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Are we answering our prospective and current students’ needs in recruitment?

Student girl in mask with smartphone at lecture, recruitment
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In the post-pandemic era of recruitment and retention, how can we ensure that students realize the value on their investment?

In today’s higher education landscape, it would be fair to say that institutions’ admissions and marketing and communication departments have come out with a mix of exhaustion and excitement as they navigate the ongoing challenges of recruiting students and retaining them to graduation.

With the reduction in international students due to restrictions also factoring in, universities are now competing more heavily for students in the United Kingdom and paying more attention to localised catchment areas.

Recruitment processes have been reimagined as more traditional methods, such as open days, were put on hold. In addition, advisor meetings to help support students and keep them on track were either paused or set up virtually. Student-centred communications were immediately shifted to channels like email or chatbot, which are efficient in delivering critical information.

However, this overall approach raises the ongoing question of whether we are delivering what our current and prospective students really need. And subsequently, how falling short of those needs by continuing to rely on past strategies, rather than adapting, may impact recruitment and retention long term.

It must be about how we engage, not just about how we teach

The pandemic taught us that while students are comfortable with online and hybrid learning, they still want to feel engaged and connected to their institution and fellow students.

A recent Anthology white paper said that 63% of university leaders anticipate increased interactions between students and academic staff and more personalised communications based on specific courses and needs. However, only 42% of students felt communication would become more personalised, with 37% of students believe they will interact more with academic staff in the future. So how can we close this gap? We believe that it starts with considering the student journey in its entirety and then mapping the needs of students from initial recruitment to alumni and postgraduation.

It’s well known that the first four weeks of studies is a crucial time for universities to foster a sense of belonging, help build confidence with students, and demonstrate a vested interest in students’ future success beyond the study plans and campus tours. Therefore, every touchpoint of learner engagement should convey a powerful message of empathy and reassurance to engage the student and make them feel valued.

Although students have adapted to a new way of learning, they are still very much seeking reassurance and confidence in the trajectory of their studies from their institution. But, as universities continue to adapt in parallel to meet student needs, institutions that consider the entire student experience through the lens of data will emerge as frontrunners in recruitment and retention.

A personalised approach is best

One UK university, which has around 40,000 students, proved its resilience by taking a more holistic approach to understanding student data, utilising it to produce personalised communications addressing everything from mental health and wellbeing to teaching and graduation information, whilst also employing data predictively to tailor interventions that support student success.

Using a multichannel approach to engagement that tapped into students’ interests and the various stages in their education journey created an enhanced experience for learners and made them feel that the institution prioritised their unique needs and preferences – increasing the likelihood of retention.

This university knew sending out one size fits all emails would be nothing more than white noise for most students, and they weren’t utilising data resources to their full potential. However, once university leaders began interrogating student data with an eye on informing personalised communications, they felt those communications were more likely be opened and could inherently help build a stronger connection with learners.

Technology to drive engagement

Although the world of digital channels can’t replace the human touch, it creates the opportunity to think deeper and connect with more people to provide a collective experience. Students’ sense of belonging can be fostered using targeted virtual Q&A events, virtual buddying schemes, and providing one-to-one virtual campus tours with a student ambassador. These are just a few examples of ways to build a community, even when students cannot meet face to face.

Technology has also allowed universities to expand their reach beyond their typical geographies and demographics. For example, digital recruitment and learning approaches have meant that people living in rural areas or outside the UK have more education options than ever before, providing new recruitment streams for institutions.

UK universities are even starting to reframe the term ‘blended learning’ as we recognize that digital learning is here to stay as part of the overall learner experience. Students now desire more flexibility and options, and long-term investment in digital platforms is crucial if universities are to retain more students.

Today’s digital communications and the way that teaching has evolved continues to drive conversations around learner enrolment and retention. In the last two years, much has been lost or changed. But now, we have an opportunity to re-establish the value of higher education to students and embrace the positive new ways of learning that intelligent data and technology are delivering.

This article was written by Louise Thorpe, Vice President and Head of Client Experience, EMEA at Anthology.

Cats have been found to encourage stress relief in people with anxiety

two cats sat in the sun
© Jolita Marcinkene

Research has drawn attention to the benefits of spending time with cats, as a means of stress relief, for people suffering from anxiety disorders

Studies into the efficiency of pets for stress relief are increasingly popular, and results have proven positive, but more than 85% of them only include dogs. However, a new paper published in the journal Anthrozoös has found that several factors shaped a positive response to a cat visitation program, revealing that the personality trait of emotionality played an important role.

A connection between emotionality and cat visitation

Emotionality indicates a person has strong emotions and is highly reactive to them. “Emotionality is a pretty stable trait; it doesn’t fluctuate and is a quite consistent feature of our personalities,” said co-author Patricia Pendry, a professor in Washington State University’s Department of Human Development.

“We found that people on the higher end of that scale were significantly more interested in interacting with cats on campus. Given that prior research has shown that such individuals may be more open to forming strong attachments to animals, it makes sense they would want cats to be included in these programs.”

Are cat people and dog people different?

“Anecdotally, we’ve always been told that cat people are different from dog people, and that most students are not interested in interacting with cats,”Pendry said. “Our results revealed that students are interested in interacting with cats and that this interest may be driven by personality traits.”

Pendry and the teams’ lead author Joni Delanoeije, from Belgian University KU Leuven, explored the level of interest in adding cats to the interventions, along with how human characteristics influence that interest.

The scientists also examined whether university employees, who are commonly excluded from such programs, would be interested in participating.

What factors contribute to feline interaction?

Surveying more than 1,400 university students and staff for the paper from over 20 universities, the teams’ research revealed several things.

The research found that the link between personality and openness to interacting with cats was significant, even after accounting for openness to a dog visitation program, as well as being a cat owner and identifying as female.

The team also accounted for negative influences such as having a cat allergy or cat phobia, which logically reduced participants’ interest in interacting with felines.

twin black and white cats sat together
© Linqong

Why are dogs used so commonly in research like this?

One reason university interventions tend to be dog-focused is the more significant number of canine therapy animals available and a standard view that felines may be unsuitable for therapy roles, pointed out Pendry.

“There’s a perception that dogs exist to please people,” said Pendry, who classifies herself as a dog and a cat person. “While I may describe cats as ‘discerning,’ they are often perceived as unpredictable, aloof, or finicky—traits that can be difficult for some to be around.”

In previous studies where results weren’t divided into different animal species, Pendry said it was easy to tell cat people from dog people.

Reaching a broader audience with cats to help aid stress relief

According to Pendry, “some people came in and made an immediate beeline for cats and others for dogs”. “I was pleasantly surprised by how many people were interested in interacting with cats, which made me interested in learning more about why they made those choices.”

“We think of college student populations as being unique, and in several ways they are,” said lead author Delanoeije. “But when we looked at university employees, the results were very similar: Personality mattered more than being a student or employee. That shows there would be interest in having animal interventions in non-university settings and other workplaces.”

Having the option of choosing interactions with a cat or dog, or both, may increase the number of people interested in attending an animal-assisted intervention, which is shown to lower stress and improve mental well-being.

“Our study shows that we may be able to reach a larger audience by offering interventions that include dogs and cats. People who are on the higher end of the emotionality trait may be more likely to participate and benefit from these interactions,” Pendry said. “We’re looking for ways to help more people reduce their stress levels. Adding cats may be another way to reach a broader audience.”

AI in healthcare can help save time & brain

© Insidestudio

Mark Hitchman, Managing Director of Canon Medical Systems UK, explains why AI in healthcare can deliver time efficiencies & better standards of care for patients

Strokes occur once every five minutes in the UK and are the fourth single leading cause of death. Great results have been achieved in bringing these figures down over the years due to expanding research, medical innovations, and awareness campaigns, but the saying ‘time is brain’ is still incredibly important.

The quicker clinicians can identify and treat a patient with stroke, the better the outcome from death or long-term neurological damage. Swift diagnosis of stroke also has numerous health economic and management benefits for the entire stroke healthcare continuum, including shortened hospital stays and lower levels of rehabilitation such as physio, occupational, speech and language therapy.

AI can now analyse and categorise diagnostic brain images automatically following a CT scan, with zero user clicks, to detect signs of ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke in 30 seconds. This can help with scoring of early ischemic stroke signs that are routinely challenging to detect – Image: Canon Medical Systems UK

Artificial Intelligence powering efficiencies inside the hospital

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in diagnostic imaging is about solving many of the problems in the modern healthcare environment. This includes providing the tools to help clinicians make confident decisions faster when faced with growing patient lists and backlogs. It can help to simplify workflows that can optimise staffing and equipment resource deployment, plus help reduce the daily stress and pressure on health professionals. Replacing radiologists or other clinicians with AI is not the motivator and the human element is needed more than ever, but AI can provide an effective decision support tool to help triage reporting cases and speed up decision making.

This has begun with Deep Learning reconstruction AI algorithms built into the frontline medical imaging systems such as AI-assisted CT or MRI scanners. This innovation helps to differentiate ‘noise’ from true signal, reducing distortions, preserving edges, and maintaining details in image outputs at the same time as achieving lower doses than ever before in routine CT imaging. This gives super clear images for radiologists to report on and lowers the number of repeat scans needed to improve image quality – another tick in the time-saving box. The low dose is also much healthier for patients, many of whom will have multiple scans over the course of their lives adding to their cumulative dose, given that CT is now a ‘routine’ diagnostic pathway.

AI-assisted imaging is now being used by dozens of hospitals across the UK bringing benefits to patients. Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was a pioneer in this area, its Consultant Radiologist commented, “Advanced Deep Learning Reconstruction of clinical images heralds a new era in CT. It enables phenomenal patient dose reduction, up to 90% below the National Diagnostic Reference Levels, at the same time as providing extremely high-quality clinical images and all in a rapid timeframe suitable for everyday clinical use.

“The images generated are much more natural and acceptable in appearance to radiologists reporting on cases. Previously, the images looked as if they had been painted with watercolours. This is a great improvement – once you see them, you’ll never look back. As a department we have always been very proactive when it comes to keeping patient dose down and our experiences of using the system every day for inpatients and outpatients has exceeded our expectations. It is a game changer for radiology.”

AI-assisted CT provides clear visualisation of contrast enhanced vessels and surrounding soft tissue for fast and confident rule-out of occlusion in stroke imaging – mage: Canon Medical Systems UK

But AI can go much further. Automated AI applications for imaging that drill into specific disease conditions are now rolling out.

AI in healthcare: stroke diagnosis

For example, AI can now analyse and categorise diagnostic brain images automatically following a CT scan, with zero user clicks, to detect signs of ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke faster than manual reporting. This can help a radiological team prioritise urgent patient cases, refocus valuable human resources and speed up diagnostic reporting. This, in turn, has the potential to reduce the time taken to make a clinical decision on incoming query stroke cases and administer life-saving treatment faster. Streamlining stroke-related workflow by automatically consolidating results into a single summary and flagging up abnormalities for a clinician to view is exciting. It will save time and empower clinicians.

AI in healthcare is much talked about today. But it can be perceived as complicated, confusing, and time- consuming to learn how to use. Layering and automating it into mainstream medical technology that clinicians already use daily will help remove these barriers to acceptance. This will amplify and simplify its important rollout into mainstream healthcare.

Sources

Brain Research UK

As 20% fall behind on bills, employers can do more to help

person struggling with bills
© Rawpixelimages

As the cost of living crisis affects the mental and physical well-being of workers everywhere, employers need to better support employees

As inflation bites and prices soar, the cost of living crisis is starting to take hold. Even with the energy price guarantee, it is estimated more than 1 million people will be pushed into poverty this winter, pushing UK deprivation levels to their highest in two decades. What can employers do to help? Asks Jamie Lawrence, Insights Director at Wagestream.

It’s no surprise that households are falling behind on their bills – 20% of adults, or 11 million people, have missed at least one payment as they struggle to make ends meet.

Aside from the financial consequences of missing bill payments, the impact on mental well-being is also huge. In our most recent research, State of Financial Wellbeing: Cost of Living Crisis Report, we found that 70% of employees are now worrying more about money than they were three months ago, with 76% suffering from worse mental health as a result. Those forced to take action to make ends meet, whether by reducing spending, using savings or increasing the use of credit cards or overdrafts, generally reported a worse quality of life.

Employers are more aware of financial well-being – but there’s a disconnect

If there’s one positive which came from the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s that employers became acutely aware of the intrinsic link between people’s personal lives and their performance, demeanour and satisfaction at work.

Consequently, the cost of living crisis has seen firms of all sizes jumping to offer varying support to their employees, whether that’s through one-off payments, wage increases, or access to external support.

While this is a step in the right direction, our report found a concerning disconnect between what employers say they’re doing and what employees say they’re receiving. Over three-quarters, (80%) of firms say they have introduced new support, but just 19% of employees are aware of these initiatives, and over half want their employer to provide more support.

Clearly, there is a reaction and impact gap at play. So how can employers build bridges and support their people during this time?

Communicate your initiatives – and never stop communicating

Firstly, companies need to be relentless in communicating the support they are offering. Choosing the correct channel for this is key. While email is easy because it’s scalable, scale is also its main disadvantage, as it is easy to ignore. Additionally, there are significant cohorts that may have no or intermittent access to email, particularly those who do not work in offices. Those who work part-time may receive emails at different times and, therefore, won’t be able to join spontaneous group conversations, which often turn emails into action.

Before communicating your financial well-being initiatives, look at all the channels you have for internal communications and map them against your employee base, trying each channel multiple times with various messaging. Another tip is to hook to current events and popular culture – talking to people whilst they have money on their minds will always help to direct attention.

Money stigma – a blocker for both employers and employees

What’s also important is for employers to take action against money stigma in the workplace. Although it’s not gone, the mental health stigma is weaker than it used to be, and lessons can be learnt from this when thinking about tackling money stigma. There’s no silver bullet, but sharing accessible and human stories, increasing support and raising awareness will go a long way.

Important here is the choice of language. Using polarising language like ‘bad with money’ reinforces the idea that people have a non-changeable relationship with money and are defined by their current situation. We’ve made progress in mental health as it’s more understood that referring to things as ‘nuts’ or ‘insane’ reinforces stereotypes and makes it less likely for people to tell their own stories – we must now do the same with money.

Savings – an essential pillar of long-term financial wellbeing

Finally, encouraging saving. This might sound obvious, but mounting evidence continues to show that savings are not only fundamental to financial well-being but that being forced to use savings to make ends meet is correlated with worsening life quality. With this in mind, employers should empower their staff to become better savers – and it’s important that employers get this right.

While most people have a general understanding of why it’s important to save, they may not understand the fundamental and timeless link between savings and long-term financial well-being. So, generally speaking, you don’t need to convince people of why it’s important to save. You need to encourage them to find the reason why they should save.

This means helping people to find their specific motivation. Sharing stories of how saving has helped people achieve their aims can be powerful here, as there are a finite number of motivations, and it’s about finding that one matched to the individual.

The ability to save is as important as the motivation

The other important thing is ability. Even with crystallised specific motivation to save, it can still be difficult. This can be driven by various things – a lack of products that allow micro-savings, for example, often stops people from getting started, particularly those with variable income every month and need to quickly reduce their savings rate if their income drops or expenses soar. It’s important to feel confident in knowing the amount you can save per month and, therefore, the ability to save is linked to the ability to budget.

Incentivising employees to save can also be powerful. While we would advise against turning savings into a competition, some example incentives might be:

● A monthly draw where a small number of savers get that month’s savings double.
● Those who are still saving after a year get their savings topped up by 51
● A free lunch for everyone who signs up to a savings pledge

Overall, while there is a clear role for the Government in providing short-term support packages and improving workers’ rights in the long term, employers also have a vital role in supporting the financial well-being of their staff during the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory.

With low unemployment and the highest level of vacancies on record, supporting the financial well-being of employees is not only the right thing to do, it also makes business sense.

This piece was written and provided by Jamie Lawrence, Insights Director at Wagestream.

Modelling the Ionosphere response to the Tonga Volcanic Eruption

Joseph Huba, Vice President at Syntek Technologies looks at the Tonga Volcanic Eruption and results from a high-resolution simulation of the event to model the Ionosphere response

The Tonga Volcanic Eruption, known technically as the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption, occurred on 15 January 2022 at 04:14 UT and was estimated to have released – 9 – 37 megatons of TNT equivalent [Astafyeva et al., 2022]. The eruption generated a massive atmospheric disturbance that caused major effects on the ionosphere worldwide.

Zhang et al. (2022), using total electron content (TEC) data from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), reported that traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) circled the earth three times and lasted 4 days. Aa et al. (2022) reported a train of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) across a wide region of Asia-Oceania area with electron density depletions of 2 – 3 orders of magnitude based on in situ Swarm and ICON satellite measurements.

Figure 1: Isosurfaces of the vertical wind velocity (left) and the perturbed electron density (right) at time 6.00 (UT).
Figure 1: Isosurfaces of the vertical wind velocity (left) and the perturbed electron density (right) at time 6.00 (UT).

Modeling the Tonga eruption

We report new results from a high-resolution simulation of the Tonga event using the coupled SAMI3/HIAMCM/MESORAC model. SAMI3 (Sami3 is Also a Model of the Ionosphere) is a global, three-dimensional, physics-based model of the ionosphere/plasmasphere system [Huba and Joyce, 2010]; it is based on the original SAMI2 model (Sami2 is Another Model of the Ionosphere) model [Huba et al., 2000].

The HIAMCM model (Becker et al., 2022) is a Global Circulation Model (GCM) based on a standard spectral dynamical core with a terrain- following vertical coordinate and a staggered vertical grid [Simmons and Burridge, 1981]. This core is equipped with a correction for non-hydrostatic dynamics, which is important in the thermosphere where many of the resolved gravity waves (GWs) have high intrinsic frequencies.

Recent simulations using the coupled SAMI3/WACCM-X model [Huba and Liu, 2020] demonstrated the importance of gravity waves in generating equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs), large-scale electron density depletions that often occur in the post-sunset equatorial ionosphere.

The MESORAC model [Vadas, 2013] calculates the primary GWs generated by the Tonga eruption; the body forces and heating generated by the dissipation of these waves are used in HIAMCM.

How did the Tonga volcanic eruption affect the ionosphere?

In Fig. 1 we show isosurfaces of the vertical neutral wind velocity (left) and disturbed electron density (right) at time 6.00 UT (6:00 UT), roughly 2 hours after the eruption. The disturbed electron density is a ‘smoothed’ electron density subtracted from the actual electron density. At this time, concentric-like wave structures are evident in the vertical wind velocity emanating from the epicenter of the eruption. The vertical velocity is ± 10s m/s which is significantly larger than nominal vertical wind velocities (± few m/s) Similar concentric-wave structures are also evident in the disturbed electron density. This is caused by ion-neutral collisional coupling in which ‘pushes’ the ions up-and-down the magnetic field.

Figure 2: Isosurfaces of the vertical wind velocity (left) and the perturbed electron density (right) at time 10.50 (UT).
Figure 2: Isosurfaces of the vertical wind velocity (left) and the perturbed electron density (right) at time 10.50 (UT).

In Fig. 2 we show isosurfaces of the vertical neutral wind velocity (left) and disturbed electron density (right) at time 10.50 UT (10:30 UT), roughly 6 hours after the eruption. At this time the atmospheric disturbance of the neutral wind has propagated across the southern polar cap and into the northern hemisphere. Interestingly, at this time, a series of EPBs has developed west of the epicenter; this is consistent with the observations reported by Aa et al. (2022). These EPBs are generated, in part, because of large variations in the zonal neutral wind (not shown) that affect the electrodynamics of the ionosphere.

“The Tonga eruption had a dramatic and significant impact on the earth’s ionosphere”

For the first time, using a high-resolution, coupled ionosphere/thermo- sphere model, we have been able to demonstrate that the dramatic and significant impact the Tonga eruption had on the earth’s ionosphere. We add that this research directly relates to the NASA Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission and The Ionosphere Connection Explorer (ICON) mission which are designed to study atmosphere/ ionosphere interactions.

References

  • Aa, E., Zhang, S.-R., Erickson, P. J., Vierinen, J., Coster, A. J., Gon-charenko, L. P., et al., Significant ionospheric hole and equatorial plasma bubbles after the 2022 Tonga volcano eruption, Space Weather, 20, e2022SW003101. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003101, 2022.
  • Astafyeva, E., Maletckii, B., Mikesell, T. D., Munaibari, E., Ravanelli, M., Coisson, P., et al. (2022), The 15 January 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption history as inferred from ionospheric observations, Geo- phys. Res. Lett., 49, e2022GL098827. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098827, 2022.
  • Becker, E. S.L. Vadas, K. Bossert, V.L. Harvey, C. Zülicke, and L. Hoffman, A High-resolution whole- atmosphere model with resolved gravity waves and specified large-scale dynamics in the troposphere and stratosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127, e2021JD035018. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035018, 2022.
  • Huba, J.D., G. Joyce, and J.A. Fedder, SAMI2 (Sami2 is Another Model of the Ionosphere): A New Low-Latitude Ionosphere Model J. Geophys. Res., 105, 23,035, 2000.
  • Huba, J.D. and G. Joyce, Global modeling of equatorial plasma bubbles, Geophys. Res. Lett. 37, L17104, https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2010GL044281, 2010.
  • Huba, J.D. and H.-L. Liu, Global modeling of equatorial spread F with SAMI3/WACCM-X, Geophys. Res. Lett., 47, e2020GL088258. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL088258 2020.
  • Simmons, A. J., and Burridge, D. M., An energy and angular momentum conserving vertical finite-difference scheme and hybrid vertical coordinates, Monthly Weather Review, 109, 758, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1981)109<0758:aeaamc>2.0.co;2, 1981.
  • Vadas, S. L., Compressible f-plane solutions to body forces, heatings, and coolings, and application to the primary and secondary gravity waves generated by a deep convective plume, J. Geophys. Res., 118, https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jgra.50163, 2013.Zhang, S.-R., Vierinen, J., Aa, E., Goncharenko, L. P., Erickson, P. J., Rideout, W., et al., 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption induced global propagation of ionospheric disturbances via Lamb waves. Fron- tiers in Astron. Space Sci., 15, https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2022.871275

Drs. E. Becker and S.L. Vadas were key collaborators on this research project,providing the HIAMCM/MESORAC data inputs.
This research has been funded, in part, by the National Science Foundation (AGS1931415).

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This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.

How can technology help local authorities deliver the government’s Levelling Up Whitepaper agenda?

levelling up
© Artistashmita

The government’s Levelling Up Whitepaper aims to address the cost of living crisis and massive inequalities across the UK – but could technology help?

Both the Covid-19 pandemic and an escalating cost of living crisis have exposed the vast economic, health and social inequalities across the UK, with deprived communities and the most vulnerable being impacted the hardest

Public awareness of increasing social and economic disparities is growing as a result, with 52% believing that there is still too much inequality in the UK.

The government’s long-awaited Levelling Up Whitepaper aims to address this need by setting out ambitious plans to narrow the country’s geographical, social and economic disparities. This has pledged to boost productivity, increase living standards and improve access to public services in deprived areas across the UK – while also promising to place local leaders at the heart of future government decision-making.

Central to achieving this is providing local leaders and communities with the tools, knowledge and information needed to drive this transformation in the long term. While there is no ‘one size-fits all’ solution, technology and digital transformation can be the key to creating jobs, improving service delivery and streamlining local authority processes going forwards.

Here I set out to explore several of the key aims of the Levelling Up Whitepaper agenda, and outline how technology can help these be achieved.

Levelling Up Whitepaper: Driving job growth and productivity in communities beyond the Southeast

According to new research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, tech and automation have the potential to increase productivity across the UK by 15% in the long term, with notable benefits in industries such as transportation, healthcare, and social work. This translates into the potential to create up to 3.3 million additional jobs across the nation and will go a long way to Levelling Up the current North/South divide.

In fact, a major study on the health and outlook of the UK’s science and technology economy has forecast the creation of 365,000 jobs by 2050 because of the UK’s transition to net zero, with the North West seeing the newest roles of any UK region. Most jobs will be created in specific sectors, such as the production of EV vehicles, electrical equipment and science and technology R&D. The benefits are also set to disproportionately affect the North of England in a boost to the government’s Levelling Up whitepaper agenda.

However, critical to achieving this success is reducing the huge gap between public sector organisations and technology firms – from smaller start-ups to larger corporates. We’re living in an age of networks, but often innovative technology companies and local decision-makers are siloed from one another, and from the researchers and investors needed to shape the public-purpose tech ecosystem around Levelling Up.

Business Networks have a huge role to play in filling this gap, providing a combination of products, services and platforms for transacting, managing, analysing and optimising the panoply of processes needed to do business in today’s global economy. As an example, the SAP Business Network can enable public sector organisations to be lead coordinators across organisations within their locality. Local authorities can help lead public sector procurement spending through these business networks to the benefit of local and regional businesses and start-ups with a fully digital process that extends to suppliers, services and logistics providers.

Another good example of a public/private partnership designed to Level Up is in Sunderland, where BAI Communications works with the authority’s Our Smart City plan to ensure the region benefits from 5G and wireless infrastructure. The project is supported by the Department for Levelling Up’s Getting Building Fund and has encouraged trials of self-driving vehicles in the automotive supply chain, remote learning across schools, and social care improvements using assistive technologies so that vulnerable people can live independently.

Streamlining processes and improving service delivery

With public sector organisations now facing unprecedented demands for their services, the need to adopt an agile operating model is greater than ever. An emphasis on cross-functional collaboration and a test-and-learn approach to delivering products and services is key. Agile organisations are defined by their ability to grasp citizens’ long-term demands and requirements and use these to feed into improvements to service delivery. They’re also more open-minded and flexible in adopting new technological innovations that are key for achieving tailored and effective services for all stakeholders.

Software such as financial spend management can go a long way to streamlining local authority processes. Effective spend management tools can not only reduce cash leakage and minimise supplier risk but, thanks to automation freeing up an organisation’s time and resources, can also enable businesses to set their minds to innovation and growth and be in the best possible position to meet any challenges that might come their way. With the added capacity, public sector organisations could pivot and shift resources to help support local economic activities such as reach-outs and support to start-ups, mentoring and coaching, and more. All these factors contribute significantly towards delivering a smooth, efficient and agile citizen-centric service delivery strategy.

Using data to provide insights and tailor services accordingly

Taking into account the needs and demands of citizens when streamlining and modernising operations and business processes, and incorporating citizen feedback into the decision-making process, is key to delivering a programme that will respond to the issues that matter most to local communities.

Collecting sentiment data from local communities on their experiences with public sector services and using the information to create a unified customer data platform to store information, helps public sector organisations to build a robust profile of respondents. Combining this with business process intelligence data enables public sector organisations to make decisions and deliver services with the citizen at heart and identify areas that need attention and improvement. This data could also be used to identify and support local economic regeneration activities and strategies, such as for employment and sustainability, to ensure the competitiveness and prosperity of local regions.

A great example of this approach is Christchurch City Council which adopted key technology in 2018 that allowed it to effectively visualise constituent service requests, enabling the organisation to develop a deeper understanding of its citizens. As a result, the council has adopted a citizen-first approach, meaning they can effectively serve constituents in the years ahead affected by the pandemic.

Final thoughts on

Former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, once said that Levelling Up success would mean ‘where you live will no longer determine how far you go.’ This aspiration, central to the government’s Levelling agenda, is one local authority that will need to work hard to address. While there’s not one set strategy to help them achieve the agenda’s objectives, technology and digital transformation are sure to be key allies regarding job growth, enhancing service delivery and streamlining processes – all vital for helping to meet the government’s ambitious targets.

This piece was written and provided by Satpal Biant, Head of Public Sector, SAP UK&I

Rethinking the serious leisure perspective

Group setting under dark sky using sparklers, happy faces, enjoying leisure time
© Rawpixelimages

Cecilia Van Cauwenberghe from Frost & Sullivan’s TechCasting Group, urges us to rethink the serious leisure perspective

In 2021, researchers working at the Department of Behavioural Science & Health of the University College London, the UK, published a map exhibiting over 600 mechanisms of action with evidence about the health benefits of leisure activities from a serious leisure perspective, such as voluntary, hobbies, arts, volunteering, community group membership, sports, and socializing activities (Fancourt et al., 2021).

Other investigators (Stebbins, 2020) present leisure mechanisms falling into different categories: psychological, biological, social, and behavioral processes that operate at an individual or micro level, a group or meso level, or a societal or macro level. This multi-level leisure mechanisms framework (MLLMF) considers leisure activities complex adaptive systems.

This approach also classifies serious leisure perspective into three types: serious – months or years of training to develop skills and knowledge, such as learning how to play a musical instrument; casual – short activities not requiring specialised training, like socializing with friends; and project-based – a one-shot creative undertaking not intended to develop into serious leisure, typically vacations. Although both frameworks converge, the last one emphasises the health benefits of leisure, including personal enrichment and interpersonal relationships, overcoming of expression limitations, enhanced creativity, and social attraction, among others (Dieser, 2021).

In the opinion of scientists from Texas A&M University (Lee et al., 2021), the overall results from both frameworks associate identity and commitment with mediating roles between durable benefits with effort and perseverance as the factors playing a pivotal role in the long-lasting benefits of serious leisure participation.

New studies highlight positive aspects

Another team of researchers working at the Adi Shankara Business School (ASIET) in Kalady, India, the Southampton Business School of the University of Southampton, the UK, and the Ronin Institute in Montclair, New Jersey, the U.S., designed, conceptually developed and empirically validated a mediation model of serious leisure and workplace well-being. According to the authors, the serious leisure perspective positively relates to workplace well-being, mediated by self-perceived employability (Nimmi and Donals, 2021).

In the context of the Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference carried out in June/July 2022, research advances in leisure studies from a philosophical perspective were presented (Mansourian, 2022a). The authors shared the phenomenological and context analyses from different groups of hobbyists, such as those who cook, potters, knitters,
birdwatchers, bonsai growers, and urban gardeners. The collection of empirical data was performed through semi-structured interviews, as well as content from social media. The goal was to identify patterns of information activities of serious leisure enthusiasts. In the lecturer’s opinion, people who engage in serious leisure for pure pleasure reasons, get satisfaction in their passion, which helps them find new meaningful purpose in their lives. Besides, this enthusiasm is not lost over the course of the activity, even in challenging situations, which promotes some conduct in other aspects of their life. Long-term, a new sense of identity, authenticity, honesty, and care for well-being practices are gained.

The authors also introduced the concept of ‘information curation’ to demonstrate that serious leisure perspective participants could be highly beneficial also for the communities (Mansourian, 2022b). During the analysis, the researchers highlighted that practising hobbies and voluntary activities meant that participants became willing to gather related information and develop exclusive methods to keep, organise and share data associated
with their practice. As a result, the whole community benefited from these exercises, going beyond conventional activities. The information is gathered, curated, and shared, making the serious leisure perspective more meaningful.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank all contributors from the industry involved with developing and delivering this article from Frost & Sullivan.

 

Further reading

 

Dieser, R.B., 2021. How leisure activities affect health: the serious leisure perspective. The Lancet Psychiatry, 8 (7), p.562.

Fancourt, D., Aughterson, H., Finn, S., Walker, E. and Steptoe, A., 2021.

How leisure activities affect health: a narrative review and multi-level theoretical framework of mechanisms of action. The Lancet Psychiatry, 8 (4), pp.329-339.

Lee, J.H., Lee, S., Heo, J. and Scott, D., 2021. Deconstructing serious leisure using identity theory. Journal of Leisure Research, 52 (5), pp.599-618.

Mansourian, Y., 2022, June. The philosophy of serious leisure: A reflective narrative. In Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference.

Mansourian, Y., 2022. Information curation in serious leisure: How passion generates purposeful information activities.

Nimmi, P.M. and Donald, W.E., 2022. Modelling the interaction between serious leisure, self-perceived employability, stress, and workplace well-being: empirical insights from graduates in India. Personnel Review.

Stebbins, R.A., 2020. The serious leisure perspective: A synthesis.
Springer Nature.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Are you prepared?

Hacker working on computer cyber crime
© Rawpixelimages

Martin Roots, Managing Director at the Expede Group, discusses cybersecurity awareness, walking us through different cyber attacks and how to prevent them efficiently

Cybersecurity awareness has never been more important. Over recent years, cybercrime, accelerated by the covid crisis, has reportedly increased by over 600%. Almost half of businesses (46%) and a quarter of charities/organisations (26%) report having cybersecurity breaches in the past 12 months alone. The numbers will be even higher as many crimes go undetected. The cost to businesses is huge: Ransomware attacks cost UK businesses £71 million in downtime alone, and a phishing attack to a mid-sized organisation costs £1.3 million on average. Cybercrime is arguably the world’s biggest criminal growth industry, with an expected toll of over £5 trillion globally.

95% of cybersecurity issues can be traced to Human error, states the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report 2022

The major problem is not always due to lacklustre cybersecurity systems or defences. In fact, over 90% of cyber-crime incidents are now caused by criminals targeting staff. This is often through phishing attacks, where individuals are targeted with fraudulent communication that tricks them into clicking bad links, handing over sensitive information, or installing malware.

These attacks are easily preventable. 97% of people around the globe cannot identify a phishing email, and 74% would download a potentially malicious file because they lack the cybersecurity awareness to spot and prevent it. If staff were given appropriate training, it would rapidly cut down the number of data breaches and successful phishing attacks.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a great time to educate yourself and your users

Human error is by far the biggest cause of security incidents and tack- ling this is key for reducing attacks. Security Awareness Training is by far the best place to start. Training users with the information required to recognise (and react to) cyber threats, will cut the problem off right at the source, and immediately prevent cyber-attacks from developing in the first place.

What are the types of attacks?

All businesses are at constant risk of cybercrime, and attacks come through various channels and in different guises.

Phishing

Phishing is one of the most common forms of cyber-attack. Most users have a business email. Phishing emails sent to these accounts can be extremely convincing. In the past few years, phishing attacks have increased by over 100%, and with an increase in remote working and the requirement to constantly be clicking links to shared content or portals, it can make it easy to fall victim.

Overall, phishing relies on a lack of understanding. Most people can’t identify a phishing email. If staff have the correct training to understand how to tell if an email is fake, including looking at link URLs before clicking, examining the ‘from’ address to ensure it is genuine, and checking for obvious signs of foul play, then phishing attacks could be almost completely avoided.

Malware

Malware refers to any type of malicious software designed to harm or exploit a device or network. Malware attacks require a certain type of software to be installed onto a device, which usually means a user must click on a link or visit a rogue site. Without even realising it, the user can then be compromised, and their device is no longer safe.

There are several malware attacks, including MITM (man-in-the-middle), trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, and more. Ransomware attacks are some of the costliest, where systems are taken down by hackers and not returned until a ransom fee is paid.
From a user’s perspective, malware such as spyware and keyloggers can be used to steal passwords, emails, and other personal data.

The best way to prevent malware attacks again is through education. If a user knows what to look out for, understands the precautions they should take, and can see potentially compromised links before clicking on them, then most malware attacks could be prevented. Of course, having the correct device security and protection is important, but without an understanding of malware in the first place, a user can never be completely safe from attack.

Password Security

Hackers don’t just use spyware to steal your passwords and data, poor passwords can be hacked physically or with a program, without even need- ing malware on your computer. Over 60% of people use the same pass- word for multiple accounts, meaning a hacked or leaked password could cause severe damage to the victim.

DDoS Attack

Although human error is involved in most cyber-attacks, this is not always the case. Sometimes a targeted attack can occur that is not so easily avoided. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack happens when systems and servers are overwhelmed by hackers to the point where they can simply no longer operate, resulting in entire networks, websites, or learning platforms being shut down.

Many DDoS attacks occur through compromised devices within the network, meaning malware has probably been installed on them before the attack takes place.

Awareness Campaigns & Training

It is estimated that between 85-95% of all breaches are due to human error.The easiest, fastest, and most afford- able way for organisation to combat cybersecurity issues is through awareness campaigns and cyber- security awareness training – through improving the capabilities of the ‘human firewall’ and developing a cybersecurity-aware culture.

What are awareness campaigns?

Security awareness campaigns are efforts designed to improve cyber- security knowledge amongst users within an organisation. They educate users about the cybersecurity land- scape, help raise awareness of threats, and teaches users how to avoid cyber- attacks as best as possible. The idea is to create a ‘culture of security compliance’ within an organisation, putting cybersecurity at the forefront of users’ minds when using a device or accessing their email.

Cybersecurity campaigns go much further than an educational one-off. Campaigns should aim to put cybersecurity as a key part of the organisation, receiving appropriate investment, regular discussions/updates, and be tailored to each user’s role and security level.

At Expede, we work with several security awareness training partners that take different approaches – from supplying the platform and content for your teams to managing campaigns. to those that provide a fully managed service.

One such partner, KnowBe4, has pulled together a set of resources that you can use to help your users make smarter security decisions during Cybersecurity Awareness Month and beyond.

You’ll get:

Access to free resources for you including KnowBe4’s most popular on-demand webinar and whitepaper.

Resources to help you plan your activities, including your Cybersecurity Awareness Month Guide and Cybersecurity Awareness Weekly Planner.

New featured interactive training module for your users: “2022 Social Engineering Red Flags,” plus 3 additional interactive training modules, all available in multiple languages. Resources to share with your users including training videos, security docs, tip sheets, security hints and tips newsletters, plus posters and digital signage assets, all available in multiple languages.

All assets are printable and available digitally, so they can be delivered to your users no matter where they are working from.

Click here to Get Your Free Cybersecurity Awareness Month Resource Kit Now, or copy this url into your browser.

If you’d like to get in touch to find out how the team at Expede can help deliver the right cybersecurity awareness programme for you, email your Virtual Chief Information Security Officer at vciso@expede.consulting

Please Note: This is a Commercial Profile
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This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.

Improvements to NHS digital can deliver better patient access

female patient listening to her medical record
© Monkey Business Images

NHS Digital has planned to merge with NHS England in January 2023 to increase support for patients online

Data sharing processes are about to be improved across the NHS, which is sure to benefit patients with better data protection safeguards with the merging of NHS digital and NHS England.

These plans to transform NHS data imply that patients are to receive more streamlined care both in person and online and receive more information about their medical choices.

A single statutory body responsible for data and digital technology for the NHS

Patients will receive a streamlined experience due to a reduced need to repeatedly share information across the health system, as well as the ability to make more informed choices about care by providing information about the length of wait for treatment, making waiting lists by speciality and by provider, more accessible – a key part of the government’s plan for patients.

The merge should also promote easier access to electronic patient records through accelerated digital transformation services for patients

Digital transformation during the pandemic driving data efficiency

It has been proven that digitally mature providers are 10% more efficient than their less digitally mature peers, as they have faster improvements in cooperation.

NHS digital will ensure the health and care sector is fully equipped to face the future and deliver for patients.

NHS England will provide the same protections for people’s data as NHS Digital, are they are to work closely with partners – like the Information Commissioner and the National Data Guardian, DHSC and NHSE – to improve internal controls to ensure that data is used and shared safely, securely and appropriately to:

• deliver high-quality care
• understand and protect the health of the population
• effectively plan and improve services
• research and develop innovative treatments, vaccines and diagnostics

Supporting the recovery of NHS services

The changes will better support the recovery of NHS services, address waiting list backlogs, and support hardworking staff, all while driving an ambitious agenda of digital transformation and progress forwards.

This merging of NHS digital and NHS England is subject to parliamentary approval and agreement with the devolved administration, aiming to make use of the data collected by health and social care services, improving the health of the population.

Do you really need to be taking paracetamol?

paracetamol
© Icefront

Paracetamol is Britain’s most trusted painkiller. Around 6.3 tonnes of paracetamol are sold in the UK every year, working out to 70 paracetamol per year for each UK adult. But there are safety issues

In 2020, 235 people died from taking paracetamol in the UK. Around 100,000 people are admitted yearly from A&E with paracetamol poisoning.

  • What do you really know about paracetamol?
  • What are the side effects?
  • Do you know how to take it safely?

What even is paracetamol?

Paracetamol – active ingredient acetaminophen – is used as an analgesic (painkiller), and an antipyretic (to lower a fever). However, it is generally not regarded as an anti-inflammatory drug.

The exact mechanisms of action are still not completely understood, but it is thought to work in the following ways:

Paracetamol

  • Activates the endocannabinoid system
    • This a network of chemical messengers and receptors which are present throughout the brain and the spinal cord and are known to be integral in the perception of pain.
  • Activates the inhibitory serotonergic pathway
    • Serotonin is known to inhibit pain via a descending pathway from the brain stem to the spinal cord.
  • Disrupts the nitric oxide (NO) pathway
    • Nitric oxide is a powerful mediator of inflammation, especially in arthritis. NO levels are often raised in those with chronic pain. Paracetamol has an antinociceptive effect to reduce the perception of the pain sensation.
  • Inhibits cyclo-oxygenase enzyme – COX-2.
    • Paracetamol is a weak COX enzyme inhibitor. It only inhibits the enzyme COX-2. COX enzymes convert arachidonic acid into prostaglandins, which cause inflammation, pain, and fever. In contrast, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) inhibit COX-1, COX-2, and COX-3 very efficiently and hence have more powerful anti-inflammatory action.

What are the differences between paracetamol and NSAIDs?

Paracetamol works differently from non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) like aspirin and ibuprofen. The two can be taken together.

NSAIDs have powerful anti-inflammatory action through their effects to block COX enzyme receptors and prevention of the production of prostaglandins. Paracetamol is more often used for pain relief through its effects on the endocannabinoid and serotonergic pathways, and via other actions, as it helps dampen down pain perception.

Ibuprofen is more effective than paracetamol at lowering a fever as it has a direct effect to lower the set point of temperature regulation in the brain.

What is paracetamol used for?

Paracetamol is often the first choice painkiller for conditions such as tension headache, migraine, arthritis, and period pain. It is also often taken with a fever to try and help lower body temperature.

How effective is paracetamol?

Although paracetamol is used as a painkiller, good quality evidence from a recent 2022 Cochrane data review suggests it is only slightly more effective in relieving pain for those with back or knee pain, than a placebo.

Several studies have also shown that paracetamol is ineffective at reducing fever.

What confusion is there surrounding paracetamol?

It seems that the British public is confused about paracetamol.

  • In one London survey, around 50% of those who were asked, thought that ibuprofen contained paracetamol – (It doesn’t!).
  • In one study of parents’ knowledge of paracetamol for administration to children, only 50.9% knew that paracetamol was harmful in overdose. 38% did not use a syringe to correctly measure the child’s dose.
  • In another American study, half of those asked were unaware that Tylenol contained paracetamol.
  • In the UK, around 1 in 4 adults quite often take more than the recommended 4 x 2, 500 mg paracetamol tablets a day.

What are the dangers of taking paracetamol?

Paracetamol is dangerous if taken at higher than recommended doses. This is because it is metabolised in the liver to a toxic byproduct called N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), which ultimately causes hepatic necrosis (death of liver cells). This results in liver failure, which may be followed by kidney failure. Paracetamol poisoning is still the most common cause of acute liver failure in the UK.

Moreover, paracetamol does have side effects. One 2016 systematic review concluded that taking standard doses of paracetamol led to a 19% increased risk of cardiovascular disease, an 11% increase of gastrointestinal bleeds, and a significantly increased risk of kidney disease.

There is also a risk of allergy, including anaphylaxis.

In a 2022 American study, 172 out of 109, 280 people (0.16%) were found to have blood in their urine. They were more likely to be female, aged 60 or over, and have been taking paracetamol for over one month.

Paracetamol can damage the kidney, leading to a condition called analgesic nephropathy. This comes on slowly with long-term paracetamol usage and can lead to kidney failure. It is probably more likely in older people, those with a BMI of under 50, or who already have liver or kidney disease.

How much paracetamol is safe, and what to do incase of overdose?

The recommended adult dose is 4 x 2, 500 mg paracetamol tablets in 24 hours, with at least 4 hours between doses.

If you have taken 3 or more additional paracetamol tablets, over and above the recommended dose, this is an overdose. You need to take action immediately.

  • Go to 111.nhs.uk
  • Call 111
  • Go to your nearest A and E – and take the packet of paracetamol with you.

Understanding an accidental overdose of paracetamol

One problem is that you may not know that you are already taking paracetamol, and inadvertently take paracetamol on top of this.

Paracetamol is added to many cough, cold, and flu remedies, for example, Night Nurse and Lemsip. It’s vital not to take additional paracetamol if you are taking these preparations.

There are 89 ‘combi’ preparations listed on drugs.com, many of which contain paracetamol (acetaminophen). Prescribed drugs such as co-codamol, codydramol and Tramacet also contain paracetamol. It can be very confusing to know what you are taking.

How to take paracetamol safely

  • Don’t take any medication unless it’s necessary – I would strongly advise you not to take any medication – paracetamol, natural or herbal remedies – unless it’s really necessary and you feel confident about what you are taking – not even a simple paracetamol.
  • Always read the labels on the packet – of any pain killers of cough, cold, and flu remedies, and check if there is paracetamol (acetaminophen) in the preparation before you swallow paracetamol tablets.
  • Never exceed the maximum dose – for adults, this is 4 x 2, 500mg paracetamol tablets in 24 hours, with at least 4 hours between doses. Never take any more than this. If you miss out on a dose, don’t worry, do not take two doses at once (4 tablets).
  • Be especially careful with babies and children – follow the recommended dosing regime and measure out their paracetamol using a syringe, with care.
  • Tell your doctor before taking any regular medication – including paracetamol or natural herbal remedies. This is especially the case if you suffer from any chronic diseases or take other regular medication.
  • Paracetamol is riskier for older people – as they have naturally declining kidney function with age.

Why not ask your pharmacist for a free NHS Medicine Use Review (MUR)?

Final thoughts on paracetamol

  • Is it time to rethink the way you use paracetamol?
  • How could you use it more safely and wisely?
  • In fact, do you need to be taking it all?

This piece was written and provided by Dr Deborah Lee, Dr Fox Online Pharmacy

3 ways COP27 could deliver Africa’s needs for climate adaptation

Dry cracked land and drying river and Green abundance of crop plant and trees metaphoric World climate change and Ecological collapse.
© Nitsuki

Localising, re-building and increasing financial innovation could aid Africa with its adaptation to climate change in upcoming COP27 discussions

Despite only emitting less than 4% of greenhouse gas emissions, Africa bears the brunt of climate change. As Africa is hosting COP27, its climate adaptation needs must be high on the agenda.

According to the World Economic Forum, African nations could have a bigger impact on reaching global net zero if three significant areas of change are focused on: Localising, re-building and financially innovating.

How is Africa experiencing climate change?

Deadly floods and food droughts have long affected Africa. Just this year, the Horn of Africa has experienced drought and famine and Durban has seen floods that have taken hundreds of lives.

Africa’s minimal impact on carbon emissions reflect the fact that at least 75% of the global population without access to electricity live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Along with an energy crisis, manufacturing and economic development are hindered in Africa forcing them to look abroad for their energy – furthering dependence on outside states which emit more and increase climate change.

In North Africa, where COP27 is being held, hopes of a more resilient future rest upon the climate conference and its net zero ambitions.

Here are three ways Africa can curtail further climate impacts:

1. Localising business and looking to itself

Africa needs to further localise its processing and manufacturing, which will drive down emission-spewing shipments of the continent’s minerals and commodities, as well as reduce Africa’s energy deficit.

While the continent’s minerals and commodities usually go to Asia, they are often only shipped again as finished goods to consumer markets, predominantly in Europe or America.

Africa’s main energy needs are for cooking, with much of the local population depending on firewood for that necessity. As a result, Africa’s vast carbon sinks are threatened by people who depend on forests to survive. Therefore, to save those vital carbon sinks, authorities must provide substitutes, such as liquid petroleum gas (LPG).

Panorama of hydroelectric Katse Dam power plant in Lesotho, Africa
Panorama of hydroelectric Katse Dam power plant in Lesotho, Africa
© Fabian Plock

While renewable resources are the ultimate objective, the continent needs, in the immediate term, to utilise its abundant reserves of natural gas — in line with the European Union’s recent decision to classify natural gas as a form of energy that can help in the transition away from dirtier fuels.

Luckily, lots of parts of Africa are already at net zero carbon emissions, but with further job creation and economic growth, African countries can then invest further in renewable resources to make the final transition.

As Africa has the world’s largest reserve of metals and minerals needed for batteries, including lithium and cobalt, the continent is a key supplier for the global energy transition.

These metals must be unearthed in a way that minimises further pollution using sustainable mining techniques combined with ecosystems fostering local production centres.

2. Re-building from within and focusing on climate-proof infrastructure

Africa needs to build more climate adaptation methods of defence against current and future climate impacts and weather changes – such as building ocean and river defences as well as agriculture infrastructure that will also aid the development of circular economies which drive growth and job creation.

Re-building of infrastructure from transport to electricity grids is crucial. Africa is the most exposed region to the ravages of global warming, largely because its buildings, roads and power lines are ill-equipped to withstand climate shocks.

Without intervention, the cost of structural damage caused by natural disasters in Africa will increase to $415 billion a year by 2030 from between $250-300 billion now, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The world must learn from the devastation inflicted by ever more extreme global weather events – most recently the floods in Pakistan – and increase the flow of financing for adaptation or resilience building.

Canoe trip with traditional mokoro boat on river through Okavango Delta near Maun, Botswana Africa
© Ahfotobox

3. Finnovate: Financial innovation towards climate resilience

Finally, financial innovation is the key to ensuring that Africa has access to essential climate funds.

Green bonds are one example. Africa accounts for less than 1% of global issuance, largely because of a somewhat exaggerated perception of heightened risk attached to the continent’s issuers and a consequent lack of liquidity. An initiative to help assuage investor concerns is now underway.

The Liquidity and Sustainability Facility (LSF) was launched at COP26 in Glasgow to provide private investors in African bonds with a viable repo market to boost liquidity, levelling the playing field with equivalent systems in more developed markets. By creating more equal terms for African green bonds, the LSF will help to catalyse private investment in sustainability initiatives at a lower cost.

Carbon trading is another example. Currently, developed world polluters offset emissions by buying carbon credits on African forests and other nature-based solutions for a pittance relative to projected costs of carbon capture and storage (CCS), while billions of dollars of G20 government subsidies pour into unproven technology for CCS.

As a starting point in attaching consistent monetary value through a defined market for carbon trading, African institutions are working to develop a carbon registry for all 16 countries of the Congo basin that will create a common protocol for measuring emissions and issuing carbon credits.

Lastly, there needs to be further collaboration between governments and the private sector through just climate financing, placing more pressure on higher-polluting, developed nations to provide more money for the continent.

Policymakers approaching COP27 must improve climate adaptation by using these three principles: localise, re-build and innovate.

What can we expect from Rishi Sunak if he becomes Prime Minister?

Rishi Sunak, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, standing outside No. 10 Downing Street
© Wirestock

The former Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Tory favourite for the next Prime Minister, but what can the public expect from Rishi Sunak if this becomes a reality?

Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, was one of the first to quit Boris Johnson’s Cabinet and is arguably the current favourite to be the next Prime Minister.

However, some commentators and grassroots supporters disagree and suggest that Penny Mordaunt is the real favourite having received 19.6% on a new survey of Conservative Home readers.

Nevertheless, many are still claiming that Sunak is the most popular candidate. He recently gained endorsement from Matt Handcock: “He’s got the plan, the character, and the experience to deliver for the country, and win the next election”.

Sunak is receiving significant support from MPs and claims that he has the backing of between 80 and 100 MPs. Only time will tell whether this is the case.

Graph showing how Tory MPs have voted in Tory leadership campaign in first and second ballot
BBC News

“He’s got the plan, the character and the experience to deliver for the country, and win the next election,” says Hancock

A slick campaign appeared out of nowhere – #Ready4Rishi?

The multi-millionaire’s campaign video appeared out of thin air, less than 48 hours after Boris Johnson’s resignation. Many were left wondering how long this plan had been waiting in the wings.

It turns out, the website domain had been registered in December 2021, meaning that the campaign video could have been filmed months before Johnson was forced out of office.

Sunak was planning to oust Boris Johnson and run for Prime Minister for a long time, it seems.

https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1545426650032111616?s=20&t=Jp8Rp0q3Rs4P9urDA8kHkA

In his campaign video, the multi-millionaire refers back to his grandmother’s immigrant beginnings in an attempt to come across as humble, and unthreatening. He states in his video: “Do we confront this moment with honesty, seriousness and determination… or do we tell ourselves comforting fairytales?”, but for most, the only ‘fairytale’ in question is the story being spun by Sunak’s media team in his campaign for Prime Minister, and it certainly isn’t comforting.

‘Do we confront this moment with honesty, seriousness and determination… or do we tell ourselves comforting fairytales?’ – Sunak

This depiction of Rishi Sunak as a man of humble, immigrant beginnings could not be further from the truth. Rishi Sunak’s grandmother may have immigrated to the UK in the 1960s, but that was two generations ago and Sunak has experienced a life far from humble. Rishi Sunak is a member of the aristocracy, and he has lived a lavish and expensive life that is considered elitist and incomprehensible to most.

Educated at one of the most prestigious schools in the world, Winchester College, Sunak went on to study PPE at Oxford before moving to California to study at Stanford University as a Fulbright Scholar. It was here, at Stanford, that Sunak met Akshata Murty, the daughter of N. R. Narayana Murthy, the Indian billionaire businessman who founded Infosys.

Sunak: The man with no working-class friends, just aristocrats

‘I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper-class, I have friends who are, you know, working-class… but er- well not working-class’

Rishi Sunak is extremely rich. In fact, he recently became one of the richest men in the UK, worth an estimated £730 million, profiting off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a video unearthed from 2001, Sunak temporarily claims to have working-class friends but he immediately backtracks. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer openly admits that his friends are exclusively aristocrats and members of the upper-class.

The video provides a great contrast to his slick campaign trail which seeks to present Sunak as “a man of the people”. It reminds the public of the real man behind the polished and manipulated media presence and campaign trail.

rishi sunak
© VVShots

Power, corruption & lies

What the general public cannot afford to forget is that Sunak’s time in government has been marked by controversy after controversy.

Ironically, Sunak has claimed that he wants to see a cleaned up government and is keen to distance himself from the many failures and controversies of Boris Johnson. He goes so far as to say “Someone has to grip this moment and take the right decisions” in his campaign video. So far, this isn’t looking well for Rishi Sunak.

His wife, Akshata Murty, worth more than the Queen at an astronomical £500m, has been avoiding paying millions in tax. Murty has been paying £30,000 a year to be classed as non-domiciled in order to not pay tax – which has amounted to tax evasion of £20m. Naturally, Sunak has faced pressure over corruption.

Sunak was also fined by the police for breaching lockdown rules. Specifically, in April 2022 the man who very well may be the next Prime Minister was issued with a fixed penalty notice for attending a lockdown party in the Cabinet Office with Boris Johnson.

To further the blow, he has only recently given up his own American ‘green card’ visa, which gave him permission to work in the USA and have residency there, which is not very ‘patriotic’.

If his track record is anything to go by, then more corruption is certainly on the cards.

rishi sunak
© Jessica Girvan

A return to Thatcherism: Tax cuts, benefits cuts, public services cuts

In terms of Sunak’s future policies, cuts are likely to feature prominently. He has ruled out tax cuts until public finances improve but vows to focus on the economy.

He has promised to run the economy like Margaret Thatcher, if he wins. “We will cut taxes and we will cut it responsibly. I would describe it as common-sense Thatcherism” comments the former Chancellor of the Exchequer.

‘We will cut taxes and we will cut it responsibly. I would describe it as common-sense Thatcherism’

Last year he was criticised for cutting a £20-a-week increase to Universal Credit that had helped some of the poorest families through the pandemic. Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported that more than 200,000 would have been pushed into poverty as a result of the cut.

Rishi Sunak has consistently voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits so the public can expect to see less money spent on the welfare state.

He has also consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability, so it is likely Rishi Sunak will continue this legacy if elected leader.

It is also likely that Sunak would make further cuts to benefits and public services if elected Prime Minister, following his voting record.

He has also consistently voted for reducing central government funding of local government so this should also be expected.

Viewing the voting records to understand Sunak’s ideology

Sunak’s voting history is a key tool in understanding his ideology and where he stands on important issues. It provides an indication of how he may act if he becomes Prime Minister. Here is a selection of issues and how Sunak has voted:

When concerning issues like climate change and the environment:

  • Almost always voted against measures to prevent climate change
  • Voted against financial incentives for low carbon emission electricity generation methods
  • Voted for greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas
  • Generally voted for new high speed rail infrastructure

When faced with social issues:

  • Sunak has never voted on allowing marriage between two people of same sex
  • Has never voted on equal gay rights
  • Generally voted against laws to promote equality and human rights

And when concerning issues on immigration, despite parading his grandmother’s immigrant story in his campaign video, Sunak’s voting record tells a different story:

  • Sunak voted for mass surveillance of people’s communications and activities
  • He has consistently voted for stronger enforcement of immigration rules
  • On nearly all occasions voted for a stricter asylum system
  • Despite his grandmother moving from East Africa to Britain in search of a better life, Rishi Sunak is also in favour of migrants being sent Rwanda
  • Sunak also backed the ‘Leave’ campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum, saying it would make Britain ‘freer, fairer and more prosperous’.

A quick way to gain a deeper understanding of where Sunak stands on the big issues is by looking at his full voting history – available here.

Do we need a general election?

Polling station sign
© Basphoto

In less than two months, two Conservative Prime Ministers have resigned – it begs the question, do we need a general election?

Only moments ago, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss gave a statement outside Downing Street and resigned as Prime Minister after just six weeks in office. This makes Truss the shortest-serving Prime Minister in UK history.

And it was only less than two months ago, on 6th September, that Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister.

Truss’s premiership came under renewed pressure following the resignation of the home secretary Suella Braverman and a chaotic vote on fracking.

In her statement, Truss explained that she felt unable to deliver the mandate on which she was elected as Tory leader and had notified the King that she was resigning.

https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1583101397318320128?s=20&t=E3jTBAQ8Qeol8Ei0TY-lRA

Truss’s resignation statement in full

“I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability. Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills. Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent. And our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth.

“I was elected by the Conservative party with a mandate to change this. We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance. And we set out a vision for a low tax high growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.

“I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.

“This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week.

“This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security. I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen. Thank you.”

Liz Truss has resigned, what happens now?

Sir Graham Brady, Chair of the powerful 1922 Committee, says he expects a Tory leadership result by Friday next week.

There had been speculation the rules of the contest could be changed to exclude members.

But many others, including the Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer, are calling for a general election.

Starmer: ‘The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern’

Arguments for a general election

Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer believes that the Conservative Party no longer has the mandate to govern.

Another key figure arguing for a general election is Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey. He posted on Twitter: “We don’t need another Conservative Prime Minister lurching from crisis to crisis. We need a General Election now and the Conservatives out of power.”

First Minister of Wales and Welsh Labour Leader Mr Drakeford said there had been a “complete and utter failure of government with everyone in this country now having to pay the price”.

He added: “Unfortunately, the deep and intractable divisions within the government means that any successor put forward will face the same set of challenges.

‘A general election is now the only way to end this paralysis’

“A general election is now the only way to end this paralysis.”

Plaid Cymru also backed this call, commenting that the “chaotic circus” was “proof once and for all that Westminster will never work for Wales”.

In a joint statement, Plaid Cymru party’s Leader Adam Price and Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts concluded: “Another prime minister gone but there is still no recognition that it’s not the individuals in Downing Street that’s the problem, but the fundamental contradictions within the Tory party as a whole.

“We urgently need a general election so that the people of Wales can reject this Westminster chaos at the ballot box.”

Mr Davies comments: “The new prime minister must grip this situation quickly, and provide leadership, confidence and hope to people across our nation.”

‘A general election is now a democratic imperative’

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has also Tweeted: “There are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately. It’s beyond hyperbole – & parody.

“Reality tho is that ordinary people are paying the price. The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now. A general election is now a democratic imperative.”

Colum Eastwood MP, leader of the SDLP, has added list name to the list of politicians calling for a general election: “The Conservative Party has no mandate to govern. Moving the deckchairs around the Tory Titanic will not deliver the radical change that people in Northern Ireland need in terms of support from the cost of living crisis, help to address soaring interest rates and the restoration of devolved government.

“It is far beyond time for a change of government in London and a new Labour led administration that will put an end to this disastrous Conservative rule.”

And it’s not just politicians who want a general election – former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has called for a general election, adding that he considers the current government an “absolute sham”.

Arguments against a general election

Liz Truss believes that the UK is not ready for a general election. Recently at PMQs, Truss said: “Mr Speaker, I think the last thing we need is a general election,” to which Labour erupted in laughter, and shouts of “more” could be heard even as PMQs concluded.

Former Conservative Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb believes that it is not a general election his party need, but a “swift and clean leadership election to provide the country with stable government”. Crabb thinks that Rishi Sunak would make a great contender.

Political commentator Piers Morgan does not think it is time for a general election yet either. His recent Tweet summarises his views:

Technically, since Boris Johnson won the last general election on 12 December 2019 with a landslide victory, some argue that the Conservative Party still have a mandate to govern until the next general election which will be held no later than January 2025. Others would disagree.

Who will be the next Prime Minister?

According to recent YouGov polls, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak come out as the most popular candidates for future Prime Minister.

But, if there is a general election soon, Labour is currently the favourite to win. In fact, the opposition party is currently 17 points ahead of the Conservatives – a level of support that they have not seen since 2001 when Tony Blair was Prime Minister.

Should there be a general election? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

Designing digital solutions to drive positive change in society

connected people via digital solutions
© Volodymyr Melnyk

Digital solutions can enable government organisations to reach a wider number of people, provide a better experience for service users, and make the organisation more efficient

Technology has become an integral part of people’s everyday lives, even more so now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This brings immense opportunities for changing social landscapes and helping people overcome barriers – but only if the technology is designed to be inclusive. Digital solutions can enable government organisations to reach more people, provide a better experience for service users, and make the organisation more efficient.

One of the biggest elements is that it allows people to use a government service at the time and location of their choosing rather than being tied to the government’s working hours and locations. This helps with social inclusion by overcoming mobility and speech challenges (e.g. disabilities, access to transportation, different languages, etc). Additionally, this helps people who cannot afford to take time off work or must take care of children or other relatives during the day.

Technology at scale can be challenging to implement in a way that is equitable, efficient, and effective

One of the biggest challenges governments faces in this realm is the breadth of users. Unlike the private sector, which can design its technology for most people, public sector organisations have to consider all users, including those who cannot afford the latest technology. Additionally, engaging with a wide range of users can quickly create an ever-expanding list of problems and pain points that need to be addressed.

Government organisations can quickly become overwhelmed by the challenges of implementing digital solutions for positive change, so here are some keys to success:

1. Understand the landscape

With the massive number of websites, mobile applications, and so many other digital solutions, it is important to understand the external landscape into which the technology is being incorporated. The interconnected nature of society, both online and offline, means that people constantly move between different ecosystems throughout the day. These ecosystems form the bases for which people are empowered or disempowered and therefore need to be understood in the design of solutions. For example, creating a new mobile application to identify available parking spots may make parking easier and reduce congestion, but it could also create more pain if other applications are already being used in surrounding areas.

Understanding the users is extremely important when using digital technology to deliver public services so that people are not excluded. Often, users are categorised by their demographics (e.g. age, race, sex, etc), but this does not give a true understanding of the people who will use the service. There will always be barriers that prevent different people from accessing services in any ecosystem. Depending on the service, there can be many barriers, including disabilities, digital literacy, and access to technology. Rather than solely looking at demographics, user research should be conducted to identify different types of users based on their underlying circumstances.

Additionally, government organisations need to understand the technology landscape involved in similar services that might be utilised by their users. For example, a local government adding an app to pay for parking should look at surrounding locations to see if other apps are already being used. This will also help the organisation understand the feasibility of their ambitions as well as gain knowledge of the important requirements that they should consider when commissioning the work or speaking with technology providers. Understanding the technology landscape also helps understand trends in the market, for instance, if one supplier is becoming the go-to provider.

2. Clarify the problems

Working to make positive change across society is always a challenge due to the myriad of problems that arise when you start exploring the issues. Teams can quickly become overwhelmed by all the ‘pain points’ when they speak with a diverse range of people. However, this is usually a case of multiple people talking about the same issue differently because of their different perspectives. Like most medical illnesses, any given issue will bring with it multiple symptoms, and when there are multiple issues, there will be compounding symptoms that can make diagnosing the problems harder. Large-scale transformations can be dealing with twenty, fifty, or even more problems, which can then come across as several hundred pain points.

Obviously, it is an immense undertaking to solve hundreds to thousands of pain points simultaneously, so it is important to systematically investigate the issues before developing solutions. By digging a little bit into the details of each different pain point, the underlying problems or root causes can be identified. Just as most illnesses can be diagnosed quickly using the right tests, it does not require a forensic investigation to identify the real problem in most cases. If the landscape is understood, it means that the diagnosis of the problem will be easier because hypotheses can be developed and tested based on knowledge of how that user interacts with other parts of the ecosystem.

While this may appear to add extra time to the project, it ends up being more efficient and effective because it reduces the complexity of the situation and ensures the outcomes improve people’s lives rather than just dulling the pain. Additionally, many challenges people have with government services are caused by organisational structures and processes. Clarifying the problems makes it easier to understand which issues are due to poor user experience of the technology and which have underlying challenges unrelated to the technology. This enables the organisation to identify opportunities where technology can drive positive change for users and where it can be used to overcome organisational silos and inefficient processes in the delivery of services.

3. Solve problems iteratively

Agile methods are the standard way of developing digital technology, but these methods alone can drive the focus towards technology users rather than the problems people are facing across the social spectrum. When designing digital solutions that are intended to make positive changes in society, the focus needs to be on the underlying problems first, with technology being a means to implement the identified solutions. Agile methods should still be used when developing the technology, but the product backlog should be fed from an understanding of what is needed to solve the problems rather than directly from what users want. This can be done by using Design Thinking methodologies to explore the problem and solution spaces and then using the outputs of these methods to feed the technical product backlog. Additionally, a transformation roadmap can be developed to show the order of exploring and solving problems, which then feeds the technical product roadmap.

Each problem will take time to explore properly, so prioritisation is critical to ensure that momentum can be maintained. Solving large problems will typically have greater benefits for users and will have a larger impact on the technical solution. However, it also takes longer to explore the problem and develop the appropriate solution, which can cause stakeholders to become impatient. At the same time, exploring smaller issues first can help technical development get started and make the technology easier to implement. In this case, though, the benefits will be lower, which can cause stakeholders to lose interest in the project at an early stage. To counteract these challenges, the transformation roadmap can be developed where small, medium, and large solutions overlap so that stakeholders see a routine cadence of positive changes occurring.

4. Ensure appropriate funding

Funding is critical to any government project. However, transformation projects often lack the funding or resources to produce the desired results. This can be caused by budgetary limitations, lack of understanding of the resource requirements, or unexpected delays, among other things. Many times, projects start with a very tight budget, either because the business case did not ask for enough or because the requested amount was reduced by decision-makers.

When solving problems iteratively, it is very important to keep this in mind when identifying phases or work packages. The size and scale of the change will be important for obtaining funding. Too small of a scope and it will likely need to fit into an existing budget, whereas too large of scope will be at risk of being reduced. Additionally, when breaking a large transformation project into multiple phases, each phase will set the expectations and adjust ambitions for the following phases. If a phase is late, over budget, or does not deliver the expected results, then it will reduce the ambition for future phases. To prevent this, the organisation should ensure each phase has the appropriate funding. This seems obvious, but it can be very difficult in a world of limited budgets.

This piece was written by Tim Kleinschmidt, who leads the service design practices for Cadence Innova.

Pregnant women die more from homicide than any other cause in the US

Pregnant woman against a black background
© Madis Uudam

Pregnant women are more in danger of dying by homicide from intimate partner violence than any other cause of maternal death, including sepsis and haemorrhages

Women in the US are more likely to be murdered during pregnancy or soon after childbirth than to die from the three leading obstetric causes of maternal death, which include high blood pressure disorders, haemorrhage, or sepsis.

Professionals in The BMJ today acknowledge that these pregnancy-associated homicides are ‘entirely preventable’, as they are linked to intimate partner violence and firearms.

The way these homicides could be dealt with is by ending male violence and gun violence, which could save the lives of hundreds of women and their unborn children in the US every year.

The recent dismantling of women’s reproductive rights in the United States brings further urgency to these issues

These homicides are ‘entirely preventable’

Due to gun laws being extremely relaxed in the US, pregnant women everywhere are at a higher risk of dying from partner violence. Unfortunately, the US has a higher prevalence of lifetime, and past-year intimate partner violence than other high-income countries and homicides by an intimate partner in the US are overwhelmingly committed using guns.

One in three women report experiences of violence, including physical, sexual, or psychological abuse by a partner in their lifetime.

Estimates reckon that guns were used in 68% of homicides around pregnancy between 2008 and 2019, with Black women at substantially higher risk of being killed than White or Hispanic women.

Black women are at substantially higher risk of being killed

To worsen statistics, few perpetrators of intimate partner violence are ever convicted.

For instance, reproductive coercion, a common aspect of intimate partner violence, increases the risk of unintended pregnancy, while restricting access to abortion endangers women as unwanted pregnancies potentially amplify risks in abusive relationships.

Additionally, rates of domestic homicides can be linked to state-level rates of gun ownership and firearms legislation – and many loopholes allowing access to firearms remain.

Guns were used in 68% of homicides around pregnancy

One in three women report experiences of abuse

As pregnancy increases women’s interactions with healthcare providers, they may be better presented with opportunities for screening or other approaches to help women experiencing or at risk of violence.

Such interventions may help stop a pattern of abuse that could lead to homicide. However, these efforts must sit alongside urgent work to reduce all forms of violence against women.

“A shocking situation linked to a lethal combination of intimate partner violence and firearms,” say experts, stating that the recent dismantling of women’s reproductive rights after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the US also brings further urgency to women’s issues.

What is “quiet quitting” and how is burnout affecting the UK?

worker burnout concept in an office
© Kaspars Grinvalds

Work-based stress and burnout have led to a rise in quiet quitting – a notion where people limit their work to strictly working hours

Across the UK workers are being spread thinly across small wages and high costs of living. Over the last year, bills, food, oil, houses, rent and more have all raised significantly, but living wages nationally have changed minimally. This has brought about a change in workers’ mindsets about their jobs – where some are now choosing “quiet quitting”.

The notion of quiet quitting has risen in popularity – it is a notion that workers hold back from working beyond their allocated hours.

A survey by YorkTest found that Google searches for ‘quiet quitting’ on Google went from being almost non-existent to seeing an increase of 18,000% in August, and TikTok has seen over 155 million views on videos around the idea.

LinkedIn also took this term by storm, and thousands of workers came forward to discuss the expectation of working above and beyond working hours and how it may be affecting people’s stress and mental health in a negative way.

Using seven different ranking factors to calculate burnout

Home health testing experts YorkTest discovered seven different ranking factors to compile an index looking at the areas of the UK struggling with burnout, including:

– the number of hours the average person is expected to work each week
– salary growth levels
– the number of people searching for new job opportunities

The research also considered the number of people searching for burnout symptoms on Google, life satisfaction and happiness levels, and even the number of hours lost in congestion each year.

Where are the most burned-out workers in the UK?

1 – Watford
2 – Bedford
3 – Doncaster
=3 – Manchester
5 – Nottingham
6 – Bristol
7 – Leeds
8 – Stockport
9 – Rochdale
10 – Salford

Not on the graph, Woking residents were recorded to have the highest happiness score at 8.3 out of 10, as well as those who live in Basildon experiencing 74% less time in traffic than those in Watford.

Southern cities are doing the best according to the seven criteria.

Conversely, the new analysis demonstrates that Watford, Bedford and Manchester residents are experiencing the most work-based stress in the UK.

Traffic congestion and pay can seriously affect people’s job satisfaction

Doncaster came in third, followed by larger cities Manchester and Nottingham. Mancunian workers in the Northern Powerhouse are also having to grapple with rising rent costs on top of salaries dropping. According to the property website Rightmove, private rents have jumped by 23.4% per year.

Despite its high score for life satisfaction, almost a quarter of Bedford’s population are regularly searching for job site “Indeed” each month, in a sign that workers are keen to move jobs due to potentially being unhappy with their work/life balance.

Unfortunately, Watford residents are especially burned out by their current working climate, with residents working for the longest period of time each week. Those living in Watford also experienced a real-time salary drop of 0.12% this year, and are likely to lose an average of 59 hours a year to traffic congestion.

All of these factors were taken into consideration and have been noted to impact the likelihood of someone ‘quiet quitting’ their work. Burnout has been stated to affect over 75%, or three-quarters, of the UK working population, demonstrating that there is an increasing problem across workplaces nationally.

“Taking a stress test can help to detect how your stress hormone levels could potentially be impacting your life, your immunity and your health”

Dr. Gill Hart, scientific director at YorkTest, said: “Our stress levels can vary daily, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that burnout is still on the rise in the UK. Our surroundings, whether they’re at work, at home or purely geographically, can influence our stress levels, and work-based burnout can rear its head for a number of reasons.

“The good news is that there are some steps that you can take to try to minimise your stress levels. Acknowledging that you’re burned out is the first step – and something you shouldn’t be afraid to mention to others. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, speak to your manager about your workload to see if they can lighten the load.

“Speak to people you trust, too, and try and spend time doing things you enjoy, as burnout can often dilute our passion for things as it can zap our energy. Cortisol levels affect a number of aspects of our body, and help us to regulate our stress levels and our body’s response to stress. Taking a stress (cortisol) test can help to detect how your stress hormone levels could potentially be impacting your life, your immunity and your health.”

Local Authorities need an open market approach to meet EV charging demands

electric vehicle charging
© Victor Prilepa

Electric vehicles are increasing in demand across the UK – but with this EV growth, more infrastructure and EV charging points are needed

The UK’s commitment to net zero can only be met if vehicle emissions are slashed, and as transport is the single largest contributor to the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions, our transition to electric vehicles is much needed. However, do we have enough EV charging points?

Significant commitments have been made, with a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, and hybrids following in 2035.

The future of mobility is the electric vehicle (EV) – over 15% of cars sold in the UK during the first quarter of 2022 were electric. Predictions point to EVs making up 58% of all passenger vehicle sales by 2040.

Over 15% of cars sold in the UK during the first quarter of 2022 were electric

However, to ensure the EV revolution is a success a dramatic increase in the availability of EV charging points is required. The government aims for 12,000 by 2025 and 300,000 public chargers as a minimum by 2030. This is essential to support the increase in EV ownership and reduce ‘range anxiety’ amongst drivers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the expansion of charging infrastructure has been found to be a highly effective way to increase the share of electric vehicles.

A holistic approach to parking and charging

Reaching the target set out by the UK Government will require a coordinated effort from the private sector, Local Authorities and central government. Supported by the promise of over £500 million of funding to help Local Authorities increase local EV charging point coverage, as part of its EV Infrastructure Strategy, the Department of Transport has made it clear that, “Local leadership in this transition is crucial.

Local Authorities have a crucial role to play in enabling the transition to ZEVs in their areas, including proactively supporting and delivering the rollout of EV charging points and helping to ensure the transition is integrated into wider local transport and community needs.”

The goal is clear – create a holistic, sustainable mobility infrastructure. A core component must be easy access to EV chargers. This is especially important within densely populated areas where most residents do not have their own off or on-street parking. There are 8 million households which cannot install a home charge point.

The goal is clear – create a holistic, sustainable mobility infrastructure

Local Authorities cannot consider the need for robust and available EV infrastructure in isolation. It is just one component of the challenge to make our towns and cities flow effectively utilising smart, sustainable strategies. As we realise the EV future, parking and charging are intertwined – you must park an EV to charge it.

Also, with retail and recreation destinations contending with record low visitor numbers, investment in park and charge could stimulate economic growth as visitors use these facilities while promoting more sustainable travel.

However, the lack of consumer-friendly park-charge partnerships is currently a barrier to entry for would-be EV owners. There are over 30 charge point operators in the UK all operating different payment apps, which makes ubiquitous coverage impossible, and is as much a concern as the limited availability of high-speed charging point infrastructure. The absence of a joined-up strategy between managing the payment and enforcement of a parking bay and EV charging providers could inhibit both the adoption of EV and the rapid acceleration of the required standardised infrastructure.

The EV Infrastructure Strategy highlights that the future for charge points is, “fairly priced and inclusively designed public charging is open to all – there will be vibrant competition across the charging sector with choice in provider and type of charging, and open data on pricing and availability.” Further, “It is essential that as the charging network expands and evolves, consumer needs are kept central.”

Opening the door to sustainable, smart infrastructure

Today’s consumer needs and expectations are increasingly aligned with the convenience of digital services. Choice, ubiquity and smart use of data are all part of the EV revolution. Regarding EV adoption, drivers want the convenience of Plug-Pay-and-Play options, combining parking with charging in one easy platform.

A streamlined digital system is required, allowing motorists to pay for parking and charging simultaneously. This has already proved successful in Scandanavia. For example, Norway has more EVs per capita than anywhere else, supported by a growing network of plug-and-play providers.

A static shot of a solid black Tesla Model 3 dual motor charging at the Skibotn Supercharger
© Wirestock

While it’s been largely successful and standardised in wider Europe, an Open-Market for parking, where multiple vendors can provide parking services in a location, is only starting to advance in the UK. This needs to expand to include an Open-Market for park and charge infrastructure. An open infrastructure will enable information on traffic, air quality, parking availability, EV charging points, car performance and much more, to be connected and analysed in one easy-to-use platform. This holistic overview will also enable local councils to use mobility data as a service and create additional efficiencies and revenue streams.

An Open-Market for parking would enable the development of a fully integrated and centralised hub for UK mobility. The hub would integrate all data sources, from congestion, parking, public transport, cycling, EV charging points, and many more to enable a more efficient, data-driven transport sector, with providers and third parties able to securely share and access important information to drive better digital services.

Importantly an Open-Market removes much burden from Local Authorities, freeing public resources while delivering superior services and value. The best way to ensure EV infrastructure that will help us all meet the 2030 and 2035 deadlines for combustion engines and smooth the transition to zero-emission EVs is an Open-Market. Driving sustainability, meeting consumer demand and harnessing the best of today’s data innovation.

This piece was written by Peter O’Driscoll, Managing Director at Ringo.

5 Ideas on how local government can support local business

local business
© Alicephotography

The SMEs sector decreased in both number and turnover and most of the business owners are not overly optimistic looking forward and plan to downsize their businesses

On the edge of a global crisis, local businesses are increasingly affected by a boomerang effect on local communities. If we only take into consideration employment in the small and medium businesses, according to FSB (UK Small Business Statistics | FSB, The Federation of Small Businesses), the total employment in SMEs was 16.3 million (61% of the total), whilst turnover was estimated at £2.3 trillion (52%). SMEs are also one of the major contributors to both national and local budgets.

Therefore, the shrinking of this sector of the economy should be a major concern for all of us.

In this context, what could local government do more to support local businesses? To answer this question, I applied a triple perspective: what business owners from my local community shared with me, my knowledge as an academic and an international perspective and this resulted in the list of actionable ideas that follow.

1. Organise and Facilitate Local Hubs

Local governments could organise online and physical hubs where representatives of local businesses could come, network with each other, exchange good practices and ideas, and identify ways of supporting each other. Representatives of the local government could actively listen to the representatives of the government and priorities could be addressed faster. The access of SMEs to the local government should be easy and straightforward.

Within the hubs, new initiatives related to innovation and sustainability could be initiated and promoted. When talking about a circular or a greener economy, all participants need to be involved and collaboration is the key.

2. Free advertising, promotion opportunities and enhanced access for local businesses. Encourage ‘shop local’ initiatives

Local governments could dedicate spaces where local businesses could come and promote themselves and interact with customers and business partners. Local businesses could also have access to advertising physical and online space (the website and social media pages of the Council) and initiate ‘shop local’ campaigns and incentive schemes.

Local government could also ensure better access for main street businesses that could be in various forms.

3. Reducing taxation and increasing access to funds

Business rates could be reconsidered to lower the pressure on small local businesses and facilitate access for new businesses. Local Councils could also inform about numerous opportunities for funding, offer financial advisory and facilitate access to grants and small business loans for local businesses. Local government could also organise systems of raising funding for local businesses that could go into grants.

4. Actively promote entrepreneurship

In partnership with local schools and universities, local councils could offer entrepreneurship programmes to stimulate and support local potential and existing entrepreneurs. Universities, through their research centres, could also support local entrepreneurs to access innovation funding and local governments could be the facilitator of the networking between academia and entrepreneurs.

5. Support employability

One of the main concerns of local businesses is the lack of skills and it has increased in the last years. An efficient way of addressing this issue would be by apprenticeships, internships, and professional reconversion programmes. These could also be achieved by reinforcing the cooperation between local stakeholders such as schools and universities, job centres and businesses. Local governments could act as facilitators of this cooperation though organising job fairs, conferences or focus groups. New projects with quantifiable results could be initiated.

Local governments could facilitate and promote the development of new skills related to the future economy such as those related to green energy or artificial intelligence. Instead of expecting sacrifices, the local government could be the helping hand that contributes to the sustainable growth of local businesses and local communities.

This piece was written and provided by Dr Alina Vaduva, Lecturer in Business Strategy at The Royal Docks School of Business and Law, University of East London.

Low-code helps UK councils to digitally transform and abandon legacy IT systems

low code
© Yurii Tymchuk

Legacy IT systems are an obstacle to many UK councils in customer service operation, but low-code may be able to advance next-generation digital services

Recent years have seen digital technologies invested in and adopted, across society, at a much faster pace than predicted as a result of the pandemic and consumer demand for digital channels.

However, many organisations are struggling to keep up with demand and digitally transform their services to meet this demand, support innovation, and maintain financial viability. As experienced by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, which saw a 300% increase in demand for web and chat activity as a result of call centre closures during lockdowns and customer demand changing and wanting access to more improved and faster digital public services.

A recent Netcall and Davies commissioned Hayhurst Consultancy study found that 41% of UK councils revealed that legacy IT systems were their number one obstacle to further advancing customer experience.

How legacy IT systems are obstructing digital transformation

Legacy applications refer to sources of information that rely on outdated and often closed technologies. Replacing these systems has been one of the most challenging aspects of digital transformation with 87% of business leaders around the world citing their complexity as a key impediment to adopting next generation digital services.

The complexity, cost and closed nature of legacy systems creates what we have dubbed ‘legacy spaghetti’ and makes it difficult to replace outdated applications. Doing so is often risky, costly and disruptive to business operations, requiring extensive IT intervention. However, the increasing importance of access to this data, held hostage by these outdated systems, to support digital transformation has pushed leaders to look for easier and more cost-effective solutions.

But many public sector leaders are prevented from making the changes they want because legacy vendors make it too hard or expensive, they have concerns about the technical risks of making big changes, and they find it hard to develop solutions themselves. In fact, 49% of UK councils believe they lack the needed technical expertise to develop and implement adequate solutions.

Local government leaders realise access to data in legacy systems is the key that unlocks great digital services. But legacy spaghetti prevents that same trapped data from being extracted from siloed applications and being used to support better digital processes. Without the right technology to connect these siloed systems, it is extremely difficult to share data. This is critical because unleashed data is key to accommodating data-driven quality and personalised customer experiences.

Open data paved the way for Cumbria Council to reduce the handling time of six different processes by 80-90%, freeing employees to deal with high value and more complicated tasks. Between administration and inspection savings, the council managed to save a staggering 3,740 hours per year. Its increased capacity level combined with low-code technology led the council to deliver the UK’s first integrated end-to-end contact trace system, beating the national government system rollout.

Driving transformation whilst avoiding risks and being cost efficient

By using a ‘building block approach’, councils can create integrations to their legacy applications and then gradually replace them, partially or fully, with modern applications, combining process automation technologies like low-code and robotic process automation (RPA). This is intelligent automation delivered in a low-risk and low-cost way.

With these tools, councils have a realistic strategy that recognises the shortcomings of legacy systems and facilitates a way to get these systems to speak to each other so that data trapped in their complex infrastructures can be freed and utilised. This paves the way for low-code enabled intelligent automation processes.

This has enabled councils to rapidly digitally transform their processes. South Hams District Council saved £500,000 in just over 12 months and was able to transform its operations three times faster than its previous systems permitted. Using low-code technology, it managed to overhaul a whopping 90 processes in as little as 18 months.

In addition to being able to work with legacy systems, low-code allows organisations to use their existing workforce’s skills and expertise instead of turning to professional code developers or costly external consultants. This empowers council employees by giving them control over critical local government processes and the ability to develop bespoke applications that put citizens at the heart of delivery.

Councils have the digital autonomy to deliver well-designed and user-centred citizen experiences, taking the burden off their IT team. Once established, councils can incrementally decommission blocks of their legacy systems as they add blocks of more advanced and modern technologies, accommodating an easier transition.

In one instance, Croydon Council had one legacy system that they gradually replaced with a low-code development platform, which allowed them to adjust to the new infrastructure and save a predicted £1 million by the end of the transition.

The future of legacy: using low-code tools and intelligent automation

Councils that have taken the leap and invested in this ‘building block’ strategy have reaped the rewards.

Croydon Council initially began its digital transformation journey by driving the development of digital services to meet the needs of its citizens throughout Covid-19 induced lockdowns. In only 120 hours it developed an app to manage business applications and distribute grant money during the pandemic. Over the course of nine months, Croydon Council managed to build 10 apps offering various critical services and assistance to vulnerable residents. Using its low-code platform, the council paid out over £50 million in government funds to local businesses in as little as six weeks. The council was able to drive digital transformation and support its community while reducing costs, improving operational efficiencies and reducing turnaround times. And the investment continues to pay forward: the council also uploaded the app to a community low-code sharing platform so other councils could offer the same service to their citizens.

The public sector needs to move past legacy systems, and low-code platforms allow councils and other public-facing organisations to build towards this future. Creating and applying solutions on top of existing legacy systems unleashes trapped data and enables its use across all processes. Meaning council employees can use low code tools to build applications and facilitate advanced automation processes. Legacy systems are then dismantled incrementally throughout councils’ digital transformation journeys.

Find out how more councils are driving digital and overcoming obstacles on their automation journeys, banishing ‘legacy spaghetti’ for good.

This piece was written by Mark Gannon, Director of Client Solutions, Netcall

Is net zero by 2050 a pipe dream?

Cracked ground with green shoot sprouting
© Photomall

Saranjit Singh, VP Telecommunications and Utilities APAC, SS&C Blue Prism discusses whether net zero by 2050 is achievable, or nothing but a pipe dream

The issue of climate change is one which we can no longer ignore, with it now becoming the defining crisis of our time. It is one which can lead to many being left with feelings of hopelessness and vulnerability. However, due to recent developments and initiatives, certain industries, with the inclusion of public sector authorities, now have the power to assist with the change. It is only with joint effort and commitment that we can combat this crisis, and emissions can be reduced. Companies who commit and work towards meeting their net zero targets will be most significant in changing our futures and improving the current climate crisis.

The defining crisis of our time

Following the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos earlier this year, it was confirmed that digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation – scaled across industries – have the power to accelerate decarbonisation efforts and can reduce emissions by up to 20%. While it is understandable that people are losing faith in the future and being impacted by eco-anxiety, these findings give us hope by uncovering how digital solutions could pave the way for achieving sustainable outcomes that align with net zero targets. In fact, if scaled, digital solutions could be most effective at reducing emissions in the three highest emitting sectors – energy, materials and mobility.

But to make this possibility a reality, high-emitting industry sectors must rethink their strategies to leverage efficiency, circularity and sustainability.

The valuable power of digital solutions

According to estimates from the World Economic Forum, the energy sector can reduce carbon-intensive operations, and in turn emissions, by 8% when supported by digital solutions. Utilities suppliers must develop better methods for estimating how much energy is required to successfully transition to more renewable energy sources and make better use of resources. This includes systems, staff and partners and will also fill gaps with renewables.

Machine learning is one method which can anticipate energy outputs and demands through its data analysis. These forecasts can then help industries to implement strategies for climate change efficiently, whilst reducing inefficiencies as well as carbon emissions.

The benefits of these machine learning algorithms extend across industry verticals as they can be used in any business. This results in more accurate supply and demand forecasting, contributing to significant cuts in manufacturing and transportation waste with an improved level of understanding when it comes to what’s needed and when. Suggestions for low-carbon items can also drive ecologically responsible purchases by assisting with the optimisation of power usage and avoiding unnecessary waste and storage.

Intelligent automation (IA) solutions can also improve sustainability in vital industries, such as manufacturing, infrastructure and data centers. We’re seeing organisations reduce emissions by employing data automation and modeling to digitise and analyse processes and develop predictive maintenance and monitoring capabilities.

Although IA algorithms that anticipate energy consumption already exist, we think there is room for improvement to ensure they can keep up with the multiple sources of energy production today and the need to meet new and evolving regulatory and measurement requirements. Complex algorithmic features also need fine-tuning to be able to react to changing trends or behaviors, and to expand beyond the industrial level to cater to family and individual demands.

One-stop digital solutions such as IA not only boost efficiency and production, but they also enable the development of new procedures that reduce power consumption and harmful emissions, directly and immediately contributing to the fight against climate change.

How AI can support climate action through waste reduction

The power of artificial intelligence (AI) leads also to how it can support climate action, by reducing waste in all forms, whether this is financial, temporal or material. There is a problem, however, in how fragmented the approach to AI can be, even with firms that use a high level of automation. The result is transformation becoming stifled, wasting valuable time as well as staff resources. It also generates “technical debt”, a term which refers to the costs arising from organisational reworks. These are needed due to sub-optimal solutions being originally chosen for short-term and fast results.

There is a problem, however, in how fragmented the approach to AI can be

Organisations need to reimagine their existing strategies and use varied yet complementary technologies that work together, rather than in isolation, to maximise efficiency and reduce waste. AI-managed energy systems can then identify the appropriate amount of energy consumption needed at any one time. These insights support the fight against climate change by minimising energy waste, simplifying processes and maximising productivity by creating efficient and unified workflows.

Innovation-led climate action

The future ahead may be rife with daunting uncertainty, but there are still limitless opportunities to generate innovative technologies that drive forward climate goals. Only five years ago, a company’s intelligent automation objectives often outstripped the capabilities of available technology. The market hype around advanced technologies didn’t deliver the promised business results. Since then, automation technology has progressed significantly, as billions of dollars have been invested in research and development. The prioritisation of generating digital solutions in this sector, including the use of process analysis and predictive maintenance to reduce energy waste, has done much to accelerate the journey to reaching net zero by 2050.

The power of technology and science has been used to enhance the well-being of bees and other pollinators in a revolutionary project

AI-enhanced digital solutions can help businesses and individuals with the development of tools to help them understand their carbon footprint as well as show them steps to improve it. The potential of digital solutions becomes clear when looking at the example of the World Bee Project. Here, the power of technology and science has been used to enhance the well-being of bees and other pollinators in a revolutionary project. This has led to the creation of the world’s first global bee database, collecting data intelligence from monitored colonies around the world. Monitoring sensors are used to capture and combine data points, such as hive temperature, humidity, pollinator decline and deficiencies. The collection of this data then supervises the formation of solutions which help to maintain a thriving ecosystem.

How can we achieve net zero by 2050?

As a way of preventing unnecessary damage caused by the climate crisis, as well as presenting a way towards achieving net zero by 2050, current digital solutions provide an answer. By continuing to use these, organisations who commit to such targets will be enabled to action these faster with a reduction in waste and simplified work processes. They will also contribute to a more sustainable and enjoyable future.

Written by Saranjit Singh, VP Telecommunications and Utilities APAC, SS&C Blue Prism. Saranjit works on managing business operations, intelligent business process automation, performance reporting and effective resource management at SS&C Blue Prism. Previously Saranjit worked for Telstra developing the strategy and business plans to grow SaaS solution sales.

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