#454 – FLEXIBLE WORK: NEW NORMAL – BILL POMFRET PH.D.

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Businesses must prepare for a workforce containing a growing proportion of over-50s, who want and need to work for longer, the over-50s possess skills and knowledge that businesses can struggle to replace. Harnessing the power of over-50s will boost productivity and benefit the economy. Continue reading

#454 – IN PRAISE OF WEIRD – JEFFREY WEINSTOCK PH.D.

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Republicans, as you’ve probably heard, are being called “weird.”

In a quip that launched a million memes, Minnesota governor-turned-VP candidate Tim Walz referred to his right-wing political opposition as “weird people” in a July 23, 2024, interview on MSNBC.

Since then, the barb has stuck, with leading Democratic party figures, from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to presidential nominee Kamala Harris, branding their Republican opposition with the moniker. Continue reading

#454 – CAN A PRODUCT HAVE PERFECT RELIABILITY? – FRED SCHENKELBERG

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In the poem by Oliver Wendall Holmes, The One Hoss Shay, a deacon is confounded by the various parts of his carriage the fail.

And, he decides to do something about it.

But the Deacon swore (as Deacons do,
With an “I dew vum,” or an “I tell yeou,”)
He would build one shay to beat the taown
‘n’ the keounty ‘n’ all the kentry raoun’;
It should be so built that it couldn’ break daown:
“Fer,” said the Deacon, “t’s mighty plain
Thut the weakes’ place mus’ stan’ the strain;
‘n’ the way t’ fix it, uz I maintain, Is only jest T’ make that place uz strong uz the rest.”

 

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#454 – 7 REASONS YOU HAVEN’T IMPLEMENTED QUANTITATIVE RISK MANAGEMENT YET – ALEX SIDORENKO

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In the wake of so many meltdowns, such as the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the 2022 implosion of FTX cryptocurrency exchange, as well as events like the 2021 Archegos Capital Management collapse, the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction, and the far-reaching impacts of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, investigations have consistently revealed significant shortcomings in risk management practices, raising the critical question of whether these catastrophes could have been mitigated or even prevented with a more robust and risk based thinking, planning and decision making. Continue reading

#454 – PROJECT DRAMA: WASTE OF ENERGY – MALCOLM PEART

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The Law of Conservation states that energy is neither created nor destroyed.  When energy is used it doesn’t disappear it’s converted into another form.  We all (should) know that potential energy can be converted into kinetic energy and for petrol-heads burning gasoline in a combustion engine converts chemical energy into mechanical energy. Continue reading