Category Archives: Resource Based Economy

In a year when publisher Smilegate Entertainment is trying to bring one of the worlds most popular games to western audiences, Crossfire: Legion feels like something of a black sheep.

Crossfire, the multiplayer first-person shooter, is massive in Asia particularly in China and South Korea. It boasts 8 million concurrent players and 690 million registered users, according to Smilegate, along with numerous multimedia spinoffs. At E3 2019, however, the company announced CrossfireX, a single-player campaign being developed by Control creator Remedy Entertainment. To bring a multiplayer shooter west, it makes sense to do so with a tailored, narrative-focused first-person experience.

Crossfire: Legion, on the other hand, is aimed at a more niche space: that of old-school real-time strategy games. It helps that its being made by Blackbird Interactive, the studio behind the excellent Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak and the upcoming Homeworld 3 but still, I cant help feeling like its a shot in the dark.

During a recent press briefing, a spokesperson from publisher Prime Matter called Legion a classic RTS. I then spent several hours playing an early technical test, and I dont disagree with that taxonomy. Legion is streamlined and simple, focused more on actions-per-minute than deliberate chess moves. Its units comprise the usual infantry/vehicle/aircraft trifecta, along with commander powers that, when timed well, can turn the tide of a pitched battle.

I played custom matches against AI bots, alternating between the factions of Global Risk and Black List. I preferred the latter, which opts for guerrilla tactics over sheer numbers, and can traverse the map more quickly. In keeping with old-school games like Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness and Command and Conquer, Legion is snappy and responsive, and unit pathfinding is seamless resource-gathering trucks can stack without getting bottlenecked, and soldiers spread out in satisfying arcs before opening fire.

But, also in keeping with those games, the systemic depth only goes so far. By todays standards, Legion feels a bit too old school.

In a recent story about Company of Heroes 3, I wrote about the greatly exaggerated death of the RTS genre, and how, despite a steep decline in mainstream and esports interest in the last decade, its never been more exciting. Whereas the aforementioned World War II game is exploring nuanced squad tactics, recent entries like They Are Billions and Offworld Trading Company found seemingly endless replayable depth. Even the extremely recent Age of Empires 4, a decidedly throwback RTS, deployed engrossing economy-building.

Legion, though, based on my time with its custom matches, feels bareboned. Its units lack compelling environmental interactions; its resource-gathering is sleek but boring; each factions power curve ramps up too gradually to be exciting, and the current roster is too standard to entice me.

But, to reiterate, the demo I played is missing some key features. Blackbird is planning a card system that will allow players to customize their armies before each match, and Im still curious to see how that might shake things up. Legion will also include a single-player campaign, and if its anywhere near as good as Blackbirds work in Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, my initial misgivings could be allayed.

But much of me is doubtful: Legion, at least in this early form, doesnt just revere the games that sparked the genre it seems actively hampered by them.

Maybe thats fine. Not every game needs to be a paragon of innovation. But as a spinoff meant to introduce a whole new market to one of the worlds most massively popular franchises, I was hoping that Legion might push the design envelope. Real-time strategy games are close to my heart. I want them all to succeed. But as of now, Legion feels stuck in the past. If Blackbird is trying to appeal to the RTS fans that still pine for the days of early Command and Conquers or the first StarCraft, theyre off to a good start. If they want to bring in real-time strategy fans that have followed the genres recent creativity with rapt attention, they might be on the wrong track altogether.

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Crossfire: Legion aims to be a classic RTS, but its off to a rocky start - Polygon

Cambodia has the lowest operating costs among nine countries in Asia that are recognised as major manufacturing hubs, according to Asia-Pacific business transformation consultancy TMX.

However, the Kingdom ranks eighth in terms of competitiveness due to interlinked challenges in areas such as talent acquisition and development, logistics and digitalisation, the Singapore-based firm pointed out.

TMX looked at Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam for its The Great Supply Chain Migration Breaking down the Cost of Doing Business in Asia report published in November.

The consultancy conducted a comparative analysis of the nine countries using a variety of cost and condition indicators.

The average total operating costs for a manufacturing firm in Cambodia ranges from $65,313-220,125 per month, versus leader Singapore at $366,561-853,450 and second-ranked Thailand at $142,344-291,730, the report said.

However, as shown in the reports country competitive scorecard, Cambodia and Myanmar are lagging their peers in the region.

The risk level in Myanmar has increased significantly since the beginning of 2021. Political instability has resulted in violence and the economy has stalled because of the ongoing situation.

Limited physical infrastructure and the military regimes suspensions of internet and other telecommunications services have hindered commercial activities and business operations, the report said.

Although Singapore is undoubtedly the most expensive for manufacturing, the city-state also takes the number one spot for competitive location among the nine countries, it added.

This is due to the countrys leading score in ease of doing business, as well as availability of skilled talent, efficient logistics systems, and its role as an early adopter of manufacturing digitalisation, TMX explained.

On the other hand, Cambodia and Myanmar are at the bottom of the value chain.

Cambodia and Myanmar are categorised under the basic assembly lines stage and would be suitable for manufacturing operations in sectors such as textile[s] and garments, footwear, and resource-based processing, the report said.

Though less competitive, these two countries also offer the lowest costs.

Moreover, the two nations also offer the most affordable warehouse rental rates, at $2.5 and $3.4 per sqm per month, the report added.

Anthony Galliano, the group CEO of financial services firm Cambodian Investment Management Co Ltd, said that while Cambodia continues to develop its infrastructure and upgrade its skills, the report reflects that demonstrable progress is needed for the Kingdom to remain competitive in the future.

The countrys future competitiveness in ASEAN should not be built on a foundation of cheap labour costs but as a technologically advanced manufacturing hub, he opined.

The textile industry is a sunset industry which migrates to low cost labour countries, the Kingdoms future will be based on highly skilled manufacturing workers and embracing the digital revolution, he said.

RMAs first-ever motor vehicle assembly plant is symbolic the nations future as the country competes with neighbouring Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia for FDI [foreign direct investment] in high-end manufacturing and assembly, Galliano stressed.

He was referring to RMA (Cambodia) Plc, which according to its CEO, is all set to manufacture US auto major Ford Motor Cos Ranger pickups and Everest SUVs at its plant in eastern Pursat province that is expected to go online in early April.

TMX classified Cambodia and Thailand as dormant countries when it comes to logistics, suggesting that they are deemed relatively costly and less skilful in the field, but have potential to improve in terms of cost and performance.

Galliano added that the Law on Investment and recent tax incentives are welcome progress in signalling Cambodias strategy of human resource competitiveness and advancement and the acceleration to digitalisation.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport continues to do a superb job developing the nations infrastructure, particularly in roads and ports.

Directionally the government is on the right track, but needs to do more in advancing businesses adoption of new technology and digital solutions and to boost the adoption of new tech among enterprises, he said.

The report also noted that utilities and telecommunications account for about 16 per cent of total costs in most countries.

Overall, electricity forms the largest proportion of costs among these components. Cambodia has the most expensive electricity rates while Vietnams electricity rates are the most affordable.

As for telecommunication costs, the more developed the countries are, the lower the telecommunication costs. As a result, Myanmar and Cambodia have the highest internet costs while Singapore and India provide the most affordable rates, TMX said.

The report went on to say that Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Vietnam offer a sizeable and relatively affordable labour pool.

These countries often offer abundant employment opportunities but fewer highly skilled talent in many sectors with talent competitiveness scores ranging between 40.9 and 33.4.

Cambodia and Myanmar have the lowest cost of labour, though they stand relatively low in talent competitiveness. A large percentage of the labour force remains low-skilled, which may be more suited for basic assembly lines, it added.

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Best operating costs in Kingdom: TMX - The Phnom Penh Post

Attention is one of the most valuable resources of the digital age. For most of human history, access to information was limited. Centuries ago many people could not read and education was a luxury. Today we have access to information on a massive scale. Facts, literature, and art are available (often for free) to anyone with an internet connection.

We are presented with a wealth of information, but we have the same amount of mental processing power as we have always had. The number of minutes has also stayed exactly the same in every day. Today attention, not information, is the limiting factor.

Before diving into a discussion of the attention economy, lets clarify the definition of attention. The formal psychological definition of attention and the way most people think of the concept overlap.

Attention: a selective focus on some of the stimuli that we are currently perceiving while ignoring other stimuli from the environment

In ordinary conversation, we often say pay attention. This expression implies two important characteristics of attention: that it is limited and that it is valuable. When we pay attention to one thing, we deplete our budget of mental resources so that we have less attention available to spend elsewhere. Theories of human attention all agree that it is limited in capacity. Psychologist and economist Herbert A. Simon described attention as a bottleneck in human thought. He also noted that a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.

The conceit of multitasking is a canard: people cant attend fully to multiple things simultaneously. Yes, people may have their phone out while they watch television, but if they divert attention to, say, a social media stream, they will miss some of what happened in the show.

Attention is a valuable resource to us as individuals. This resource is also valued by businesses, political campaigns, nonprofits, and countless other organizations that try to entice us to spend money or volunteer our time. In 1997, Michael H. Goldhaber wrote that the global economy is shifting from a material-based economy to one based on the capacity of human attention. Many services online are offered for free. In the attention economy, attention is not only a resource but a currency: users pay for a service with their attention.

Today, the dynamics of the attention economy incentivize companies to draw users in to spend more and more time on apps and sites. Designers who create sites and apps understand that their products vie for the limited resource of users attention in a highly competitive market. The hope of attracting attention has led to the popularity of many different design trends (that mainly degrade the user experience) such as:

Often, designers ignore the many different stimuli users need to pay attention to at any moment while using their systems and can inadvertently create designs that require too much attention than users can realistically offer.

In our recent studies on voice assistants, we found that people often used phone-based assistants while driving, when their hands and eyes were busy. One common complaint was that Siri or Google Assistant displayed results on the phones screen instead of reading them out loud. For example, even the simple and common task of asking for directions may require the driver to divide her attention between the output of the assistant and the road.

Similarly, the attention of a smartphone user is often divided between the app or website currently used and a TV show or another external stimulus. That is why sessions tend to be shorter on mobile than on the desktop: the chance of an interruption is high.

To understand whether a design overwhelms users attentional capacities, it needs to be studied in context. Field studies, diary studies, and interviews can all be used to understand how people are using the system in real life.

Many users are aware that sites and apps are trying to keep their attention. In a recent usability test, a user watched a video on how to prepare pancakes on AllRecipes.com. After the video had finished, the site automatically queued a related video in the playlist. Our participant did not see an option to pause the video. The only options that appeared on the video player were to rewatch the video or to start watching the next video in the playlist.

As the playlist queued, the user observed it seems like this is keeping me tethered to the computer for longer than I need to be. The playlist showed an advertisement before each recipe video the site had a clear financial incentive to keep visitors attention fixed on the successive videos.

Some users feel helpless when it comes to controlling the amount of time that they spend on their devices. Digital products are designed to be more and more engaging, often keeping users hooked. The impact of too much time spent engaging with technology is particularly concerning for the parents. Engaging and attention-grabbing designs can become so habit-forming for young people that they may experience withdrawal when devices are taken away.

Other users adapt their behavior. Some of these adaptations are conscious and deliberate actions taken to limit time online. Deliberate adaptations include setting a time limit on time spent online, uninstalling certain applications, or use of parental controls.

Users also learn to conserve their attention in subtle ways. Banner blindness, the tendency to ignore advertisements when placed in the right rail or at the top of the page, is an example of adaptation that appeared in response to a wealth of information. Users have also adapted to the barrage of notifications common on mobile devices: they have learned to ignore many of them. During a recent usability testing session, I watched a woman browse for new podcasts on her iPhone. When the first notification of the session went off, she apologized to me and asked Can you still use this recording for your research? After I assured her that this was not a problem, she continued with the task. Several more notifications pinged this users phone throughout the session and none of them appeared to interrupt her train of thought.

We anticipate that the trends we now observe in designing for attention will continue to evolve. Many companies will choose to create even more attention-grabbing advertisements. Automatically playing videos and unskippable advertisements are almost universally unpopular among users, but designs continue to feature them. Ads may soon become even more immersive in an arms race for users attention. Major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snap are all testing augmented-reality advertisements.

Some companies will continue to produce habit-forming designs that entice users to dedicate more and more of their attention. An optimistic future of the attention economy is also possible: recent developments offer hope for a more equitable attention economy. Rising adoption of a split-revenue model for advertising allows customers to pay with their attention (viewing advertisements) or with money (conserving their attention).

Some companies have responded to their customers complaints about distraction and attention-grabbing design. Apple recently changed the design of its notifications to remove multiple notifications in quick succession on iPhones and also introduced screen-time statistics that allow users to monitor their usage of electronic devices.

Certain facts of the digital economy may not change. Advertising will fund some free content for the foreseeable future, apps will compete for new users attention, and people will still only have so much attention to dedicate. However, designers have a choice in this economy of attention: they can balance business needs such as the need for new subscribers, advertising revenue, and profit with respect for the best interests of their users.

Goldhaber, Michael H. (1997) Attention Shoppers! Wired Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.wired.com/1997/12/es-attention/

Simon, Herbert A. (1992) The Bottleneck of Attention: Connecting Human Thought with Motivation. Retrieved from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c47f/a1729198a8062715423c8d07767f8897f6f8.pdf

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The Attention Economy - Nielsen Norman Group

The successful conservative management and investment philosophy of the Alaska Permanent Fund must be restored. The importance of the Permanent Funds contribution to the economy of Alaska cannot be overstated. Its current value is more than $83 billion. The earnings from the fund account for about two-thirds of our total state revenue. Without that revenue, we would be close to becoming wards of the federal government, like we were as a Territory. Alaskans need to be kept informed of what the trustees are doing with their money.

The public must be given a justification for the abrupt removal of Angela Rodell as executive director of the fund. Under her stewardship it grew almost 50%. Why summarily dismiss a proven and successful manager? Ms. Rodells performance in managing the fund has been outstanding. It is in the public interest that the Legislature, spearheaded by Sen. Natasha Von Imhof, take the lead in looking into this unexplained firing and other actions with a hearing scheduled for Monday.

The Permanent Fund has traditionally been managed by a conservative and safe investment strategy specifically, a mixture of stocks, bonds, real estate, private equity, hedge funds and the like while avoiding in-state investments. Until now the fund has refrained from direct Alaskan investments so as to isolate it from the fluctuations of its oil, gas and other resource-based economy and from politics; that appears to be changing. The current trustees have taken it upon themselves to redirect the investment philosophy of the fund and to withhold details regarding this change from the public.

For example, the trustees, led by their chairman, have removed $200 million from the fund and placed $100 million each in two firms, McKinley Capital of Anchorage, and Barings, an Outside firm. These businesses should obtain their loans from the Alaska Investment Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) or Alaska banks. This is a significant departure from the conservative investment strategy initiated by the late Elmer Rasmuson, founder and CEO of the National Bank of Alaska and the Permanent Funds first chairman.

While $200 million is only a small fraction of the $83 billion in the fund, it signifies a substantial change in strategy. It sets up a glide path for future investments in a totally risky portfolio. Once initiated, it is almost impossible for the trustees to stop asking for authority to increase such borrowings.

Moving $200 million to higher risk development investments means the Permanent Fund is moving into the investment banking business. Alaska already operates its own development bank, namely AIDEA. Why do we need the state to operate another development bank? Alaskans need an answer to this question.

Historically, AIDEAs high-risk investment strategy has had many successes, including the Red Dog Mine in Kotzebue, the Vigor Shipyard in Ketchikan and the Skagway Ore Terminal. It has also had spectacular failures, such as the $79 million loss on the Mustang Project on the North Slope. My administration inherited an AIDEA fish processing plant and cold storage in Anchorage. That loan had to be charged off with the loss of several million dollars; it is now a church. The point again is that there is no need for Alaska to have another state agency move into the banking business. An old banking adage to keep in mind is that all loans are good when you make them.

As mistaken as it is for the Permanent Fund Trust to assume AIDEAs high-risk investment development lending role, it is equally mistaken for the trustees to keep the $200 million in high-risk investments secret from the public. These are public funds belonging to all Alaskans, and once it is public money it will always be public money, despite any interpretations of state law.

I have had a long history in banking in Alaska. As governor I had the pleasure of appointing several well-qualified trustees. At the time, I looked for experience in business and finance and a track record of success as qualifications for appointment. I also valued their independence from the many pressures of special interest groups and lobbyists. Several of my appointees have served as chair of the Permanent Fund. Their expertise in finance and investing prior to their appointments and commitment to a conservative investment strategy helped the Permanent Fund become what it is today.

In short, the Legislature and the public need to learn why the Permanent Fund has changed its proven conservative management and investment philosophy. Unless these changes can be explained and justified and limits placed on it, the Legislature should require the fund to return to its successful conservative investment strategy. We must demand transparency. We must demand answers and we must demand that the best interest of the Permanent Fund comes before personal interests and political gains. I look forward to having these questions and others further examined at the Legislative Budget and Audit Committees Monday hearing.

Frank Murkowski was governor of Alaska from 2002 to 2006. He previously served in the U.S. Senate, where he served as chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001.

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Legislature must act to protect the integrity of the Permanent Fund - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Visualized: The Circular Economy 101

The principles of a circular economy trace back as far as 3,000 years.

Archeological evidence shows that Romans recycled trash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Roughly 200 years later, people recycled glass during the Byzantine Empire. Fast-forward to today and circular economy strategies are projected to generate trillions in economic output by 2030.

But how does the circular economy work? This infographic from MSCI provides a guide to circular economiesfrom circular business models to circular technologies.

First, lets start at the root of the problem, our current consumption trends:

To change consumption patterns and reduce waste, consumer behaviors, business models, and policies will need to change. But the big question is how?

To answer this problem, the concept of a circular economy is gaining traction.

A circular economy is centered on the idea of resources being kept as long as possible within the economic system, where materials that have undergone an entire lifecycle, from production to end stage, are returned to the economic system as an input.

Above all else, a circular economy is based on sustainable life cycles.

In 2019, BlackRock launched an inaugural Circular Economy fund. Since then, it has attracted $2.1 billion in investment. A number of the worlds largest asset managers have followed suit.

Policy-driven agendas are also focused on the circular economy shift:

Given the steep cost of linear economic models, governments are beginning to pay attention to the merits of a circular economy.

Circular economy principles aligned with sustainability offer the following advantages:

Importantly, circular strategies, technologies, and transition companies are looking beyond traditional economic models.

From alternative energy to bio-based and recyclable materials, the most effective circular business models are ones that create obvious value.

Lets consider five circular economy business models and where they can be applied in the supply chain. Additionally, some of the models can be adapted to any part of the supply chain.

Procurement/raw materials acquisition

Material & product manufacturing

Sales & marketing

Product use

Material & product manufacturing

Product design/R&D

Today, circular models present opportunities in fashion, food systems, mining and metals, among others.

A circular economy theme is built on two key dimensions:

1. Smarter technologies: Providing circular technologies

2. Resource efficient processes: Maximizing materials and minimizing impacts (e.g. emissions)

Then, MSCI identifies areas of innovation that support a circular model. Consider the following circular technologies, which are produced by companies that contribute to a circular economy theme end-state through their products and services.

It also looks at circular transitions, which are companies that enable the shift to a circular economy through their management of related issues.

As a result MSCI has created a range of Circular Economy related indexes:

Its worth noting that what is measurable today will likely only expand, considering the evolving regulatory frameworks and thinking around a circular economy,

Through looking at circular economy innovation, we yield three important insights:

For a growing number of investors, companies, and researchers, a circular economy provides a wide scope of opportunities ranging from single-use plastics alternatives to water sustainability.

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Plant-based Alternatives: 5 Ways They Benefit the Planet - Visual Capitalist

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said that Nigerias macroeconomy and manufacturing operating environment were buttressed by the marginal recovery of some key manufacturing indicators allowed a gradual improvement in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021.

In its Manufacturers CEOs Confidence Index (MCCI) Q4 report, the President of the association, Mr. Mansur Ahmed clarified that although changes in almost all manufacturing indicators as measured in the report are still not as desired, the fourth quarter performance is better than what was obtained in the 2021 Q3.

The MCCI is an index set up by MAN to measure changes in the quarterly pulsation of manufacturing activities in relation to movement in the macroeconomy and government policies. The Index is considered as MANs barometer used to aggregate the views of CEOs of manufacturing companies on changes in the economy.

In the report, Ahmed stated that manufacturers resilience, seasonal transactions, and passive policy support sustained manufacturing in the quarter despite the prevalence of familiar and emerging excessive tax-related challenges faced by manufacturers.

The manufacturing sector in Q4 of the year under review, overall recorded a mixed grilled performance occasioned by meagre improvement in the operating environment indices and macroeconomic ambiance evidenced by the high points. This he said, cumulatively triggered the increase in the aggregate MCCI score for the quarter to 55.4 points from 54.0 points recording the preceding quarter.

Manufacturing performance is still below the mark, Ahmed explained, saying, notwithstanding the marginal improvement in the operating environment during the quarter under review, as the sector is still plagued by numerous familiar constraints. Some of these challenges enumerated by manufacturers are clearly presented in this report.

The president further advised the government to implement mechanisms such as providing incentives to encourage investments in raw materials, pharmaceutical and petrochemical materials, iron and steel, etc. He also beckoned on the government to specifically provide security to lives and investments in industrial areas.

In order to improve the performance of the sector, the government needs to intentionally put in place a mechanism that will address these challenges permanently by considering and implementing the following recommendation:

Further incentivize investment in the development of raw materials locally through the Backward Integration and Resource-based industrialization initiates. Government should call for more investors to key into these initiatives with appropriate and definite incentives.

For instance, there is need for urgent investment and production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in the country; investment and production of machines; iron and steel; petrochemical materials, etc to support manufacturing activities.

Give specific attention to the security of life and investment in industrial areas; properly delineate and upscale security infrastructure in the various industrial areas in the country, particularly in the northern part of the country for priority attention. Government should also quickly invest in modern security such as drones, cameras, etc. for robust monitoring of the areas, Ahmed stated.

The MAN president in the MCCI report stressed the need to ensure effective allocation of available foreign exchange to productive sectors, especially to the manufacturing sector for the importation of raw materials and vital machines and equipment that are not available locally.

He also buttressed the need for the government to expressly direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to consult with the Ministries of Industry Trade & Investment and effectively engage MAN on measures to improve forex supply to manufacturing concerns.

He said that the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation should be directed to inaugurate the Secretariat that will implement the strategies for the Executive Order and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON). The Secretariat will designate local manufacturers of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Gas Cylinders as priority provider of the 10 million Cooking Gas Cylinders to be procured by the government for 12 States in the federation.

Ahmed added, Return milk and other dairy products to the National list in the fiscal policy guidelines to maintain consistency with the Backward Integration Programme, which has spurred heavy investments in the dairy production.

Unify academic curriculum with industrial skill needs and requirements to guarantee the sustainable development of skilled manpower for the industries. Government should as a matter of urgency synchronize the curricular of tertiary institutions, particularly the Polytechnics with the skills requirements of industries. The various government vocational and training centers should also be re-engineered to offer those skills that are needed by the industries.

Revisit the resuscitation of the existing national refineries to produce fuels locally, embark on the rehabilitation of major highway corridors, improve trade facilitation infrastructure and deepen the ongoing development of rails system to change the narrative on the operating environment from being a high cost to low production cost environment.

On electricity, Ahmed said there is a need to sustain the eligible customer initiative to ensure that more power is supplied to the manufacturing sector.

The Manufacturing Association of Nigeria in its Index Report, further adviced the government to, Strengthen the Bank of Industry (BOI) and Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to adequately provide liberal finance for the manufacturing sector;

Monitor the implementation of Executive Order 003 to ensure compliance by MDAs so as to boost activities in the manufacturing sector, Publish the list of approved harmonized taxes and levies for the manufacturing sector by the Joint Tax Board (JTB) to address the issues of multiples taxes and levies.

Rationalize Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies, parastatal and Commissions to resolve the issues of over-regulation and duplication; Improve the time taken to clear machines and raw-materials at the national ports while making the link road accessible.

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Manufacturing Activities, Macroeconomy Witness Gradual Growth in Q4 2021: MAN - Investors King Ltd

Based in Amsterdam, with hubs in So Paulo, Mexico City, Delhi, Nairobi and Tokyo, WDCD was founded by creatives who want to make a practical difference, using the power of design. And they've just launched a new book, Never Waste A Good Crisis, which shines a spotlight on 31 creative optimists working to reinvent our relationship with waste.

It highlights some exciting initiatives and experiments that bring us closer to a circular future, helping accelerate the transition to a sustainable, fair and just society. This beautifully produced book is essential reading for every creative and offers a great way of sparking new ideas and fresh thinking in your own work.

Totomoxtle 2 by Fernando Laposse

Featured creatives include Mexico's Fernando Laposse, whose project Totomoxtle brings together agricultural waste and indigenous crafts; Pakistan's Yasmeen Lari, who builds with mud and lime to create shelters that are zero-carbon and zero-waste. And Italy's Studio Formafantasma, whose artwork Ore Streams explores the pitfalls and politics of electronics recycling.

We spoke to WDCD's online communication manager and the book's editor Natasha Berting to learn more about what designers are doing to help save the planet and how we can all get involved.

WDCD was initiated by a group of creatives in Amsterdam in 2011, with graphic designers Richard van der Laken and Pepijn Zurburg at the helm. The idea was to organise an event where people could come together, not only to discuss beautiful chairs or logos but to show that design can be a game-changer for society.

Ore Streams by Forma Fantasma

Since then, WDCD has grown to encompass many different activities, from conferences to books and challenges. But the core mission stays the same: to empower the creative community to make a valuable contribution to solving the major problems of our time.

Design influences our lives in so many ways, from the clothes we wear to the buildings we live in and the millions of products and services in between. This brings with it a lot of responsibility. It also makes it one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal when it comes to tackling systemic issues like climate change or waste.

Pimp My Carroa by Thiago Mundano

Besides being natural problem-solvers, creatives are also brilliant storytellers. And in a time where it feels like we have so much stacked against us, we shouldn't underestimate the value of imagination. If we can help more people to see that a sustainable future is not only possible but also desirable, we have a much better chance of making it happen.

Never Waste a Good Crisis is the fifth publication in our yellow book series, which typically features 31 trailblazing projects around a specific theme. This past year at WDCD, we've been diving deep into the relationship between design, waste and the circular economy, and that's what this book is all about.

Inside, you'll find the work of 31 creative optimists, all of whom are bringing us closer to a circular future in a different way. Of course, the list is by no means exhaustive. It's a snapshot of an industry in motion, a mere glimpse into the many initiatives that are changing the conversation about waste around the world.

The selection process itself took many weeks. We worked with a team of creatives who are embedded in the world of innovation and climate action, moving from a long list to a shorter list in a series of meetings. Waste is a complex and multifaceted issue, so we felt it was important to show a diversity of solutions and perspectives.

This is why we included ideas from both established and emerging designers from more than 20 different countries. The book also reflects a wide range of disciplines and strategies, from exciting new materials and technologies to critical explorations of concepts like ownership, convenience or novelty.

Seaweed Cycle is an ongoing experiment led by Dutch designers Eric Klarenbeek and Maartje Dros. They've spent much of the last decade pushing the boundaries of 3D printing, exploring how it can be used to support local economies while extending the value of biomaterials like algae.

Klarenbeek and Dros believe that this renewable resource could eventually replace all petroleum-based plastics. To demonstrate the concept, the pair have developed a unique and fully biodegradable material called 'weed-ware'. It can be used to 3D print just about anything, from shampoo bottles to tableware and furniture. But what makes their approach special is the way it fits into a bigger picture.

Currently, they are working with local seaweed farmers and seaside communities to build an ecosystem around bio-based materials and products. They also plan to establish a network of 3D printing hubs in the area, with the goal of bringing about a new era of making.

If we want to reduce waste and its devastating impact on climate change, we'll need to see a radical change in almost every sector. It's a huge and daunting task, but there are signs that the transformation is already underway.

Founded by artist Sel Kofiga, The Slum Studio is a Ghanaian collective that breathes new life into old clothes and textiles collected from some of the world's largest second-hand markets. What makes their work unique is their vibrant and multidisciplinary approach. Through storytelling, performance and photography, the studio works to unveil the power structures implicated in the fashion industry.

I see artistic initiatives like these as vital because they invite us to examine the political and social dimensions of waste in the places where its impact is most visible. As Kofiga says: "If you have the power to buy, you have the power to question the players involved."

Seaweed Cycle by Studio Klarenbeek.

We published a small print run of the book with the help of Zwaan Lenoir, a local printer in the Netherlands. Fedrigoni supplied the paper, which is made partly of recycled and FSC certified fibres. To help minimise our impact, all excess paper that was created during the production process is being made into notebooks and reused in other projects.

If we want to reduce waste and its devastating impact on climate change, we'll need to see a radical change in almost every sector. It's a huge and daunting task, but there are signs that the transformation is already underway.

The Slum Studio by Sel Kofiga. Photo by Fibi Afloe

Makli Cultural Centre by Yasmeen Lari & Heritage Foundation Pakistan

With this book, we wanted to celebrate the groundswell of creatives who are already taking an active role in the transition to a more circular future. I hope that seeing these tangible examples will inspire and energise other makers to engage with the issue.

One tip we've learned from the creatives in our community is to ask as many questions as you can as early as possible in the design process. Whether you're an architect or a copywriter, you could start every project by thinking about its lifecycle, material requirements, and value in the wider system.

Ask: What happens to your design at the end of its use period? Can it have many or different use periods? Is it easy to repair or designed for disassembly? Who will be impacted the most by your design? Can you find ways to make it both human-centred and earth-centred?

The Circular Garden by CRA Associati. Photo by Marco Beck Peccoz

Applying principles like these from the get-go will help you avoid playing catch-up further downstream. It also helps you to remember the true goal of any circular system: which is not just to handle waste more responsibly but use fewer resources and to make fewer products in the first place.

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What designers are doing to help save the planet, and how to help - Creative Boom

Visualized: The Circular Economy 101

The principles of a circular economy trace back as far as 3,000 years.

Archeological evidence shows that Romans recycled trash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Roughly 200 years later, people recycled glass during the Byzantine Empire. Fast-forward to today and circular economy strategies are projected to generate trillions in economic output by 2030.

But how does the circular economy work? This infographic from MSCI provides a guide to circular economiesfrom circular business models to circular technologies.

First, lets start at the root of the problem, our current consumption trends:

To change consumption patterns and reduce waste, consumer behaviors, business models, and policies will need to change. But the big question is how?

To answer this problem, the concept of a circular economy is gaining traction.

A circular economy is centered on the idea of resources being kept as long as possible within the economic system, where materials that have undergone an entire lifecycle, from production to end stage, are returned to the economic system as an input.

Above all else, a circular economy is based on sustainable life cycles.

In 2019, BlackRock launched an inaugural Circular Economy fund. Since then, it has attracted $2.1 billion in investment. A number of the worlds largest asset managers have followed suit.

Policy-driven agendas are also focused on the circular economy shift:

Given the steep cost of linear economic models, governments are beginning to pay attention to the merits of a circular economy.

Circular economy principles aligned with sustainability offer the following advantages:

Importantly, circular strategies, technologies, and transition companies are looking beyond traditional economic models.

From alternative energy to bio-based and recyclable materials, the most effective circular business models are ones that create obvious value.

Lets consider five circular economy business models and where they can be applied in the supply chain. Additionally, some of the models can be adapted to any part of the supply chain.

Procurement/raw materials acquisition

Material & product manufacturing

Sales & marketing

Product use

Material & product manufacturing

Product design/R&D

Today, circular models present opportunities in fashion, food systems, mining and metals, among others.

A circular economy theme is built on two key dimensions:

1. Smarter technologies: Providing circular technologies

2. Resource efficient processes: Maximizing materials and minimizing impacts (e.g. emissions)

Then, MSCI identifies areas of innovation that support a circular model. Consider the following circular technologies, which are produced by companies that contribute to a circular economy theme end-state through their products and services.

It also looks at circular transitions, which are companies that enable the shift to a circular economy through their management of related issues.

As a result MSCI has created a range of Circular Economy related indexes:

Its worth noting that what is measurable today will likely only expand, considering the evolving regulatory frameworks and thinking around a circular economy,

Through looking at circular economy innovation, we yield three important insights:

For a growing number of investors, companies, and researchers, a circular economy provides a wide scope of opportunities ranging from single-use plastics alternatives to water sustainability.

Link:

Industry 4.0: What Manufacturing Looks Like in the Digital Era - Visual Capitalist

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On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pastor Corey Brooks wanted to share some of his thoughts with his readers. Today marks the 58th day of his 100-day rooftop vigil to reduce violence by building a transformative community center that will increase the equality of opportunity for those that live on the South Side of Chicago.

What follows has been lightly edited. We strongly encourage you to watch the accompanying video so you may hear the pastor in his own words.

CHICAGO Today, I want to share with you something that has been a hot topic around the country. I want to talk about critical race theory.

I believe that critical race theory hurts Black America. Critical race theory is a cancer in our society. It is a race-obsessed worldview. Over the past several years, this dangerous far-left ideology has managed to creep into our schools. Critical race theory says that America is an inexplicably racist nation. All of our institutions are based on oppression of racial minorities.

In my work as a pastor on the South Side of Chicago, I have seen critical race theory in various forms taught in our local school and have witnessed firsthand how this ideology hurts the Black community.

Critical race theory is based on many lies, but I want to focus on three of those lies that are especially damaging in the Black community.

ROOFTOP REVELATIONS: AFTER THE KILLING OF HER HUSBAND, SHE RAISED FIVE GIRLS AND ACHIEVED HER DREAM

The first lie is an integral part of the ideology. This lie says that an individual's race is his or her defining trait nothing is more important than one's race. Race determines our position in life, our ability to achieve and how others will treat us. This lie distorts not only an individual's identity, but also his or her entire ability to be relational.

Christianity teaches that our most important relationship is the one we have with Christ, and that relationship comes with the proper understanding of who we are: children of God.

Critical race theory only understands relationships as defined by race, which makes an identity such as "fellow Americans" an impossibility.

The second lie is that there is an enduring power struggle because most people are racist to their core. Building a community on the South Side of Chicago requires setting aside our own biases and assumptions about other people. Black Americans are absolutely, I believe, hurt by an ideology that tells them their White neighbors are racist oppressors, forcing them to think of themselves outside of the community and to distrust their fellow citizens.

The third big lie is that capitalism is a form of White supremacy. According to critical race theory, capitalism excludes Blacks. Not surprisingly, this lie does nothing to encourage Black youth to apply themselves or to participate in the economy.

The objective here is to clearly to stir up Marxist grievances. Karl Marx used class struggles to spark enthusiasm for his call for world communism. Well, critical race theorists use race in place of class, aiming to instill that same hatred for free-market capitalism.

One of our most successful projects has been Project H.O.O.D. (Helping Others Obtain Destiny), a community-based resource center that provides job training programs, entrepreneurship, internships, mentorships, counseling and homework help for students, among other services. Critical race theory teaches that capitalism holds Black people down, but the exact opposite has been our experiences.

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One of our job programs is a construction course. Participants include former gang members and individuals who recently were released from prison. They receive everything they need to get started, even the work boots to wear for their own physical training projects. At the end, many of those who complete the program go on to have successful careers in the construction field.

I've seen firsthand how rejecting the lies of critical race theory is the beginning of doing the transformative work in individuals' lives. We see daily the power of transformed lives through our jobs program, through the promise that comes from participating in honest work in our capitalist system.

On the south side of Chicago, we are empowering and overcoming racial divisions, teaching people to love their neighbors, regardless of race, and equipping individuals to escape poverty and crime through jobs programs and other programs that are needed. Critical race theory cannot accomplish any of these things, and I believe it only undermines our work. That's the reason why, at Project H.O.O.D., we don't go by critical race theory. We believe in the systems of America and that they will work if you work them.

Follow along as Fox News checks in Pastor Corey Brooks each day with a new Rooftop Revelation.

For more information, please visitProject H.O.O.D.

Eli Steele is a documentary filmmaker and writer. His latest film is"What Killed Michael Brown?" Twitter:@Hebro_Steele.

Camera by Terrell Allen.

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Rooftop Revelations: On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pastor Brooks rejects three critical race theory lies - Fox News

For Pakistan to emerge from the quagmire of poverty, ignorance and deprivation, there is one and only one way forward: to divert its resources to education, science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The authorities should declare a national education emergency, which will involve several steps to change the strategic directions of Pakistan from the present low value-added economy to a strong knowledge-based economy. The key to progress now lies in the ability of nations to manufacture and export high-value high-tech goods. To do that, we must focus on strengthening the entire pyramidal structure of our education system by moving away from rote learning and encouraging problem-solving skills as well as innovation and entrepreneurship so that our students transition from being job seekers to becoming job givers.

A national education emergency will focus not only on promotion of equitable high-quality education but also on industrial research and development through university-industry linkages and on new start-ups through innovation and entrepreneurship. A serious hurdle in imparting quality education is the quality of our faculty members in schools, colleges and universities. The advent of massive open online courses has partly addressed this issue. Almost 20 years ago when I was the federal minister for science and technology, I realised the significance of these courses, and we then established a mirror website of MIT open courses in Pakistan. As a result, the country took a significant leap forward at that time by downloading all the relevant courses and making them available to colleges and universities. For instance, the computer science courses of MIT were downloaded, copied on 10,000 CDs and distributed to faculty members and students of all computer science departments in universities of Pakistan.

The Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Centre located in the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi has played a key role in this important initiative by launching The Higher Education Network (THEN) that has two major components. One component involves enrolling eminent faculty members from the US, the UK, Germany, Japan and other advanced countries to deliver complete courses and lectures to undergraduate and postgraduate students across Pakistan. These interactive courses allow Pakistani students to ask questions from foreign faculty members in real time and benefit from their wisdom.

A second component comprises an integrated version of massive open online courses (MOOCs). These tens of thousands of recorded lectures from MIT, Stanford, Yale, the University of California, and Khan Academy are available from the school to university levels for free. They have been integrated and rearranged and comes with a built-in meta search engine to allow keyword searches.

There are many lessons that our policymakers can learn from Chinas strategy for socio-economic development. Today, the Asian giant spends more than any other country on industrial research and development. Its growth in the field of high-tech manufactured goods hinges on the production and export of automobiles, industrial machinery, engineering goods, electronics, biopharmaceuticals, alloys, nanomaterials, defence products, automobiles and advanced transportation items such as bullet trains.

To provide high-quality education to over 160 million eligible population is a gigantic task. This huge challenge can best be addressed by using technology to leap frog. To reach out to the remote areas of Pakistan with high-quality distance education programmes, we need to empower our young people so that they can have access to excellent educational materials via the internet. In this connection, there are four key challenges to be addressed. First, we need to improve connectivity so that fibre cables can be laid across the country and bandwidth can be made available at affordable rates.

Read more from Dr Atta-ur-Rehman

Second, high-quality content needs to be made available for free. In this connection, the Knowledge Economy Task Force has already initiated a number of projects through Virtual University, Lahore, and some 3,000 Khan Academy courses are being translated from English to Urdu to boost school-level education. Universities in Pakistan will soon be permitted to start distance learning programmes, subject to meeting the certain minimum Quality Assurance yardstick. Third, there would be a need for proper mentoring and assessment to ensure that students are benefitting properly from the course materials provided to them and are developing the required problem-solving skills.

Fourth, students must develop the entrepreneurial skills needed to establish their own businesses; an ecosystem also needs to be developed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. This will require the establishment of technology parks integrated within universities, liberal access to venture capital funds, tax holidays for industrial investments in technology ventures and appropriate protective laws to protect intellectual capital. It will also require the government to change its policies and outsource all its needs to locally manufactured goods and software.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has created many exciting opportunities, particularly in the new and emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), industrial biotechnology, synthetic biology, regenerative medicine, new materials, nanotechnology, energy storage systems and others. It is predicted that AI is likely to have an impact of about $16 trillion by 2025, according to a McKinsey Global report. If we could capture just one percent of this market, it would amount to about $160 billion of revenue annually. An excellent project in this field prepared by the Knowledge Economy Task Force, with the help of the worlds top experts, and submitted to the Ministry of Planning some three years ago still awaits approval. Programmes such as this one can transform the landscape of Pakistan. Our dynamic planning minister Asad Umar needs to focus on such projects for rapid socio-economic development.

With over 60 percent of our population below the age of 30, we are fortunate to have this huge demographic advantage over countries such as Japan, Korea, and Western European nations. However, to benefit from this advantageous position, we need to invest in this valuable human resource and transition to a technology-driven knowledge-based economy.

In my capacity as the chairperson of the PM Task Force on Science and Technology, I have made several presentations to the prime minister regarding the urgent need to declare a national education emergency. This would require significant additional investments in primary, secondary, technical and higher education.

My proposals are being given serious consideration by the present government, and a detailed proposal is under development involving our Task Force members and Ministry of Education experts. After decades of wasted time and resources, there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel.

The writer is chairman PM National Task Force on Science and Technology, former minister, and former founding chairman of the HEC.

Email: ibne_sina@hotmail.com

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Education emergency - The News International