Daily Archives: July 13, 2022

For more than a century, couture has been emblematic of the triumph of craftsmanship and fashion. It represents the fusion of fashion the modern entity that combines novelty and synergy with personal and social needs and craftsmanship the arts of dressmaking, tailoring, and crafts constituent to apparel and accessories.

With a minuscule client base (approximately 4,000 worldwide) and an exclusive allocation of industry tickets for runway presentations, the practice can seem entirely fanciful and out of reach. In truth, the art of couture is a tightly controlled, invite-only application, governed by Paris Fdration de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) with widespread influence on the fashion industry at large. But despite being the most extravagant, glamorous and expensive form of fashion, haute couture has seen a rapid decline in interest in the last seventy years.

In 2021 alone, interest in Couture has steadily declined by 13 per cent (according to Google Search data). In fact, only four of the top ten search queries related to Haute Couture are for actual collections: Chanel, Dior, Fendi, and Valentino. The idea of glamour itself has undoubtedly evolved with modernity.

Whereas glamour and luxury previously meant gowns, hand-made and embroidered with thousands of pearls, luxury today can be seen in the form of t-shirts, sneakers, and comically tiny handbags. So, rather than needing hundreds of thousands of dollars for a custom piece, consumers can buy into the luxury dream with a US$400 t-shirt. So how does haute couture fit into todays modern, technology-filled, inclusive-prioritised fashion landscape?

While the phrase is thrown around liberally, the term haute couture has been building on its roots since the late 17th century. As France became synonymous with richly produced and innovative luxury silk textiles, the relationship between aristocratic and upper-class women and their personal dressmakers began to grow; and so too did the haute couture system.

Founded in 1868, the FHCM preserves the exacting standards of French fashion culture by presiding over Paris Womens and Mens Fashion Weeks, as well as endorsing and nurturing designers who exhibit a quality of craftsmanship that meets the level required to show on the official Haute Couture schedule.

Today, members are selected by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute couture. To qualify as an official Haute Couture house, members must design made-to-order clothes for private clients, with more than one fitting, using an atelier that employs at least fifteen full-time staff. They must also have twenty full-time technical workers in one of their workshops.

Coutures elitist appeal is born from its exclusivity. It is a singular moment, made of peculiar rituals. The clothes are jewel-like creations reserved for an exclusive coterie of women, whose names are religiously kept secret by the maisons. Its purchasing process is shrouded in private showings with only a select circle allowed to enjoy a seat and marvel at the exquisite creations. In a world that is increasingly digital and manufactured and thus infinitely replicable couture is as traditional as it can possibly get.

However, in todays fast-paced, fast-fashion oriented world where such a small percentage of the population has the wealth to buy Haute Couture its slow decline was imminent. Combine that with the rise of independent designers and the rising appreciation for more independent and exclusive designers, haute couture is prone to becoming the next big fashion faux pas.

There is nothing democratic about couture and proudly so. Its barely touched by the fever of visibility which has made fashion the religion of our time. Couture is based on values that are totally out of time and in a world that goes fast, it is extremely slow. While the rest of the world embraces a visual language that is fluid and endlessly morphing, couture celebrates traditional codes, rituals and clearly defined gender divisions. In this sense, couture will never be truly modern.

Yet, in recent seasons, weve seen designers embrace modernisation and explore the definition of couture. Markets, trends, and clients are constantly evolving, along with their spending habits, says Tamara Ralph, designer of couture label, Ralph & Russo. Over the years, weve witnessed emerging markets taking an interest in couture, and younger generations also taking notice. There has been a real resurgence in an appreciation for true craftsmanship, spanning all backgrounds and ages. She adds. A representative from couture label Maisonn Rabih Kayrouz told Vogue France in 2018 that their millennial clientele has grown to make up a quarter of the companys business.

In 2022, no longer is the craft restrained to stunning hand-stitched gowns covered in handmade sequins. Though prices are still cost-prohibitive for many, todays haute couture designers are catering to a younger plugged-in generation by embracing more youthful designs, and understanding the the impact that intricate couture work can carry on Instagram. For example, Schiaparellis pendant-covered designs from Spring 2020 have gone viral. By the same measure, the mesmerising, nature-inspired styles of Iris Van Herpen have attracted a new era of stars. Her unique aesthetic dominated the 2022 Met Gala by custom designing pieces for Bjrk, Teyana Taylor, and Winnie Harlow.

And as designers look to court a younger generation of consumers, theyre no longer laser-focused on gowns, and instead have expanded into less formal looks, focusing on artistic intention and ways to mix heritage and creativity. As seen in the recent Fall 2022 Haute Couture shows, the fusion of Demnas harsh yet poetic sensibility and the sculptural and severe codes set by Cristobal Balenciaga offers us a glimpse of what modern couture means while at Schiaparelli, designer Daniel Roseberry fused heritage and creativity through his own insouciant fixation for breasts and nipples with plenty of iconic references from Christian Lacroix and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Beyond the design shifts spurred by consumer demand, designers are modernising this niche fashion category by crossing into other areas of cultural interest like technology and art. We start seeing haute couture more as an art form and a way for designers to share their viewpoints and core beliefs. Diors Maria Grazia Chiuri addressed the current moment by taking inspiration from the work of Olesia Trofymenko, a Ukrainian artist whose favourite motif, the Tree Of Life, is a folkloric symbol of humanist hope inn cultures all over the world. Another example is Diors Spring 2020 couture collection, where creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri collaborated with the legendary feminist artist Judy Chicago. The show included an immersive space featuring banners emblazoned with questions around the shows concept, What If Women Ruled The World?

Coutures offering of distinction in design and technique remains a compelling force, one even more potent when much other quality has atrophied. It remains a discipline of ultimate imagination, unaccountable to cost, with the paradox of being the fashion most cognizant of its ideal clients. It is, as it began, a dream of quality in an era of industry and its succession. Haute couture persists in providing us with a paragon of the most beautiful clothing that can be envisioned and made in any time and it is an industry that will only go onwards and upwards with time.

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The Evolution of Haute Couture In The Modern Age - LUXUO

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) continue to alter the management of breast cancer, including fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) in patients with HER2-positive and HER2-low disease, according to Vered Stearns, MD, FASCO. She added that trials, such as the pivotal phase 3 DESTINY-Breast04 trial (NCT03734029) in patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low breast cancer, have been practice changing in the utilization of trastuzumab deruxtecan.1

I look forward to further discussing with pathologists and other colleagues how to refine the evaluation of HER2 status within tumors. However, suffice to say that [there are] important new therapeutics for patients with HER2[-low disease], providing significant, substantial progression-free survival [PFS] and overall survival [OS] benefits, Stearns said in an interview with OncLive following an Institutional Perspectives in Cancer webinar on breast cancer.

In the interview, Stearns, who chaired the event, discussed how DESTINY-Breast04 has shifted the treatment paradigm for patients with HER2-low breast cancer, the exploration of treatment combinations being optimized in breast cancer, and the expansion of the treatment paradigm in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Stearns is the director of the Womens Malignancies Disease Group and a professor of oncology at Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Stearns: Breast cancer is a common malignancy in the United States and in Western societies, and most women are diagnosed with early stages of HER2-positive disease. In the past few years and decades, weve refined our treatment algorithms based on broad categories that include patients who have hormone receptor [HR]positive breast cancer vs HER2-positive breast cancer vs TNBC, which do not have the estrogen, progesterone, or HER2 receptors. But recent findings have allowed us to refine even more specific treatments for individual patients. Those include defining risk, based on genomic profiles; the presence of germline mutations, such as having a BRCA mutation; and immune-related biomarkers, which are still emerging.

In addition to our broad categories, we have had findings [in recent years] from large studies that provided us with additional information to [create] more individualized approaches to care for patients, such as genomic profiles to determine a need for chemotherapy in addition to endocrine therapy in patients with HR-positive breast cancer, or the use of new medications for patients based on germline mutations, such as BRCA mutations and immune biomarkers.

I addressed some of the main changes in our practice that occurred in recent years. First, I talked about endocrine manipulations, [which are] the most common adjuvant treatment in early-stage breast cancer. Traditionally, we have used 5 years of tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, or, in premenopausal women, ovarian suppression. Duration of treatment is a topic that continues to be discussed [to see if we can] refine the approach. One of the things Im excited about is the ability to include biomarkers that will allow us to understand with more certainty who needs prolonged treatment vs 5 years or less or even no endocrine therapy.

We also discussed incorporating the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib [Verzenio] in high-risk patients with early-stage, HR-positive breast cancer, based on the phase 3 monarchE trial [NCT03155997]. This study demonstrated that patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative, early-stage breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence and a KI-67 score of 20% or more may be good candidates for the addition of abemaciclib to endocrine therapy, [which the FDA approved as a combination in October 2021].

I also talked a bit about neoadjuvant therapy and how the use of either chemotherapy with immunotherapy, such as pembrolizumab [Keytruda] in TNBC, or with antiHER2 agents in HER2-positive disease can allow us to refine the need for additional treatment in patients. For example, if a patient receives a standard treatment in a neoadjuvant setting and has a complete resolution of their cancer or pathological complete response [pCR], they may not require a change or additional treatment following local therapy. But if theres significant residual disease, we can use the data to maybe provide more therapy or alter the treatment plan.

If there is residual disease, one approach is to provide capecitabine [as maintenance therapy], based on the phase 3 CREATE-X trial [UMIN000000843].

In patients who receive the regimen from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-522 trial [NCT03036488] consisting of pembrolizumab plus paclitaxel/carboplatin, followed by pembrolizumab with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, [if they] have good resolution of their cancer, specifically a pCR, the question is whether they need to continue pembrolizumab beyond surgery. That is still an open question and a subject of new clinical trials.

Importantly, the FDA approved [neoadjuvant] pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy [followed by adjuvant single-agent pembrolizumab] for high-risk, early-stage TNBC. The benefit of this treatment that has been observed was irrespective of nodal status.

Regarding patients with stage II/III clinical breast cancer thats HER2-positive, [we have considered] neoadjuvant chemotherapy and an antiHER2 therapy. Our most common regimen has been docetaxel/carboplatin with trastuzumab [Herceptin] and pertuzumab [Perjeta]. If a patient has a pCR, they continue with trastuzumab and pertuzumab. If there is not a pCR, it is important to transition the patients to ado-trastuzumab emtansine [T-DM1; Kadcyla]. Patients who have small, node-negative breast cancer, in those that are estrogen receptor [ER]positive, my approach is still to consider surgery first, because some of these patients may be able to benefit from less treatment, such as adjuvant paclitaxel and trastuzumab, or docetaxel/carboplatin plus trastuzumab.

The phase 3 OlympiA trial [NCT02032823], which reported in 2021 and was updated more recently in 2022, has changed the landscape of treatment for patients with early-stage breast cancer who carry a BRCA mutation.

In the study, patients have received prior standard-of-care therapy, including chemotherapy and local therapy, were randomized to receive maintenance olaparib [Lynparza] or placebo for 1 year. The study investigators reported significant improvement in [disease]-free survival. More recently, with a median follow up of 3.5 years, there was a significant OS benefit [with olaparib]. I have been incorporating this treatment for my patients who meet the criteria of this study.

My colleague discussed updates related to the treatment of patients with metastatic HR-positive breast cancer, and there have been numerous recent advances. However, one of the topics that we remain excited about is the incorporation of oral SERDs into treatment of this disease entity. In particular, the phase 3 EMERALD trial [NCT03778931] was reported recently in which patients received either investigators choice of endocrine treatment vs the oral SERD elacestrant [RAD-1901].

Importantly, recent presentations have demonstrated that the oral SERD was associated with significant improvement in PFS, and this improvement was seen in all patients, particularly in patients with tumors harboring an ESR1 mutation. This is an agent being reviewed now by the FDA and one I hope can be added to our treatment portfolio soon.

ADCs have emerged and continued to have a role in our clinic. In particular, trastuzumab deruxtecan has been used primarily in our patients who have HER2-positive breast cancer, initially as a third-line and beyond therapy. But, more recently, based on DESTINY-Breast03, [it has been used as] a second-line therapy.

Results from DESTINY-Breast04 were presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.2 The data showed that trastuzumab deruxtecan provided significant benefits to patients, which we today designate as having tumors with HER2-low disease.

My colleague gave us an update regarding the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic TNBC. Im excited, as we do have a pembrolizumab approval with chemotherapy, demonstrating PFS and OS benefit in patients who have PD-L1positive metastatic TNBC. Moreover, pembrolizumab can be combined with paclitaxel, nab-paclitaxel [Abraxane], or gemcitabine. Data are in the first-line setting.

Pembrolizumab has also produced [activity as] monotherapy in patients that have MSI [microsatellite instability]high disease or a high tumor mutation burden. Moving forward, we will learn about additional immune checkpoint inhibitors that may be providing benefits to patients in this setting and for patients with other tumor subtypes. Im also hopeful that we can refine the biomarkers that will provide predictions of benefit to these and emerging immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Breast cancer continues to be a common diagnosis in Western society. Many patients will have early disease, and with multidisciplinary treatment and some of the new approaches that were discussed here, most will survive their cancer. Our job is to optimize the treatment for individual patients to reduce potential morbidity and long-term adverse effects [AEs] to our patients for them to live well beyond their initial diagnosis.

Patients with metastatic disease also have many options today. Those treatment options provide them improved PFS and OS benefits. Again, our job is to try and determine other ways to improve their life with cancer and to minimize potential AEs. Im excited about new treatment approaches, and for some of the emerging treatments and biomarkers that will help us refine treatment.

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Stearns Elaborates on the Evolution of ADCs in HER2+ and HER2-Low Breast Cancer - OncLive

Events have changed dramatically over the past few decades, and so has how businesses communicated with each other. As the digital age progress, business events evolve to fill the steady gap between businesses and consumers. From in-person networking events to online conferences and everything in between, there are now more ways than ever to meet your business goals. In-person events are definitely the one that holds prime importance.

But with changing times, these types of events are certainly not what we businesses might have experienced in past years. Here is how In-person events are reshaping:

1. Design

Event planners think about how to make in-person business events more engaging and focused. One way to do this is by focusing on the design of the event. As in-person events have made a dramatic comeback, event organizers and brand representatives tend to incorporate more striking branding solutions such as large-scale light box signs and large branded displays.

For example, its possible to use projectors and screens at an event that have been set up ahead of time. They could be used to share something new with the attendees during the event. They could also be used as a tool for interactivity so attendees would be able to engage with one another through a screen.

2. Technology

The internet has drastically changed the way we do business. In the past, if you wanted to network or meet with potential clients, you had to do it in person. Now, several online tools allow you to connect with people all over the world without ever having to leave your home. While this is convenient, its not always the best way to build relationships. Theres something about meeting face-to-face that cant be replicated online.

Building lasting connections require an emotional connection. You want someone to remember you as more than just a name on a computer screen and being able to touch them physically helps establish this connection. Thats why in-person events still exist and theyre growing in popularity. These events create an opportunity for companies to show off their work, which may lead them to land new customers or leads. They also give attendees a chance to make connections in person.

3. Environment

In-person business events have been around for centuries, and their purpose has always been to bring people together to network and learn. But as the world has changed, so too have these events. Today, they are more focused on generating leads and sales, and many are even hosted online. Heres a look at the evolution of in-person business events.

The original point of an in-person event was networking with others to form relationships and share knowledge. Over time, this transitioned into purely social gatherings without any real networking occurring. They became more like parties than a place to build connections. If youre looking to generate new leads or increase your chances of closing a sale, in-person events can still be extremely valuable. Youll want to make sure youre putting the emphasis back on building relationships instead of just having fun.

4. Communication

The way businesses communicate has changed drastically over the years. In the past, face-to-face meetings and events were the primary way to network and build relationships. While this is still an important part of doing business, the rise of technology has led to a new era of communication.

Now, businesses can connect and their customers through a variety of online channels. With social media, email marketing, live chats, video conferencing, etc., there are more ways than ever before for people in different parts of the world to collaborate on projects. Its even possible now for team members located across the country or around the world to have conversations in real-time by talking into their smartphones.

5. Networking

A Networking Event is a face-to-face opportunity to meet new prospects, see familiar faces, and connect with people you may not have seen in a while. People attend to network, share best practices and give presentations. These events are great for learning about trends, getting feedback on your products or services, or connecting with old friends.

Some companies host networking events for their employees and others use them as part of their marketing strategy to invite the right people. There are many types of networking events like happy hours, mixers, seminars, conferences, etc. You can find out what type of event it is by reading its description. Its always a good idea to do some research before attending an event and read up on who will be there and what they do so that you can get more out of your experience.

6. Audience Interaction

Business events have changed a lot over the years, and one of the biggest changes has been the way that audiences interact with them. These days, audiences expect to be able to interact with business events in a variety of ways. They want to be able to ask questions, give feedback, and even participate in some of the activities.

This level of interaction can be a challenge for event planners, but its also an opportunity to engage your audience and make your event more memorable. You may need to change how your present information at the event or find other ways for people to interact with each other.

The solution for this is to consider using eye-catching, relevant signage that resonates with attendees as they enter a conference. It has several functions and can help brands leave a strong, lasting impression on their customers. Signage is no longer just for recognition; it has turned into a strong brand identity. Learn how to brand your business with effective signage mediums.

As more businesses are becoming aware of how powerful face-to-face meetings can be, theyre also using their budgets to create more opportunities for their employees to meet in person. This has led to a sharp increase in interest in enterprise meeting planning software and conference room management systems.

With so many options available, its easy to see why these technologies have become so popular. What has once been considered an expensive luxury is now a standard feature for many businesses, helping them take advantage of all that an in-person event has to offer. Give them what they want by making your next event one that combines old-fashioned hospitality with modern innovation.

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The Evolution of In-Person Business Events - SpaceCoastDaily.com

Michigan State Universitys renowned Long-Term Evolution Experiment a remarkable 34-year biological drama in flasks, with bacteria competing for resources and fighting for dominance is itself evolving.

The bacterias main stage frozen vials containing some 75,000 generations has been moved from MSUs Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building to Texas. Richard Lenski, its scientific founder and gamemaster, is passing its care and feeding on to a former Michigan State postdoctoral researcher.

Yet the bookends of news articles in high-profile international science magazines this month signal that MSUs future with the LTEE is less about glowing obituaries and more about chapters still being written.

Lenski wryly documented the migration of his microbial colleagues on his @RELenski Twitter account: Bon voyage, #LTEE! Enjoy your new locale, even if your Erlenmeyer flask homes and DM25 diets are exactly the same as you've been evolving in and adapting to for the last 75,000 generations! Now keep on evolving, my friends bacteria and humans alike!

The experiment was started in 1988 by Lenski, the John Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbial Ecology in the MSU College of Natural Science. He began with 12 populations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteriaidentical ancestral strains placed into identical environmentsto see how similarly or differently they would evolve. For years he and his team fed them and protected their tiny universes from disruptions. In return, the bacteria reproduced quickly, allowing evolutionary-minded scientists to ask questions about evolution that would take many human lifetimes to provide.

For the full story, visit natsci.edu

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Evolution-in-a-flask experiment moves, but not the science - MSUToday

In 1928, George Whitney placed ice cream between oatmeal cookies and dipped the entire dessert into melted chocolate (via The Original It's It). Nearly two decades later, Jerry Newberg sold sandwiches of vanilla ice cream and chocolate wafers at baseball games (per News Nation Now). This set the foundation for more delicious creations.Richard LaMotta made the "chipwich" in 1978, which, according to The Original Chipwich, was the first time ice cream found a home between chocolate-chip cookies.

Since then, modifications to the frozen sandwich have spanned the globe. In Vietnam, for example, ice cream is scooped onto pieces of bread and topped with peanuts (via Street Food and Travel). Bastani-e nooni, the Persian ice cream sandwich, places pistachio, rose, and saffron ice cream between vanilla wafers (perAtlas Obscura).BRIT + CO has tracked down all sorts of other modifications: ice cream folded into what looks like small pies and sandwiches made with churros. (For more inspiration, check out our Ice Tea Creamand Choco Taco-Inspiredrecipes). It's clear the ice cream sandwich train left the station long ago, and there's no telling where it might go next.

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The Historic Evolution Of The Ice Cream Sandwich - Tasting Table

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The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price was among the worst performers on the ASX 200 during the 2022 financial year.

The gold miners shares lost 47% of their value during the 12 months.

Interestingly, the majority of this decline came in the final month of the financial year following the release of an abject update.

Investors were selling down the Evolution share price in June after the company revealed that it expects to record a decline in production in FY 2022 with higher than expected costs.

Evolution is forecasting total production of 640,000 ounces with an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of approximately $1,250 an ounce.

This compares to 680,788 ounces and an AISC of $1,215 an ounce a year earlier.

This update didnt go down well with analysts at Credit Suisse. In response, the broker reiterated its underperform rating and slashed its price target by 28% to $2.70.

Elsewhere, analysts at Citi responded by retaining their neutral recommendation (now with a high risk rating) and cutting their price target by 28% to $3.30.

Citi appears to believe the companys outlook is extremely cloudy and isnt expecting any cash generation for a few years.

Citi explained:

Theres a lot to unpack after todays higher-cost, lower ounce outlook including read-through to the rest of our coverage. In Nov21, EVN had expected to do +900koz in FY24 @ A$1050/oz vs todays 800koz @ $1240/oz. Weve cut our TP from $4.60/sh to $3.30/sh trimming EBITDA by almost 20% next year.

After todays +21% sell off vs XGD -7%, EVN is now trading on ~0.90x P/NAV. EVNs usually hefty valuation premium is gone. On our gold deck and including debt repayments, were not expecting EVN to make any cash until FY25, and that hinges on Red Lake. We thus assign a High Risk rating; without conviction on the Red Lake turnaround, Mungari plus our sideways tracking gold price its hard to be more positive here.

All in all, it looks set to be a tough few years for the company. In light of this, it isnt overly surprising to have seen the Evolution share price fall so hard over the last 12 months.

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Why did the Evolution share price crash 47% in FY22? - The Motley Fool Australia

FW: Against a backdrop of evolving cyber and data privacy regulations, how important is it for the automotive sector to be proactive in protecting data? What are the potential consequences for an automotive company that falls victim to a cyber attack or data breach?

Karniyevich: As a cyber attack or data breach can have an impact on the safety of the driver and passengers, in the context of connected vehicles it is of vital importance for manufacturers and security vendors to be proactive in protecting data and to address the risk of hackers attempting to exploit connected vehicles vulnerabilities. Besides reputational damage, an automotive company that falls victim to a cyber attack or a data breach will likely face a fine under the GDPR, as well as the European cyber security regulations, in particular the Network & Information Systems (NIS) Directive which will soon be replaced by the NIS2 Directive and which introduces a new and expanded EU cyber security regime also covering the road transport sector. In addition, the supervisory authority will likely investigate the organisations compliance practices and highlight any areas that fail to meet the applicable requirements.

Ballhausen: Stakeholders within the automotive sector should be keen to consider privacy requirements as early as possible. While it may be possible to implement some solutions even at an early stage, such as making the privacy policy available through a user interface, many requirements will need to be considered when products and services are planned. For example, data collection devices may need to be built to exclude specific data from being collected to comply with section 63e of the German Road Traffic Regulation, otherwise the respective device may be prohibited or temporarily taken off the market by a competent authority. These are just two examples of the potential consequences of failing to comply with privacy requirements. In addition, the competent authorities have a whole set of potential measures at their disposal, which range from inquiries to fines. Furthermore, in the event of a data breach which leads to the destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to personal data, the data controller is obliged to notify the competent authority and potentially also inform the affected individuals. At the same time, cases in which individuals bring claims directly against the data controller continue to rise. To avoid these risks, the requirements and necessary security measures should be carefully considered as early as possible in the development process.

FW: In your experience, are current levels of data security deployed by automotive companies generally sufficient to address cyber risks?

Karniyevich: With smart car connectivity increasing, the growing use of data and the emergence of semi-autonomous cars, new cyber security risks and threats are developing. Security measures deployed by automotive companies need to be constantly updated to take into account recent cyber security developments to eliminate or mitigate the potential risks, especially as these attacks threaten the security, safety and privacy of vehicle and all other road users. As highlighted by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), there have been some experimental remote attacks on autonomous cars cameras and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems, showing effective camera blinding, making real objects appear further than their actual locations or even creating fake objects. In addition to malicious sensors and manipulations, other attack vectors have been demonstrated, such as global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) spoofing and fooling AI-based functions, with the famous example of trapping a self-driving car by just drawing a chalk circle around the vehicle. Such attacks may lead to data breaches, vehicle immobilisation, road accidents, financial losses, and even endanger road users safety.

Ballhausen: In our experience, automotive companies are generally very keen to ensure data security. The sector is used to dealing with security requirements. Data security requirements are often seen as an additional set of security requirements which must be met. Nonetheless, automotive companies have faced data breaches and personal data collected by automotive companies has been lost. With an increase in cyber security attacks, it is safe to assume that the number of security issues and data breaches will increase and that despite all efforts, many of todays security measures are not yet sufficient.

FW: What technical and organisational measures do data controllers in the automotive sector need to adopt to ensure compliance with relevant legislation?

Karniyevich: From the perspective of a data controller, to ensure compliance with data protection regulations, automotive companies need to ensure they have access to hardware and software security, taking advantage of best practices and current security standards, beginning with design and manufacturing to operation and retirement. In addition, in-vehicle network security should be ensured to protect the processed personal data, such as location data, navigation history, call history, microphone recordings and so on. Finally, as vehicle systems need, in some circumstances, to communicate with cloud-based security services to detect and correct threats, cloud security services need to be implemented in a secure manner.

Ballhausen: The technical and organisational measures that need to be adopted depend on various factors. There are, of course, principles such as the ability to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems and services, as referred to in article 32 of the GDPR. However, this ability needs to be ensured through different means, such as if you take access control to ensure confidentiality, for example. If the personal data is processed within a vehicle, access control measures may be limited to password protection and potentially encryption or pseudonymisation, whereas it will generally be possible to restrict the access to personal data processed on servers in a data centre, such as part of a smart or cloud solution, physically. Furthermore, the level of security that needs to be achieved depends on the sensitivity of the personal data being processed. The more sensitive the data, the higher the security measures that need to be implemented. Therefore, there is not one definitive set of technical and organisational measures that must be adopted by data controllers in the automotive sector. Instead, data controllers should carefully consider what personal data they will be processing, the sensitivity of this data and the security measures available to them in a specific setup.

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Evolution of the automotive sector data privacy and cyber security Financier Worldwide - Financier Worldwide

In todays highly-connected and instantaneous world, we have access to a massive amount of information at our fingertips.

Historically, however, this hasnt always been the case.

Time travel back just 20 years ago to 2002, and youd notice the vast majority of people were still waiting on the daily paper or the evening news to help fill the information void.

In fact, for most of 2002, Google was trailing in search engine market share behind Yahoo! and MSN. Meanwhile, early social media incarnations (MySpace, Friendster, etc.) were just starting to come online, and all of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and the iPhone did not yet exist.

Every so often, the dominant form of communication is upended by new technological developments and changing societal preferences.

These transitions seem to be happening faster over time, aligning with the accelerated progress of technology.

Each new wave of media comes with its own pros and cons.

For example, Connected Media was a huge step forward in that it enabled everyone to be a part of the conversation. On the other hand, algorithms and the sheer amount of content to sift through has created a lot of downsides as well. To name just a few problems with media today: filter bubbles, sensationalism, clickbait, and so on.

Before we dive into what we think is the next wave of media, lets first break down the common attributes and problems with prior waves.

Before the first wave of media, amplifying a message took devotion and a lifetime.

Add in the fact that even by the year 1500, only 4% of global citizens lived in cities, and you can see how hard it would be to communicate effectively with the masses during this era.

Or, to paint a more vivid picture of what proto-media was like: information could only travel as fast as the speed of a horse.

In this first wave, new technological advancements enabled widescale communication for the first time in history.

Newspapers, books, magazines, radios, televisions, movies, and early websites all fit within this framework, enabling the owners of these assets to broadcast their message at scale.

With large amounts of infrastructure required to print books or broadcast television news programs, it took capital or connections to gain access. For this reason, large corporations and governments were usually the gatekeepers, and ordinary citizens had limited influence.

Importantly, these mediums only allowed one-way communicationmeaning that they could broadcast a message, but the general public was restricted in how they could respond (i.e. a letter to the editor, or a phone call to a radio station).

Innovations like Web 2.0 and social media changed the game.

Starting in the mid-2000s, barriers to entry began to drop, and it eventually became free and easy for anyone to broadcast their opinion online. As the internet exploded with content, sorting through it became the number one problem to solve.

For better or worse, algorithms began to feed people what they loved, so they could consume even more. The ripple effect of this was that everyone competing for eyeballs suddenly found themselves optimizing content to try and win the algorithm game to get virality.

Viral content is often engaging and interesting, but it comes with tradeoffs. Content can be made artificially engaging by sensationalizing, using clickbait, or playing loose with the facts. It can be ultra-targeted to resonate emotionally within one particular filter bubble. It can be designed to enrage a certain group, and mobilize them towards actioneven if it is extreme.

Despite the many benefits of Connected Media, we are seeing more polarization than ever before in society. Groups of people cant relate to each other or discuss issues, because they cant even agree on basic facts.

Perhaps most frustrating of all? Many people dont know they are deep within their own bubble in which they are only fed information they agree with. They are unaware that other legitimate points of view exist. Everything is black and white, and grey thinking is rarer and rarer.

Between 2015 and 2025, the amount of data captured, created, and replicated globally will increase by 1,600%.

For the first time ever, a significant quantity of data is becoming open source and available to anyone. There have been massive advancements in how to store and verify data, and even the ownership of information can now be tracked on the blockchain. Both media and the population are becoming more data literate, and they are also becoming aware of the societal drawbacks stemming from Connected Media.

As this new wave emerges, its worth examining some of its attributes and connecting concepts in more detail:

The Data Media ecosystem is just beginning to emerge, but here are some early pioneers we like:

Growth in data journalism and the emergence of these pioneers helps give you a sense of the beginnings of Data Media, but we believe they are only scratching the surface of what is possible.

In a sense, its easier to define what Data Media isnt.

Data Media is not partisan pundits arguing over each other on a newscast, and its not fake news, misinformation, or clickbait that is engineered to drive easy clicks. Data media is not an echo chamber that only reinforces existing biases. Because data is also less subjective, its less likely to be censored in the way we see today.

Data is not perfect, but it can help change the conversations we are having as a society to be more constructive and inclusive. We hope you agree!

The rest is here:

The Evolution of Media: Visualizing a Data-Driven Future - Visual Capitalist

New details have emerged about Volvo Cars' future electric vehicle plant in Slovakia, which will start building next-generation EVs in 2026 after a $1.25 billion investment.

The automaker's first new factory in Europe since 1965 will build cars based on a successor to the EV-only SPA2 platform, which will soon underpin Volvo's upcoming flagship SUV and the Polestar 3 sister modelboth expected to enter production at the carmaker's plant in Charleston, South Carolina later this year.

Volvo Cars' head of global manufacturing, Geert Bruyneel, confirmed to Automotive News Europe that EVs made in Slovakia will use a successor to SPA2 and said the architecture will be the company's most advanced at the start of production.The evolution of the SPA2 architecture planned for Kosice will be done by Volvo and shared with sibling brands owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding, such as Polestar, Geely, Lynk & Co, and Lotus.

Bruyneel and Volvo's head of industrial strategy, Erik Severinson, declined to say which car would be made at thenew factory in Kosice, Slovakia. The carmaker uses the current generation of SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) on models such as the Volvo XC90 and XC60 midsize and compact luxury SUVs, so it would be logical to build an all-electric successor to the XC60 at the new plant.

4 Photos

Another model that would fit the bill is a future electric crossover codenamed V546 that will slot between the XC60 and XC90 in size when it debuts sometime in 2025.

Volvo's new plant in Slovakia will utilize megacasting for large aluminum body parts, Severinson revealed, adding that the switch to the new technique for car construction will mark "the next generation in our technology journey."

"The new plant in Slovakia gives us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put the most efficient state-of-the-art factory in place."

Volvo Cars' head of global manufacturing, Geert Bruyneel

Asked whether Volvo plants to add battery or electric motor production at the Kosice factory, Bruyneel said that while those decisions still need to be made, Volvo has room to expand if needed.

The Swedish carmaker's next flagship SUV, which will replace the XC90 as the brand's flagship and will inaugurate the SPA2 platform, will be fully electric. Volvo hasn't yet disclosed the model's name, but has said it will break the tradition of using alphanumeric names on future vehicles.

The name Embla appears to be among those considered after it was discovered that Volvo filed for trademark protection last October for it, which in Norse mythology is the name of the first woman.

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Volvo's New Euro Plant To Build EVs Based On An Evolution Of SPA2 - InsideEVs

Seven years agoonly seven!Peter Dawson, the retiring CEO of the R&A on the eve of the 28th playing of the Open Championship at the Old Course, initially dismissed a question of whether the venerable links were on the brink of extinction.

Forced to elaborate, Dawson emphasized that the Old Course has held up for generations, and that golfs governing bodies will work to ensure it will last well into the future as a strong challenge.

Seven years later, Dawson has moved on, the ruling bodies have floated a more aggressive line of ideas on controlling the driving distance of the pros and the Old Course stands again at the crosshairs, essentially unchanged from what it was seven years ago, or in actual effect, forever. Will it still be enough to test the best?

Seven years ago, the short-hitting Zach Johnson won at St. Andrews with a 15-under-par score that would have won all but two previous Opens played at the Old Course dating back to when before par was even a thing. Of the last seven Opens played at the Old Course since 1984, double-digits under par has won the title six times. Since the turn of the century and the introduction of solid core balls and titanium drivers to elite mens professional golf, the average winning score at Old Course Open Championships has been 16 under, and the prospect of record low scores is only a couple of benign summer days away.

Jordan Spieth said as much at the Genesis Scottish Open last week. Asked if the Old Course might now be too easy, he barely hedged. I think it might be, he said. I think if it's like it was this morning out here [calm], it's just a wedge contest, really. The back nine just doesn't show the same teeth that it normally does.

But I don't know what else necessarily could be done. You know, it was not necessarily built for today's technology. But I think that even a nice ten to 15 miles an hour would do something to it.

Given its historic place, the perception is that the Old Course has just sat there unchanged all these centuries as golfers and their tools have gotten better. In truth, though, it has evolved, almost constantly. According to Scott Macpherson, a golf course architect who has studied the Old Course through all its changes for his book The Evolution of the Old Course, the introduction of the Haskell ball led to a lengthening of the course by roughly 200 yards. By the 1920s, a map done by Alister Mackenzie showed the yardage to be nearly 6,600 yards. By the 1940s, it was over 6,800 yards and well above 6,900 yards in the 1960s. But since 2000, and the modern ball and club era, its added nearly 400 yards. Throughout, tees have been lengthened or repositioned at new angles, even stretched outside the normal boundaries of the original links itself, adjustments that might seem grotesque to some while others might call it a natural evolution.

Its trying to find a sensitive way to do it that will protect the integrity of the course, Macpherson said recently on his podcast Golf Design Matters.

But as Golf Digests veteran Old Course observer John Huggan has pointed out, all those new tees will have competitors at the 150th Open walking an extra 2,000 yards back and forth. Thats a far cry from a course where in its early days the tee for the next hole was just two club lengths from the actual hole of the last.

Whats telling of course is that since the 2015 Open, there have been no dramatic changes other than a longer tee at the par-three 8th hole that was used for the Senior British Open in 2018. It is as if the R&A wants the distance question that has bubbled up since the last visit to St. Andrews to be settled once and for all by how the Old Course stands up to the games elite players now. Or, perhaps, how it doesnt.

No. 2: Par 4, 452 yards

While even the iconic first and 18th holes have changed over the last two centuries (there used to be a giant bunker in the center of the mammoth, 129-yard-wide fairway), the changes in the middle of the course are more extensive. Most recently, that starts with the second hole, where the new tee installed for the 2005 Open has taken the once 400-yard par four and stretched it to 452 yards and pushed the tee essentially onto a portion of The Himalayas, the putting course to the right of the Old Courses first fairway as shown in this flyover video.

But as is the case throughout the Old Courses changes, the reason isnt a lengthening for lengthenings sake. Rather, its about the iconic 112 bunkers and their relevance in the modern game. When the 2nd hole was stretched, the main motivation was to restore the effectiveness of Cheapes Bunker, which has been around since the 1800s. Though its size has dwindled over time, it was rebuilt in 2017 to restore some aggressiveness, or what Macpherson recently referred to in an article for Through the Green magazine as waiting to ambush errant balls like black holes swallowing stars.

A players fear of the bunkers at St. Andrews stems largely from the knowledge that the length of their captivity by any one of the sandy hostage-takers is influenced by factors out of their control, Macpherson wrote. Elite golfers are highly adept and skilful, but the bunkers vary in depth, shape and size, and the severity of the imprisonment is determined by a stronger, more cosmic and unpredictable force deeply interwoven into the fabric of life and golf that of chance.

Cheapes bunker found itself about 250 yards from the tee for much of the second holes modern existence, but now its more like 300 yards to carry from the longer tee as shown in this flyover clip.

Its larger size and more penal revetted face might take driver out of players hands, but PGA Tour ShotLink data indicates 98 percent of players have recorded at least one drive this year that carried 300 or more yards, making its new distance from the tee already questionable. Of course, there are accounts that Bobby Jones while winning the 1927 Open played the second hole, then 401 yards, with a pitch to the green. And in 2005, its first year at its longest, current length, Tiger Woods hit a 3-wood off the tee in the final round that bounded nearly the length of Cheapes but ended up safely in the middle of the fairway, never threatening it. Its scoring average, which jumped in the 2005 and 2010 Opens, actually played easier in 2015 at 452 yards than it did in 2000 at 411 yards. Still, as Macpherson writes, with a strong sea breeze it could become a menace, particularly as the second hole in the four-hole aggregate playoff.

As always with a links but especially at the Old Course, its the wind that provides the main challenge. The lengthening of holes, the squeezing of fairways, the growing of rough, even expanding bunkers and contouring the surrounding troughs that serve to draw balls into them may all be window-dressing without the omnipresent unseen hazard that is the wind flow off St. Andrews Bay. According to weather statistics, the wind blows 6-20 miles per hour almost a third of the time in St. Andrews in the month of July. But more than 10 percent of the time it is relatively calm. Still, at the 2015 Open at St. Andrews, play was suspended for an entire day while the wind blew at 40 miles per hour.

No. 4: Par 4, 480 yards

Wind or not, the changes to the Old Course have a direct and simple motivation. As Dawson said back in 2005, We want to reinstate the old decisions players had to make. An even stronger case in point is the fourth tee for the 150th Open, which will be nearly a full football field longer than it was for the 35th Open in 1895 as this flyover video shows.

The tee has moved back three times since that 1895 Open, all in an effort to force players to decide how to navigate a patch of hillocks and gorse that separates the safer left side of the fairway from the more aggressive and rewarding right side.

When more than 30 yards were added to this hole, named Ginger Beer, for the 1946 Open, players that had easily flown the trouble in the 1939 Open now found themselves squarely in the middle of it. Now, at 480 yards, No. 4 opens with the old uncertainty of a lengthy carry, now at 290 yards. Still, the leaders in the last three Opens had little difficulty in flying over that trouble, Tiger Woods even carrying it with his old 3-wood. The 4th hole has played consistently over par in large part because of a mound that fronts the green and a bunker short right that has gotten closer to the putting surface in recent years. Approach shots are rarely played aggressively here.

No. 14: Par 5, 614 yards

Even the longest hole on the course, the par-5 14th, might not provide the trouble it should, despite playing 614 yards, or 50 yards longer than it did 25 years ago. The hole is famous for the collection of bunkers known as the Beardies that guard the left side and the enormous pit called Hell Bunker that thwarts all but the best or most conservative second shots. But again, the changes in tee length and location have changed the effectiveness of these hazards, the fear factor has become almost a non-factor, except when the wind blows. In the 2015 Open, when the wind was up for three of the four rounds, it was one of only five par five holes on the PGA Tour that year with a scoring average over par. Its such a spooky tee shot when the winds this way, golf commentator Ken Brown noted at the time.

In the early days, players had to fly tee shots on the 14th over the Beardies, but too often now they are almost like a garnish on the hole, Macpherson said. It is rare that the Old Course adds a bunker these days, but he believes a fourth added to the Beardies could inject some fear back into the tee shot. Instead, players now club down to more easily navigate the out of bounds up the right, but somewhat uncharacteristically for a links, theres rough along an out-of-bounds stone wall that further pinches the fairway, presumably to push a players aim more toward the Beardies.

Another 200 yards or so beyond the Beardies is Hell Bunker, but it, too, seems only a minor distraction these days. Players often can safely and easily play to the 5th fairway, although that often leaves a blind third shot. And while Jack Nicklaus famously took four whacks to get out of Hell in 1995, he only found himself in there after a poor shot with a 4-wood, not a club any current player is likely using on that hole. As Macpherson writes, Today, this bunker is a museum piece for modern professionals with their 200 mph ball speeds and towering shots, so Hell is all but reserved for mortals and tourists.

No. 17: Par 4, 495 yards

The meanest and perhaps most controversially altered is the legendary 17th, the Road Hole. Its been the toughest hole on the PGA Tour each year the Open has been played at St. Andrews, and in 2015, it averaged 4.655, a higher score to par than any hole played anywhere in the last seven years. While it played at 450 yards or more for over a century, the Road Hole was a par 5 into the 1950s. Its probably why Ben Crenshaw once said, The reason the Road Hole is the greatest par-4 in the world is because it's a par-5."

Long a fearsome hole, when Rory McIlroy hit a 7-iron into the green to make birdie at the 2009 Dunhill Links Championship, the 17th was clearly playing differently than when Tom Watson had to go at it with a 2-iron and made bogey to lose the 1984 Open. But when the R&A decided to push the tee nearly 40 yards back and to the right for the 2010 Open, it had to go beyond the courses previous out of bounds to find room. In fact, left of the current tee are the out of bounds stakes for the 16th hole.

In a way, the 17th typifies the way the Old Course has had to wrestle with the issue of distance perhaps more impractically than any famous course in the world. The current championship layout now occupies sections of the neighboring New and Eden courses,the Himalayas putting course and in the case of the tee at 17, the grounds of the St. Andrews Links Golf Academy. From the sky, the 17th hole today looks like a mistake. The tee is blocked by a hotel while the fairway angles blindly and unreceptively away from any reasonable line off the tee. Throw in the addition of meaty rough to the left, and a road and a stone wall behind an impossibly pinched green shape, and you have a hole that seems like it was cut out of Robin Williams famous golf monologue.

All this is before we get to the disaster-inducing Road Hole bunker. The most severe pot bunker on the property, the Road Hole pit appears on maps of the Old Course dating to the 1830s at least. Its location hasnt changed but the size, shape and depth have fluctuated over the last 50 years. You could see out of it in the 1870s, as you could in the 1970s, but over the last 50 years its gotten small enough to be barely the size of a water closet and then increasingly wider and deeper. Now, not only can a player not see the green once hes in the bunker, any approach shot coming from the middle or left of center almost routinely is played out to the right away from the bunker, particularly when the flag is cut just over the bunker in the middle of the green (like it will be in the final round of the Open).

And while its actual size is only a couple feet wider for this Open than past versions, the slopes around the bunker catch shots (and some putts), funneling them into the sand and up against its tall revetted face like the kind of hazard you might see at Captain Hooks Adventure Golf & Arcade.

But it is hard to say the 17th hole is contrived to be so devilish when, for the most part, its been that way before Old Tom Morris re-designed the course. And in large part thats true of all the holes at the Old Course. The tweaks have come, as Macpherson says, because the Old Course, and design in general, is always a response to whats happening in other parts of the golf sector. When the Haskell ball came out, what did the Old Course do in response to this new powerful ball? They extended the Old Course by roughly 200 yards. And theres certainly been periods where the Old Course has had these increases and then theres been a plateau for some period of time, and then theres another change.

But Macpherson believes that average driving distances today are approximately 80 yards greater than they were a century ago. If that is true, he thinks the Old Course would have to stretch to at least 7,800 yards to offer the same challenge. But that kind of real estate is no longer possible, of course. He thinks ball and club technology has taken more than a bite out of the Old Course. Rather, its left it with little bite, and not just for elite players. He noted amateur and former pro tennis star Tim Henman made birdie recently at the 17th with a 6-iron. A recent study of recreational golfers by ShotScope, the stat-tracking GPS game-analytics system, showed the Old Course to be the third easiest on the Open rota (only Troon and St. Georges are easier), and showed that all but scratch handicap players beat net par when they play the Old Course. Not only that, average golfers are four times more successful getting up and down from the Road Hole bunker than they are missing the green long.

Macpherson played and caddied at St. Andrews for almost a quarter century. He says his 3-handicap isnt always tested by the Old Course these days.

I am certainly not tearing it up, and when the wind blows it can be very tricky, but it is pretty gettable for many golfers these days, and Ive seen that happen. he said. So I am not convinced it is monumentally difficult nowadays. I just dont think the course holds the terrors it once did. Maybe that's a good thing. Certainly its very playable for golfers of all abilities. Even my 11-year-old son, who played it on a cold and wet day last November, got around and had fun.

Like former Open champion Lawrie, Macpherson believes a very low score is possible at the Old Course this year, even something in the 50s. But as he laments the declining challenge, he also recognizes something else at work beyond technology. Do you think theres a case to abandon par at this point, and think well, actually we cant extend the Old Course in any reasonable way so lets not even try?

These are the best golfers in the world with the technology theyre currently allowed to use so lets put to one side this concept of par, which was invented in 1891, and let these guys just play the best golf they can. And if they shoot 58, so be it. Congratulations to them.

Of course, Macpherson also knows thats not how the ruling bodies see a major championship test. He knows the R&A will want rigor as much from its venue as from its champion. Whether the former can be provided or the latter required remains to be seen, but if the answer at the 150th Open turns out to be an anti-climactic and resounding No, it seems likely now there will be fundamental changes to ensure it never happens againchanges this time that may not involve the course. But so it is with the Old Course and change. Sometimes it is forced upon it, sometimes it forces that change upon the game.

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Open Championship 2022: A deep-dive look at the subtle but ongoing evolution of the Old Course - GolfDigest.com