picture of a planet engulfed in constant volcanic activity. Unlike Earth, where eruptions are sporadic, TOI-6713.01 is in a perpetual state of eruption, its surface glowing with molten lava.

What sets this planet apart from others? 

Its gravitational tug-of-war with neighbouring planets sets it apart. Similar to how Jupiter’s moons shape Io’s landscape, the outer planets of HD 104067 influence their rocky neighbours. 

This gravitational tug-of-war fuels the planet’s volcanic activity, heating it to temperatures comparable to stars.

Kane’s analogy highlights the impact of tidal energy, a force often overlooked in exoplanet research. Just as the moon affects Earth’s tides, these unseen forces sculpt TOI-6713.01’s fiery landscape.

“This teaches us a lot about the extremes of how much energy can be pumped into a terrestrial planet, and the consequences of that,” Kane said. “While we know that stars contribute to the heat of a planet, the vast majority of the energy here is tidal and that cannot be ignored.”

By measuring its mass and density, they hope to reveal the mysteries beneath its fiery exterior, shedding light on the consequences of extreme tidal forces on terrestrial planets.

Singapore airlines advances sustainability efforts with Neste SAF partnership

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300/ER, SAF
image: @Jetlinerimages | iStock

Singapore Airlines Group has reached a significant agreement with specialist supplier Neste to procure 1,000 tonnes of neat sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)

This sustainable fuel will be blended with conventional jet fuel and supplied to Singapore’s Changi Airport fuel hydrant system in two shipments scheduled for the second and fourth quarters of 2024.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) stands as a beacon of hope in the quest for a greener aviation industry. Derived from 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, SAF offers a transformative solution to mitigate the environmental impact of air travel.

SAF has the potential to seamlessly integrate with existing aircraft engines and fuelling infrastructure, requiring no modifications or additional investments. This compatibility ensures a smooth transition for airlines, minimizing operational disruptions while reaping the environmental benefits of cleaner fuel.

SAF trailblazers and promoting sustainable transport

This move positions Singapore Airlines and its Scoot subsidiary as pioneers in receiving locally produced SAF from Neste’s Singapore refinery, making them trailblazers in sustainability within Changi’s aviation landscape.

Lee Wen Fen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Singapore Airlines, has hailed the Neste partnership as a crucial milestone, especially following the Group’s recent commitment to integrating SAF for 5% of its total fuel needs by 2030.

Commitment to integrating SAF for 5% of its total fuel needs by 2030

Fen emphasizes the significance of collaborative efforts with partners and stakeholders, both locally and globally, in achieving the airline’s long-term sustainability objectives. She highlights the broader implications of a more sustainable aviation industry, ensuring future generations benefit from the socio-economic and connectivity advantages facilitated by air travel.

Moreover, Neste’s SAF, derived from 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% over the fuel’s life cycle. Blended with conventional jet fuel, it seamlessly integrates with existing aircraft engines and fuelling infrastructure.

Driving Awareness: Singapore Airlines’ Innovative SAF Initiative

Starting this month, Singapore Airlines will introduce 1,000 SAF ‘book-and-claim units’ for purchase by corporate travellers, shippers, and freight forwarders. Each unit represents a tonne of neat SAF, along with its associated CO2 reduction benefits, thereby fostering awareness and participation in sustainable aviation practices.

This initiative not only supports Singapore Airlines’ sustainability goals but also promotes broader awareness and adoption of sustainable aviation practices among its stakeholders.

Could weather events like snow be the real cause of Earthquakes?

Storm Noa 2023 Cloud Map Atlantic Ocean Europe 3D Render Color
image: @FrankRamspott | iStock

What is the real cause of Earthquakes? Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have revealed a link between weather events and seismic activity 

For centuries, scientists have focused on the collision of tectonic plates and subsurface faults as the primary triggers of earthquakes. However, the MIT study, led by Assistant Professor William Frank from MIT’s Department of Earth, suggests that certain weather conditions, such as heavy snowfall and rain, could also play a significant role in the setting off of seismic events. 

Weather events, earthquakes and seismic activity 

The study focuses on a series of earthquakes in Japan’s Noto Peninsula, and revealed a correlation between episodes of intense precipitation and seismic activity. According to Frank, “We see that snowfall and other environmental loading at the surface impacts the stress state underground, and the timing of intense precipitation events is well-correlated with the start of this earthquake swarm.”

Unlike typical earthquake sequences, which are characterised by a main shock followed by an aftershock, the Noto Peninsula experienced an “earthquake swarm” with multiple ongoing quakes and no obvious main shock. 

The researchers analysed seismic data over 11 years and observed a synchronisation between changes in seismic velocity and seasonal patterns of snowfall and precipitation. 

The earthquake swarm

Through modelling, the team demonstrated how seasonal precipitation influences underground pore fluid pressure, which affects seismic wave propagation. “When it rains or snows, that adds weight, which increases pore pressure, which allows seismic waves to travel through slower,” Frank explains. “When all that weight is removed, through evaporation or runoff, all of a sudden, that pore pressure decreases and seismic waves are faster.”

The study found that heavy snowfall events, in particular, were strongly correlated with the timing of earthquakes in the Noto Peninsula. Frank emphasises that while tectonic activity remains the primary trigger for earthquakes, climate factors could serve as secondary influencers.

Frank and his team speculate that similar weather-induced seismic activity could occur in other regions around the world. With climate change leading to more extreme precipitation events, the influence of weather on earthquakes may become more pronounced in the future.

“When we first want to understand how earthquakes work, we look to plate tectonics, because that is and will always be the number one reason why an earthquake happens,” Frank says. “But, what are the other things that could affect when and how an earthquake happens? That’s when you start to go to second-order controlling factors, and the climate is obviously one of those.”

Synertec Ltd: Document solutions and the Prism virtual printer

Synertec is the market leader in document solutions, and we process over 80 million documents a year for a wide range of public sector and commercial organisations, including 150 NHS trusts and a number of local authorities

Through our platform Prism, we can accept work from any host system and information format. We capture the information, transform it into a document and then deliver it to your customers either through traditional mail or digitally.

Prism: A simple and cost-effective solution

From the customer’s perspective, Prism is a simple and cost-effective solution. There is no direct integration required. You just direct files to the Prism virtual printer, and then, through pre-defined templates, Prism does the rest. It really is as easy as ‘pressing print’. And that’s not all. Prism can accommodate all systems and information formats and deliver documents in the way you and your customers want, either by traditional mail or digitally.

Prism: Consistent and simple

Prism is flexible, consistent, and simple. It can accept anything from single documents up to many thousands of items through the same process. It can handle many different types of documents, from council tax reminders to sending payslips electronically. It’s not just the technology, though. Our production centres can provide a business service that delivers mail on day plus one.

This means that if you send us a document on Wednesday by 5 pm it will be received by the intended recipient on the Friday. This can save considerable amounts on postage charges.

Horizon Europe allocates €163.5 million for green mobility research projects

heavy traffic moving at speed on UK motorway in England at sunset
image: @yevtony | iStock

Horizon Europe has given €163.5 million to fund innovative research projects aimed at promoting green, smart, and resilient transportation and mobility solutions

Under Horizon Europe’s Work Programme for 2023-2024, Cluster 5 has been designated to contain topics focused on climate action, energy, and mobility. 

Advancing energy efficiency and mobility solutions through this initiative 

In an aim to promote a more resilient economy and society while also contributing to the achievement of ambitious climate targets, this initiative shows the commitment to accelerating the twin transitions towards sustainability and digitalisation. 

Horizon Europe stands as the EU’s primary funding program for research and innovation, having a substantial budget of €95.5 billion. Within this framework, Cluster 5 reduces efforts to address concerning environmental challenges while advancing energy efficiency and mobility solutions.

The overall objective of Cluster 5 is to move the green and digital transitions forward, enabling an economy, industry, and society that is more sustainable and adaptive.

The European Union aims to play a leading role in combating climate change and enhancing energy resilience through research and innovation.

Applying for the initiative 

Prospective applicants for funding opportunities under Horizon Europe can refer to the multiannual Climate, Energy, and Mobility work programme for guidance. This document outlines the requirements and procedures for submitting project proposals.

After submission, proposals are strictly evaluated by independent experts selected from the European Commission’s database of external evaluators. 

Successful applicants can expect to receive evaluation results within five months of the submission deadline, with grant agreements finalised within eight months after.

Helping to combat climate change  

The recently adopted Horizon Europe work programme for 2023-2024, with a budget of approximately €13.5 billion, presents a significant opportunity for researchers and innovators across Europe. This funding will help them to pursue solutions to critical environmental, energy, digital, and geopolitical challenges facing our societies today.

Cluster 5’s specific work programme, managed by CINEA, aims to address climate change through an improved understanding of its causes and impacts, as well as by fostering climate-friendly advancements in the energy and transport sectors. 

Through innovation, these sectors can become more efficient, competitive, and resilient while promoting sustainability and safety.

The Horizon Europe work programme for 2023-2024 will contribute to broader EU objectives, including strengthening economic resilience, supporting Ukrainian researchers’ access to European research infrastructure, and facilitating a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The allocation of €163.5 million for green, smart, and resilient transport and mobility research projects under Horizon Europe shows the EU’s commitment to driving sustainable innovation and addressing demanding global challenges head-on.

The Jacques Loeb Centre for History and Philosophy of, and Critical Dialogues in, the Life Sciences

Jacques Loeb Centre for the History & Philosophy of the Life Sciences

Research into the history and philosophy of modern experimental life sciences and the societal implications

The Jacques Loeb Centre for History and Philosophy of, and Critical Dialogues in, the Life Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel, supports research in the history and philosophy of modern experimental life sciences and serves as an interdisciplinary forum for a critical discussion on current scientific developments and their societal implications.

The Centre organizes (i) interdisciplinary workshops and lectures on the history and philosophy of pertinent current concepts and models in the life sciences, (ii) symposia encouraging critical dialogues between members of the scientific and scholarly communities, students, and members of the public on vexing problems related to scientific practice such as media hypes, political ideologies, irreproducible papers, scientific truth in ‘big data’ science, and the increasing commercialization of science, (iii) student competitions for poster sessions on the history of the life sciences.

The Centre is named after German-American physiologist and experimental biologist Jacques Loeb (1859-1924), legendary experimentalist and seminal thinker in the history of biology. His passionate promotion of biology as an exact experimental science and his opposition to the vitalistic concepts prevalent around 1900 impacted greatly on the development of the life sciences. Loeb’s interest in philosophical and political issues brought him into contact with major figures in science, philosophy, and history, including Svante Arrhenius, Albert Einstein, Ernst Mach, Leonor Michaelis, and George Sarton.

The Centre was founded in 2007 and has been directed since then by Ute Deichmann.

Organization of symposia and workshops during the past 3 years:

Symposium planed for January 10, 2023

  • Perils for science in democracies and authoritarian countries

Publications Ute Deichmann in the last six years:

Edited volumes of journals

U. Deichmann, M. Morange, Eds. 2019. Genomic regulation: Experiments, computational modeling and philosophy​. Journal of Computational Biology. 26.4.

U. Deichmann and M. Morange. eds. 2017. Causality, genomic regulation, and evolution in the post-genomics era. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 39.4.

Refereed articles

U. Deichmann. The idea of constancy in development and evolution scientific and philosophical perspectives. Under review.

U. Deichmann. 2021. Data, theory, and scientific belief in early molecular biology: Pauling’s and Crick’s conflicting notions about the genetic determination of protein synthesis and the solution to the ‘secret of life’, HYLE – International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 27, 25-46.

U. Deichmann. 2021. Template theories, the rule of parsimony, and disregard for irreproducibility – the example of Linus Pauling’s research on antibody formation. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, Vol. 51, Number 4, pps. 427–467.

U. Deichmann. 2020. The social construction of the social epigenome and the larger biological context, Epigenetics & Chromatin 13:37; https://doi.org/10.1186/s13072-020-00360-w

U. Deichmann. 2019. Science and political ideology: The example of Nazi Germany. Mètode Science Studies Journal 3: 41-49 (in Spanish).

U. Deichmann. 2019. From Gregor Mendel to Eric Davidson: Mathematical models and basic principles in biology. Journal of Computational Biology. 26.4:637-652.

U. Deichmann. 2017. Hierarchy, determinism, and specificity in theories of development and evolution. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 39.4: 3-16.

U. Deichmann. 2017. Eric Davidson, his philosophy, and the history of science. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 39.4: 1-7.

U. Deichmann. 2017. Biology and political ideologies: on the futility of scientific justification for political values, now and in the past (Review of M. Meloni, Political biology. Science and social values in human heredity from eugenics to epigenetics, Palgrave MacMillan, 2016) Metascience 26: 289-292.

U. Deichmann. 2017. Francis Bacon, Karl Popper or Michael Polanyi? The philosophies of modern experimental biology and the impact of the big data technology. In N. Bar-Am, S. Gattei, eds. Encouraging openness: Essays for Joseph Agassi on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science 325: 129-142.

EcoGrit – eco-friendly grit for snow

At EcoGrit, our aim is to help protect our environment while offering customers “peace of mind” over the winter period

EcoGritEcoGrit is a company that has been set up to help prepare everybody, for the uncertainty of changing weather patterns over future winter months. Whether your an organisation, business or a private individual, sudden harsh weather affects us all especially if we are unprepared. Interruptions in travel, delays and closures start to cost businesses and the economy dearly. It’s hard to put a price on it but lost revenues are never got back.

 

Everybody has a legal obligation in winter to keep the access points to to their properties safe for visitors, workers and deliveries, but it becomes all the more difficult when weather patterns worsen. The default product, rock salt, quickly becomes inadequate at lower temperatures. There needs to be a better alternative that could be used on the same scale without damaging the environment. 

 

Many “environmentally friendly” de-icers are urea, which is 47% nitrogen. Nitrogen is also extensively used in fertilisers but because of the damage excess nitrogen does to the environment, restrictions are being placed around the world to limit its use for farmers. Using a urea de-icer to take the place of rock salt would be disastrous in the quantities needed to de-ice the country.

 

Our product, EcoGrit Concentrate is a granular deicer that can be applied the same as rock salt but works faster, for longer and at much lower temperatures. It is also biodegradable, animal friendly and 80% less corrosive than rock salt. 

 

EcoGrit Concentrate works to temperatures as low as -20C, which means that if it doesn’t re-freeze. It also has a higher moisture absorption level compared to rock salt so doesn’t have to be applied as often resulting in less product needed to get the same results. 

 

EcoGrit Concentrate is made using marine salt combined with products from the cereal, brewery and animal feed industry. It has natural rust inhibitors and the process creates a granule which is less corrosive, more absorbent and can work to colder temperatures than salt.

 

EcoGrit can be stored indefinitely in dry conditions and doesn’t fall under any COSHH restrictions. It is safe to touch and their are no handling requirements. Our flagship size is the 5kg bucket which comes with it’s own application scoop so it is ready when needed and can be applied by anybody. It is also available in 1.2kg shakers, 1/2 tonne and 1 tonne bags.

 

EcoGrit is animal and wildlife friendly so is ideally suited to areas where working animals are working or resting.

 

If EcoGrit is adopted on large scale usage it would be better for the environment than what we are currently doing today and has the ability to have us prepared for future weather changes.

Bank of England expected to hold interest rates

Bank of England
image: @fazon1 | iStock

The Bank of England is set to maintain its current interest rate of 5.25% for the sixth consecutive time, as announced today 

This decision follows concerns about growing inflation, which has remained stubbornly above the Bank’s target of 2%, currently standing at 3.2%. 

Economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions have created challenges for policymakers. The Bank’s recent decision will address the interest rate decision and also offer insights into inflation projects and the overall course of the UK economy. 

With an upcoming general election, both major political parties have been outlining their strategies for promoting economic growth. 

Inflation and economic pressure

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed optimism, projecting 2024 as the year for economic renewal. However, in reality, many households are still struggling with economic pressure. 

The decision to maintain interest rates at their current 16-year high shows the Bank’s strategy to control current inflationary pressures and mitigate the rising cost of living. 

By keeping borrowing costs elevated, the aim is to moderate consumer spending, therefore helping demand for goods and services and consequently easing price rises.

Interest rates and what they mean for businesses? 

While interest rates can help curb inflation, they are also a threat to economic growth by discouraging business investments and job creation. 

For consumers, the impact of interest rate decisions is noticeable. The Bank of England’s base rate influences the rates set by high-street banks and lenders. Consequently, individuals may find themselves paying more for borrowing, such as mortgages, while savers may benefit from improved returns on their savings.

The lift in Covid-19 restrictions has led to a surge in demand for goods, which means inflationary pressure has been worsened. Geopolitical tensions have further meant energy and food prices have risen. 

16-year interest rate high 

In October 2022, inflation peaked at 11.1%, marking the highest rate in four decades.

As the Bank of England decides on interest rates, attention is also focused on indicators such as wage growth, which remains elevated at 6% year on year. While recent data suggests a moderation in inflation, wage dynamics continue to be a concern.

Although interest rates are expected to stay on hold, in today’s meeting, the monetary policy committee (MPC) may make suggestions on when this is set to lower from its 16-year high. 

Harassment and violence at work: A collective responsibility and endeavour

Notwithstanding the implementation of legislation on national and subnational levels and research demonstrating the enormous costs and impacts for individuals, workplaces, and governments, harassment and violence at work continues to be a pervasive problem worldwide

With decades of research on various forms of harassment and violence, effective prevention and intervention practices remain one of the largest knowledge gaps in the field. It is unlikely that harassment and violence, in all its forms, will be eradicated without deeper and broader systemic changes, within workplaces and society. To bring about this type of long-term and sustainable change, action must be collective.

This has implications for developing abroader model in which governments, employers, labour groups, community groups (such as shelters, sexual assault centres,and external experts), academics, and researchers play a large and integral role. Collaboration and coordination are key in such a model. This iterative process of consultation and action occurs at all stages of a preventative strategy, including planning, implementation, evaluation, learning, and modification.

Tripartite consultation and action have been concretely recognised as critically important in finding practical solutions to workplace issues, including harassment and violence. In January 2021, Bill C-65 came into force, amending the Canada Labour Code and strengthening federal legislation on harassment and violence at work.

There are three main aims of Bill C-65:the prevention of incidents, a timely and effective response to incidents, and support for affected employees. In its first annual report following the implementation of Bill C-65, 2021 annual report – Taking action against harassment and violence in workplaces under Canadian federal jurisdiction, the Government of Canada acknowledges that governments cannot tackle this issue alone and that employers and labour have key roles to play in creating safe, healthy, respectful, and fair workplaces.

The International Organization Convention No. 190 (ILO C190) and Recommendation No. 206, adopted in June 2019, are the first international labour standards to provide a common framework to prevent, remedy, and eliminate harassment and violence in the world of work. By ratifying ILO C190, countries (including Canada) that have done so recognise the importance of addressing the issue of harassment and violence at work, as well as the power of a collective, global approach to prevention. Further strengthening the importance of this approach, in February 2024, Minister Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Labour for the Government of Canada, announced that Canada has joined the International Organization’s Global Coalition for Social Justice.

Collaborative projects to prevent harassment and violence at work

The Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children (CREVAWC) is located at the University of Western Ontario. Its central mission is to facilitate the collaboration of individuals, groups, and institutions representing the diversity of the community to pursue research questions and knowledge mobilisation to understand and prevent violence and abuse, including harassment and violence at work.

To accomplish its mission, CREVAWC works with extensive partnerships within the university and with external organisations (labour groups, for-profit and non-profit organisations, community-based organisations, and government), nationally and internationally. A large part of the work at CREVAWC is conducting actionable research to inform the development of effective, evidence-based prevention and intervention practices to keep workers and workplaces safe from harassment and violence. Each project is carefully planned to ensure the inclusion of collaborators’ voices, perspectives, and needs. Below, three projects are highlighted as demonstrations of this type of collaboration.

Project Spotlight: Collaborating to Prevent and Respond to Harassment and Violence at Work

This five-year project, which builds on the accomplishments of our Respect at Work project, is funded by the Government of Canada’s Labour Program. It is a collaboration between CREVAWC, Federally Regulated Employers – Transportation and Communications (FETCO), Canadian Labour Congress, and researchers at Université du Québec à Montréal and the University of Toronto. The project aims to increase awareness of health and safety regulations, improve access to sector-specific tools and best practices, foster collaboration with partners to ensure workplaces are healthier and safer for workers, increase the capacity of employers and unions to provide guidance to workers regarding new harassment and violence regulations, and increase the capacity of employers and unions to support workers experiencing sexual harassment and/or domestic violence.

Project Spotlight: Addressing Domestic Violence in the Workplace through Collaboration

The impacts of domestic violence (DV) follow employees to their workplaces. It is estimated that domestic violence costs Canadian employers approximately $77.9 million per year (Zhang, et al., 2012). The Government of Canada’s Labour Program invested in projects to help federal workplaces comply with the amendments to the Canada Labour Code introduced by Bill C-65.

A core mandatory requirement of the funding was the collaboration between employers, unions and harassment and violence experts. CREVAWAC was granted funds to create organisational policies, tools, and online training programs to assist federally regulated organisations to provide support in the workplace for workers who are impacted by domestic violence, either as victims, perpetrators, bystanders, co-workers, supervisors, managers, or union stewards. For this three-year project, CREVAWC collaborated with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and Federally Regulated Employers – Transportation and Communications (FETCO).

Project Spotlight: Sexual Harassment in the Hospitality, Gaming, and Airline Sectors

Sexual harassment occurs across all occupations and industries and can have negative short- and long-term impacts on employees who directly experience sexual harassment, their co-workers who witness the harassment, workplaces, and governments. This three-year project is funded by the Department of Justice Canada. It is a collaboration between CREVAWC and Unifor and focuses on three sectors – hospitality, gaming, and airline – in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario. Without the help of Unifor representatives, it would not have been possible to reach workers in these geographically dispersed workplaces, particularly during the COVID pandemic.

The aims of this project include conducting research to assess how sexual harassment at work is showing up in the lives of workers, how it is currently being addressed, and what information and resources workers, Health and Safety representatives and union representatives need in order to prevent and address the problem more effectively. The findings of this study informed the development of activities and materials to increase awareness of sexual harassment. This included social media and outreach campaigns to help workers identify harassing behaviours and experiences, as well as their rights to harassment-free workplaces and to increase awareness of sexual harassment among third parties (clients and customers).

The workplace context and other parties (e.g., supervisors/managers, co-workers, union representatives, Health and Safety representatives, and Human Rights representatives) also have important roles to play in preventing sexual harassment and supporting workers who experience harassment. Therefore, the project activities and materials also aim to increase their awareness of sexual harassment and how they can support workers.

Financial costs of intimate partner violence: Collaborating to create safe and productive workplaces

Collective action is important in addressing not only harassment and violence at work but also the effects of intimate partner violence for workplaces and society at large

Canada and other countries have clearly positioned intimate partner violence (IPV) as a health and safety issue, as a workplace issue, and as an employer responsibility. ILO Convention No. 190 (C190) recognizes the right of everyone to a world of work free from harassment and violence, including gender-based harassment and violence. It recognises that IPV can affect employment, productivity and health and safety. It also recognises the importance of collective efforts between governments, employers, and workers in recognising and addressing the impacts of IPV.

When workers experience and/or perpetrate IPV at home, the impacts can be felt in the workplace in many ways. However, companies often focus solely on the most extreme cases, such as needing to provide safety plans for employees who are in fear of their partner coming to the workplace. This ignores the research that has demonstrated substantial negative impacts of IPV on both workers and workplaces through lost productivity. That is, employees affected by IPV – be they survivors, perpetrators, or co-workers – are unable to perform at their optimal level at work when they are dealing with IPV-related challenges in their lives. Workplace costs include, but are not limited to:

  • Lost time at work and reduced attention;
  • Time spent by co-workers covering for victims-survivors or perpetrators;
  • Time invested by the victim-survivor or
    perpetrator in communication with their (ex) partner, friends; or family (e.g., on their phone while at work)
  • Time the victim-survivor or perpetrator may need to take off work;
  • Administrative time required for processing their time off;
  • Administrative costs for the search and training of a replacement employee if the affected individual leaves the job or is terminated; • Lost profits resulting from the reduced output of victim-survivors or perpetrators; and
  • Increased overtime payments to compensate other workers covering for the victim-survivor or perpetrator.

Measuring and managing the costs of intimate partner violence

As documented, these impacts most often come in the form of tardiness, absenteeism, presenteeism and job turnover and can lead to substantial hidden costs for workplaces. Measuring the costs of IPV to individual workplaces became possible in 2012 when Dr. Vara-Horna from San Martin de Porres University in Peru developed a lost days of labour productivity scale. This scale quantifies lost days of labour productivity by considering factors such as tardiness, absenteeism, and presenteeism due to IPV.

Dr. Vara-Horna’s research in South and Central America and Africa has demonstrated that companies face substantial costs due to IPV. His research has shown that calculating these hidden costs at a localised workplace level raises awareness and motivates business leaders to focus on their specific circumstances. This process enables them to recognise the potential benefits of implementing internal organisational changes. Finally, research has demonstrated that implementing managerial training programs grounded in an equitable management approach can result in substantial cost savings and enhance the overall work environment.

Developing scientific evidence to mitigate the costs of IPV

With new funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), researchers at Western University, in collaboration with the Conference Board of Canada, are working directly with employers to develop scientific evidence illustrating the hidden financial costs of IPV in individual workplaces in Canada. These researchers are adapting Dr. Vara-Horna’s survey regarding lost days of labor productivity to measure the costs incurred by IPV, considering factors such as lateness, absenteeism and presenteeism. They will accomplish this by comparing data from respondents who have reported experiencing and/or perpetrating IPV with those who report having never had such experiences. Importantly, the survey collects information on both victimisation and perpetration, along with the effects of co-workers’ experiences of IPV, and encompasses the IPV experiences across all genders. The effectiveness of these survey techniques has already been demonstrated in a pilot survey conducted at a large university in Southwestern Ontario. The pilot not only demonstrated the survey’s applicability in the Canadian context but, more importantly, revealed substantial hidden IPV costs to the employer.

In addition to introducing this costing methodology to North America, the researchers are developing a core curriculum tailored for managers on addressing the effects of IPV in the workplace, mitigating the associated costs, and providing support to their employees. Along with the innovative training, they are developing an evaluation framework for determining its effectiveness in mitigating the costs of IPV. In particular, the goal is to demonstrate that by taking proactive measures and addressing the issue directly, workplaces can benefit financially, reduce turnover rates, and improve employee wellbeing and satisfaction.

Collaboration is key

Collaborative efforts between companies, the Conference Board of Canada and the Western University researchers will be key to the success of this work. Canadian companies who participate in this research study will gain valuable insights into several key areas, including:

  • Understanding the prevalence of IPV among employees from multiple perspectives;
  • Assessing the financial impact of IPV on their organisation through estimates of lost days of productivity;
  • Identifying patterns of absenteeism, tardiness, and presenteeism among different employee groups;
  • Exploring employees’ perceptions and attitudes towards management practices;
  • Evaluating employee awareness of and willingness to access IPV policies, including mandated leave policies; and
  • Examining employees’ attitudes and indicators of mental and physical health.

In addition, companies will receive dedicated support from researchers and the Conference Board of Canada in developing messaging and an engagement campaign to encourage employee participation in the survey. Finally, participating companies will also gain complimentary access to a customised core curriculum designed for training their managers, along with accompanying resources developed specifically for the Canadian context. This initiative presents an exceptional opportunity for companies to proactively address the impacts and costs of IPV at work, and to create long-term and sustainable change through a collaborative approach.

Learn more about the project

Organisations who are interested in learning more about this project are encouraged to contact Leah Ringwald, Associate Director, Human Capital, Conference Board of Canada at ringwald@conferenceboard.ca.

To read and download this eBook in full, ‘Harassment and violence at work: A collective responsibility and endeavour’ click here

There’s no time like the present: Career planning strategies for researchers

PhD student reading a book in the library
image: ©pkujiahe | IStock

Preparing researchers for a range of post-programmed trajectories has become common practice in universities and their faculties and schools, but why is career planning so important?

It is now widely recognised that doctoral and postdoctoral research programmes encompass not only a diverse range of participants, but also a cornucopia of potential outcomes. The stereotype of the monk-like researcher whose sole focus is an academic career is perhaps not so prevalent today as a result. And in some cases, an academic career might be the least likely of these potential outcomes, as researchers go on to deploy their skills in broader education and industry settings. Consequently, preparing researchers for a range of post-programme trajectories has become common practice in universities and their faculties and schools.

The importance of the development plan

This preparation ideally starts at the beginning of a research programme, with reflection and planning. Analysing the results of a 2005 survey of 7,500 US postdoctoral researchers, Geoff Davis notes that: ‘The results are striking: Postdocs reporting the greatest amount of structured oversight and formal training are much more likely to say they are satisfied, to give their advisors high ratings, and to be more productive.’ Of all the factors surveyed, ‘only one’ contributed to every success measure outlined in the analysis: ‘whether the postdoc and his or her advisor put together a plan at the beginning of the appointment’.(1)

Our understanding of the nature of the plan that a researcher and their supervisor or advisor should produce has become clearer since Davis’s observations. In a report entitled Strengthening the Role of Training Needs Analysis in Doctoral Training, published in 2022, Elizabeth Adams and Joanne Neary conclude that such plans should incorporate consideration of the requirements of the research programme plus preparation for whatever comes after:

A robust development needs analysis process is of critical importance […] in terms of enabling the supervisor and student to identify gaps in knowledge and skills required to fulfil their PhD requirements, but also to ensure the student cohort are ready for their post-PhD careers.(2)

Their conclusions resonate with Davis’s analysis, and in the UK, the ‘Development Needs Analysis’ (DNA) has become embedded in the practice of funding and training researchers, to the extent that completing a reflection and planning exercise is compulsory for funded researchers across many programmes funded by the UK’s Research Councils.

Technology for career planning

Another indicator of the increased importance of development planning is the establishment of technological platforms to support the planning process. In the US, for instance, cross-institutional tools such as MyIDP for STEM researchers and ImaginePhD for Humanities researchers have been developed and launched through collaborative projects involving multiple partners. These tools (and similar projects elsewhere such as Prosper in the UK) offer researchers a standardised route into reflection and planning of the type which will help them consider eventual career outcomes and the steps they need to take to get there, inviting them to develop their ‘game plan’(3) and execute it.

The counterparts to these national-level tools are more localised development planning tools, most often taking the form of paper pro forma and online webforms, provided by university departments and schools, usually alongside a training and development programme and associated resources. These tools are normally tied to institution-specific programme progression requirements. That is, in order to progress through your research programme, you must make a form submission and complete your Individual Development Plan (IDP – in the US) or Development Needs Analysis (DNA – in the UK).

Career planning: In and out of context

These two approaches – national and local – have their advantages and disadvantages. Where completion of a ‘local’ IDP is mandatory, the university can wield a policy ‘stick’ to ensure planning is integrated into the beginning of programmes, and can track form submissions to measure completion statistics. Local tools also benefit from being situated in the context of their institution, employing the institution’s terminology, making the links between professional development and the local institutional context clearer. As part of this, they may refer to the specifics of that institution’s training offering or other opportunities to address skills gaps highlighted during the planning process.

But these advantages may also become disadvantages: an IDP completed when immersed in a university setting might not be transferable outside it, to a broader professional context. And if IDP completion is obligatory (and no completion equals no progression), it risks a potential perception problem: researchers might begin to perceive the planning exercise as something contrived for the benefit of their institution and its policy indicators rather than conceived for the individual researcher and their lifelong professional development.

The ‘national’ IDP platforms such as MyIDP and ImaginePhD establish a different type of dynamic with researchers. The profiles researchers create and the plans they produce are not tied to any specific university: they are persistent and remain accessible regardless of the career stage of the user. The plans and goals a researcher sets while using them transcend the specifics of the institutional contexts in which they find themselves.

Again, the advantages of this approach are also disadvantages: these platforms lack the institutional policy ‘stick’ which compels researchers to conducts their planning at the beginning, and if researchers engage with them too late, they risk becoming exercises more focused on job outcomes than on the process of becoming a more proficient professional. They are also not linked to a researcher’s local institutional context, and (of course!) were not designed to be. So, their suggestions for next steps and activities for researchers to pursue naturally and understandably may not include activities and opportunities occurring close to them.

The best of both worlds

The challenge, therefore, is to apply a MyIDP and ImaginePhD national way of thinking at local level. If we were to take the best aspects of the national and local approaches and incorporate them together in a technology-based approach, researchers would ideally be:

  • Encouraged to start early on their career planning, and to iterate their plan as they progress;
  • Able to build a lifelong, persistent profile of their continual development;
  • Focused on professional development as well as career outcomes;
  • Encouraged by institutional policy (with their engagement tracked), but clear that the exercise is primarily for their personal benefit;
  • Able to access local and generic opportunities and events relevant to the path they have identified via the planning process.

No time like the present

When working with universities in the UK, Australia and the USA, I have encountered many different approaches to developing researchers’ professional profiles and careers. They all share a common goal, however: to help their researchers shape themselves into flexible, resilient professionals ready to deploy their singular skills and research knowhow to make a difference in a range of career contexts.

They acknowledge that, as Adams and Neary put it, career planning for researchers is ‘A continuous process that is student-centred, promotes engagement with and reflection on a range of research and professional development opportunities and enables the student to be aware of their own skill sets.’ At Inkpath we have worked with universities and researchers to produce an always-evolving platform which aims to provide the best of both worlds as explored.

Together, we aim to inspire researchers to think about their development early, and to start shaping their approach to the opportunities around them as soon as they begin their programmes. This way, researchers can put themselves in the best possible position for whatever their next step will be, whether they stay on an academic trajectory, or go beyond it.

References

  1. Davis G. (2005). “Doctors Without Orders.” American Scientist, 93 (3), supplement 1-13.
  2. Adams E. and Neary J. (2022) “Strengthening the Role of Training Needs Analysis in Doctoral Training.” https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Strengthening-the-role-of-TNA-Report-April-2022.pdf.
  3. Hobin J., Fuhrmann C., Lindstaedt B. and Clifford P. (2012). “You Need a Game Plan.” Science, Careers website, https://www.science.org/content/article/you-need-game-plan.

This piece was written and provided by John Miles, Founder and CEO of Inkpath

Seven steps to boost IT business value and success!

Digitally generated cityscape, perfectly usable for all kinds of topics related to data exchange and computer networks.
Image: © DKosig | iStock

In this part one of a two-part series, David Jacobs, director of MaxVal Consultancy’s Business Value Maximisation Research and Development Programme, proposes seven foundational principles to increase business value, success and return on investment from IT and digital transformation

I have previously stated that sky-high increases in value, success and ROI from IT and digital transformation are eminently possible, providing the fundamental principles of IT value maximisation (that have not, to date, been well defined or available in concise and usable form) are followed.

I have run a 30-year R&D programme to identify such principles, which now form the basis of Business Value Maximisation Framework (BVMF)®.

At MaxVal Consultancy, we use BVMF® to help organisations boost value, success and ROI to levels consistently higher than industry norms. BVMF® comprises nearly 100 models and 450 techniques and is being continually refined and expanded.

If you’d like to get more net benefit from the effort, time and money you are expending on IT, to get started, in this two-part series, I will cover seven basic principles.

Set up your golden value circle, ask the right questions

IT method selection should not come first! Each piece of work has unique characteristics that indicate a specific combination and flavour of approaches/methods will get the best result. A blanket aim to use a single method, say Agile, for all work is unlikely to be the most beneficial way forward. Yes, some value may arise but it will typically be average in magnitude, less predictable or consistent than when each piece of work is assessed individually.

To make such an assessment, look at the aspects of the intended work. We use BVMF®’s Landscape Value Characteristics (LVCs)™ and Step Diagram™ to do this and to focus on where the potential value is (Propensity). And by the way, always tailor methods to specific needs. Don’t be afraid to make up your own ways of working!

Do not make final decisions on your project, process or IT methods until after conducting this exercise as the nature of your objectives and characteristics of your organisation and its wider market will colour the best way to work.

Our LVCs help you to see the context of how your business organisation sits within its market or environment, to steer you towards an appropriate blend of methods. They also help you to know how best to use the methods.

The nature of your IT and business/project resources and the relationship between these two functions will also have a bearing. BVMF®’s Step Diagram™ helps you to evaluate method(s) from a time scale and level of ambition point of view. What sort of work practice and roll out schedule will most suit: granular and frequent or more purposeful and planned out?

Define objectives and project/work methods

You must know what you are trying to achieve, in business terms first, IT second; what your piece of work is aiming to achieve, at a high business level (mission, vision, etc.*) Cascade your objectives all the way down to the nuts and bolts of departmental goals/aims. Short and long-term aspects of the aims should also be considered. This means that any business processes included in the work’s scope will have a well-defined set of objectives to deliver against, value being achievement against objectives.

* Business analysts use VMOST, for example. Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics. In BVMF®, we use a holistic end-to-end value-based model called Layers of Focus (LoF)™

Design business processes

Any business process involved must optimally address the objectives defined above. Much debate is had in industry over where in a piece of project work business processes are reviewed and reengineered. Well, if processes do not optimally address the objectives defined logically/dependently before any IT is designed, you are unlikely to end up with an optimised operation.

Bill Gates said a poor process computerised will become a worse process – I paraphrase, but heartily agree with Mr William Henry Gates III! Furthermore, there are respects in which IT can help processes to become genuinely better, but such uplifts cannot be exploited unless we start with optimal processes. Ask, in a magic, blue sky world, what would our processes be if no practical constraints were leaning on us?

Yes, you can allow incoming software to guide the improvement of business processes that make you unique in your industry/market (working in reverse) but do you want software providers defining your processes, not being certain that any IT you design, build and deploy will optimally support your critical unique selling points (USP)s?

Prepare to design IT functionality

In order for IT functionality to boost processes’ effectiveness in an optimal way, its design must be driven by optimal processes! When designing such processes, bear in mind that IT will allow a different, more centralised process to be created, so incoming IT functionality can further boost the quality, speed and accuracy of the process, providing guidelines are followed so that humans and IT do what they are respectively good at.

Stay close to value, from start to finish

To manifest maximum value, you must have ways to identify, track and optimise. We have identified the key ingredients of the value cake, developing models and techniques for identifying the propensity of each to contribute. We make sure each ingredient mixes most effectively with the other ingredients to produce a hugely improved cake!

The suggestion here is to focus on the key ingredients and monitor their contribution to value. We have developed Business Value Equation (BV EQ)™, which allows us to predict and monitor value and ensure all value ingredients are performing at peak levels.

Value realised will be as strong as the value chain’s weakest link, or the value cake’s weakest layer, which is why often the eventual value/success/ROI is manifestly less than expected. BVMF® helps to conceive, track and boost value all the way through so it doesn’t get dissipated from being impeded by practical constraints of IT technology, for example.

Conclusion

So, I suggest you:

  • Don’t select your IT method before you assess the specific project/piece of work’s business landscape, timescales, environmental factors, characteristics, etc.
  • Do design optimal business processes to address your stated objectives.
  • Do design your IT functionality to support/boost optimally designed business processes.
  • Do keep going once new processes and systems are live, continue assessing, boosting and checking value (our Crossword Diagram™ model can help) to address your stated objectives.
If you would like to delve deeper into the world of higher levels of value, success and ROI, please visit www.maximum-value.co.uk, where you can read about BVMF® and request a copy of our free IT Business Value Capability Assessment (ITBVCA)™. This will help you to see how well you are doing by scoring your project/work practices on 24 key criteria.
Please Note: This is a Commercial Profile
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This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

Investigating the hidden risks of abandoned metal mines in Wales

zinc mining
image: ©bagi1998 | iStock

Experts are calling for urgent testing to take place in areas of Wales’ once-thriving metal mining industry in an attempt to uncover the potential public health threats 

The inquiry looks into the human health risks set by pollution from abandoned metal mines and shows the need for urgent action. 

Where are these mines located? 

Over 400 abandoned metal mines fill the landscape north of Ceredigion. The rivers Ystwyth, Rheidol, and Clarach, once home to communities, now bear the heavy burden of pollution, contaminated by toxic metals like zinc, cadmium, and lead.

The legacy of these mines stretches back centuries, with sites like Cwmystwyth being around in the Bronze Age and falling silent in 1950. 

However, their remnants, areas filled with hazardous metals, continue to cast a long shadow over the land. Many of the locals rely on filtration systems to protect their water supply, a cautious measure against the health risks. 

The impact on agriculture

Studies by experts like Dr. Sartorius paint a troubling picture, revealing eggs contaminated with levels of lead deemed perilous, particularly for children. Even horses, who are grazing on the grass nearby, have come in contact with diseases linked to exposure to these toxic metals.

Metal mine pollution threatens agriculture and livestock. Contaminated floodwaters have contaminated grass, leading to the loss of animals. The soil itself, once fertile, now has dangerous concentrations of lead. 

In response to these concerns, both the UK and Welsh governments have decided to take action. Businesses are required to stick to strict regulations, ensuring food safety remains essential. Meanwhile, the Welsh government is working alongside stakeholders to assess and manage the pollution’s impact, offering support to farmers struggling with the fallout.

Experts from universities and regulatory bodies will look into the scale of the problem and ways to tackle it. MPs will hear from Natural Resources Wales to support advice given about the health impacts. 

What the Procurement Act 2023 means for CCS

a business woman chats to a doctor and senior staff nurse in a busy hospital corridor
image: ©sturti | IStock

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) guides us through the new regime for UK procurement, including what the Procurement Act 2023 means to them

The Procurement Act 2023 is bringing significant changes to the regulations that govern UK procurement.

The landmark Procurement Bill was granted Royal Assent on 26th October 2023 and became the Procurement Act 2023. The Procurement Regulations 2024 were then laid in Parliament on 25th March 2024, providing additional detail about various aspects of the new procurement regime.

On 22nd April, the Cabinet Office announced that the new regime would take effect in full on 28th October 2024.

This will result in changes to the way Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) commercial agreements operate.

What does the Procurement Act 2023 mean?

The new law provides a number of benefits to suppliers and buyers, including:

  • Cutting red tape and supporting innovation.
  • Improving transparency by creating a fully open and transparent system, meaning everyone has access to public procurement data.
  • Faster competition processes for emergency buying, allowing buyers to meet urgent needs quickly and efficiently.
  • Simplifying the process of working with the public sector, supporting more SMEs to bid for contracts.

Once the Procurement Regulations 2024 have commenced, or are ‘live’, these new regulations will apply to all CCS agreements created after that time. From then on, all activities carried out under our new agreements must comply with them.

However, the new regulations are not retroactive. The Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015, which previously governed procurement activity in the UK, will continue to apply to any CCS agreements created prior to the ‘go live’ of the new regime.

How will this affect CCS’s commercial agreements?

A number of CCS’s key upcoming agreements are currently anticipated to be introduced after the beginning of the new regime, meaning they will be subject to a whole new set of regulations.

Public sector buyers will need to consider which contracts they have that will expire after the new regulations come in, and start to plan if and how they will reprocure those contracts as early as possible.

The CCS category teams responsible for these commercial agreements are currently engaging customers and suppliers to develop their commercial and procurement strategies. Developing associated digital platforms and/or contractual documentation to ensure full compliance with the new procurement regime is being considered as a part of this process.

CCS has created an updated list of key commercial agreements that are anticipated to be awarded under the new regime. However, the complexities involved in adopting the new ways of working mean this timeline will be under constant review and may be amended as circumstances dictate.

What is CCS doing to prepare?

CCS has set up a dedicated project team that is starting to implement internal changes step by step, up to the point the new regime goes live.

As an organisation, CCS will:

  • Manage and implement the Cabinet Office’s Transforming Public Procurement programme as a key project for CCS, with dedicated internal staff working on this full time.
  • Support customers with implementing the new regime through thought leadership and guidance.
  • Guide customers on how to use our products once the new regulations are live.

CCS has taken an organisation-wide approach to implementing the new regime, breaking this down into five workstreams:

  1. Commercial activity: Review all current and planned commercial opportunities.
  2. Standard operating procedures and policies: Ensure they are robust future-proofed for the new regime.
  3. Guidance and information: Review the documents that your teams and suppliers use and ensure they are current.
  4. Systems: Consider the readiness of your organisation’s systems and what changes may be needed.
  5. People: Ensure your people understand Transforming Public Procurement and undertake the necessary training.

CCS’s implementation guidance document contains detailed information for each of the five workstreams, including a checklist of considerations for each.

Public procurement: Find out more

The Cabinet Office is leading a readiness programme based on the incoming regulations called Transforming Public Procurement (TPP). For more detailed information on how to prepare for the regime’s implementation, visit the Cabinet Office Transforming Public Procurement webpage.

The Cabinet Office is leading a readiness programme based on the incoming regulations called Transforming Public Procurement (TPP). For more detailed information on how to prepare for the regime’s implementation, visit the Cabinet Office Transforming Public Procurement webpage.

Find a complete list of our commercial agreements and learn how we can help you incorporate policy considerations into your procurement in our interactive digital brochure.

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