Host: Bob Baker
Discussion Leader: Mark Nunan
Discussion slides: NUCLEAR_ENERGY_FUTURE_FOR_USA
Category: Current Affairs (Page 5 of 8)
Host: Charlie Goodyear
Discussion Leader: Art Baron
DISCUSSION OUTLINE ON INNOVATION
Current Affairs, June 18, 2020
AGENDA:
- The Science of Innovation
- The Digital Age . . . a Multi-Decade Transformation
- Winners and Losers . . . Lessons Learned . . . Market Considerations
- COVID . . . a Present Day Catalyst
- Potential Future Industry Disruptions
=====================================================================
- The Science of Innovation
Innovation: The process of translating an idea or invention into a product, service, or business model that creates value for which customers will pay.
Peter Drucker: “The Discipline of Innovation” HBR, August 2002 https://hbr.org/2002/08/the-discipline-of-innovation Areas of Opportunity: Unexpected Occurrences, Incongruities, Process Needs, Industry & Market Changes, Demographic Changes, Changes in Perception, New Knowledge
Clayton Christensen: theory of “disruptive innovation”, first introduced in his 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma. Key insights: S-curve, market-creating innovations drive growth, (vs sustaining or efficiency innovations), innovations often come from outside the established incumbents.
Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Steve Jobs: “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them.
“Inspiring Innovation”, HBR August 2002 https://hbr.org/2002/08/inspiring-innovation
Other Key Enablers: Simplicity, Focus, Diversity, Cross-discipline, Innovation Culture, Risk Acceptance . . . overcoming resistance to change
- The Digital Age . . . a Multi-Decade Transformation
- Dramatic transformation fueled by, (among other things), Moore’s Law, Metcalfe’s Law
- “The Consumerization of IT”
○ Increasingly, employees had more capabilities at home than at work
○ Trickle down from consumer market to enterprise market, (much like prior generation trickle down from Military and NASA to private sector)
- Adoption rates of digital products accelerating virally. Many digital products have near zero marginal cost.
○ Time to reach 50 million users
■ Automobiles, 62 years
■ Telephone, 50 years
■ Credit Card, 28 years
■ Mobile Phones, 12 years
■ Facebook, 3 years
■ PokemonGo, 19 days
- Brand new product categories, e.g. Streaming content, Smart phones, Virtual Assistants, AI, Social Media
- Increasingly Mobile First as the Innovation platform
- New Business Models are Transforming Industries
○ SaaS, Cloud . . . new players, e.g. SalesForce.com, Workday
○ Sharing Economy . . . Uber, Lyft, Airbnb
- Crisis driven change and leadership, e.g. Estonia, cyberattacks, 2007
- Winners and Losers . . . Lessons Learned . . . Market Considerations
- Top valued companies as of 3/31/20: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook.
○ Leadership with brand new product & services categories
- Why did Microsoft miss the Internet in the mid-90’s, but recover and thrive, while Digital Equipment missed the microcomputer in the 80’s and didn’t
- Blackberry vs iPhone . . . dynamics in the marketplace
- Industry evolution:. Visacalc and the PC, then Lotus 123, and then Microsoft Excel
- Early internet successes, (AOL and Yahoo), superseded by newer ones, (Google and Facebook).
○ As consumers became more proficient with the Internet, the access advantages of AOL and Yahoo gave way to the continuous innovation of companies like Google and Facebook.
- Xerox Parc, (GUI and Mouse), vs Apple
- A 19th Century Example: Steel industry leadership shift from U.K. to U.S. with Carnegie Steel’s adoption of Bessemer Steel Process.
- Fast Company: The World’s Most Innovative Companies, 2020 and 2019
https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2020
https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2019
- COVID . . . a Present Day Catalyst
- Medical: Vaccines, Therapies, Ventilators, PPE,…
- Telehealth: technology available for years, but limited adoption due to business model, (insurance, provider fees) —> current urgency now driving coverage and deployment. Many post-COVID benefits.
- Online services
○ Collaboration and Work from Home
■ Zoom Video, simplicity vs competition, 20 million to 200m users, fierce competition: Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Facebook, Apple,…
■ Consumer apps, e.g. Caribu
○ eCommerce Delivery, e.g. Amazon, Walmart
○ Food delivery services, Restaurant services, Supermarket delivery, Instacart
○ Location services enabling individual tracking, social distancing compliance, temperatures, etc.
○ Behavior change, e.g. increase in digital banking across populations, Gucci, reducing runway fashion shows
- Potential Future Industry Disruptions
- Healthcare
- Education, new cost dynamics, pathway for greater equality and opportunity
- CyberSecurity
- Food Supply, risks, (global hunger, climate change, drought, income security), reduce waste, (e.g. Apeel Sciences), new sources, (e.g. Beyond Meat, milk substitutes), new processes, (e.g. precision agriculture, restaurants delivery, kits, home cooking)
- Environment, Efficiency, Energy Transition, Pollution, Advanced Manufacturing, Circular Economy, Hydrogen, EVs
- Social/News Trust and Accountability, beginning to see some take action, (Twitter, Zoom), but others resist. Much more is needed given the harmful power of digital media.
- Resilience, Markets, Supply Chain, Transportation, Financial Systems, Global/Deglobalization Balance, . . . .
Host: Charlie Goodyear.
Speaker Mike Critelli. Bio Critelli, Mike
Outline of the electric grid. OUTLINE OF ELECTRIC POWER GRID
8:30am, Lilian Gade Room at the DCA.
Cliff van Voorhees and Carolyn Bayne will discuss the challenges of recycling in Darien.
Introductory slide show.
Examples of what should and should not be in single stream recycling:
Click below to see what’s allowed and not allowed in Darien Single Stream. Just because it isn’t listed here, doesn’t mean it can’t be recycled – there are separate areas for paint, lightbulbs, batteries, electronics, tires, appliances, food waste, metal, large plastic, yard waste, mattresses, clothes, corrugated, plastic bags, construction debris, … And the Swap Shop is a way to recycle usable stuff. (Or gain more clutter you don’t really want.) You can also pick up shredded mulch, leaf compost, and sometimes food compost.
2019_Darien_Single_Stream_Recycling_(Full_List)
A tour of City Carting Recycling Center. (hover over picture to stop scrolling)
Commercial Haulers
The haulers separate trash from SSR, even though many people seem to think they do not. I believe they do for two main reasons:
- it’s the law and their licenses could be revoked if they are found in violation;
- Darien charges haulers to tip MSW but not SSR. Free tipping of SSR is an incentive to separate – and recycle – SSR. We are one of the few remaining municipalities that continues to get paid for SSR, but that could change when our contract is renegotiated.
It’s also worth noting that the haulers are only required to recycle what goes in the blue bin (ie our SSR list); many of the other items we recycle (ie batteries, light bulbs, e-waste, paint, etc.) must be brought to our facility. We ALWAYS recommend that residents who employ a hauler also get a dump sticker so that they can recycle these additional materials; their permits are priced much lower to account for the fact that they are primarily bringing recyclables and not regular household trash. Note that Seniors can get a free permit.
CT’s problem with waste from “Hartford Current:”
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-ct-outofstate-trash-disposal-20191228-hprk52k2hjbzlj7xz2lztug74q-story.html
Economics and Science of Recycling from “Popular Mechanics” (note date is 2008 before China’s ban on imports):
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a3752/4291566/
Problems with Recycling in Asia from the “Financial Times:”
https://www.ft.com/content/360e2524-d71a-11e8-a854-33d6f82e62f8
Micro-plastics and their effects on humans from “The Conversation:”
https://theconversation.com/we-are-guinea-pigs-in-a-worldwide-experiment-on-microplastics-97514
Recycling facts from Recycle Across America:
https://www.recycleacrossamerica.org/recycling-facts
CT’s Policies from the CT Mirror.
https://ctmirror.org/2020/02/17/is-connecticuts-outdated-recycling-system-in-line-for-an-overhaul/?utm_source=Connecticut+Mirror+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=b6d6010e90-DAILY_BRIEFING_MORNING&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_571d22f8e4-b6d6010e90-68155097
DMA Current Affairs. The Purpose of the Corporation hosted by Bob Baker
We have licensed audio/video conferencing software and are going to (try to) hold the Current Affairs meeting over the internet.
As always, you should review the material in advance on the website:
You should keep the post open to follow Bob’s opening remarks.
The meeting will start at 11:00 EDT.
We’ve had some issues with connectivity. It could that the company’s capacity is overwhelmed – many, many people are going on-line or it could be idiosyncrasies with a person’s PC. (There is no chance it is the skill of the user.)
For simple dial in use the following numbers from any phone.
United States: +1 (872) 240-3412
Access Code: 132-263-437
Access Code: 132-263-437
For the intrepid you can try joining on-line. The meeting will open about 10:30. We won’t have time to troubleshoot so if there are technical problems, use the dial in number.
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://www.gotomeet.me/
New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://global.gotomeeting.
Business Roundtable—Purpose of a Corporation
Pre- August 2019 Maximize Shareholder Value
Corporate Responsibility per Milton Friedman
1970 essay- Maximize Returns to Shareholder
Friedman’s thesis: Corporations are not to make contributions for
“social causes”, shareholders can choose what to give.
Further- Corporations are to obey all laws and regulations.
If corporations make “contributions”, the directors must
conclude such donations create good will and enhance sales.
Current example: Orvis gives 5% of pretax profits for “environmental
causes”. (Could they give 15%?
Comments from Harvard Law School Forum
Re: Business Roundtable Statement on Corporate Mission
Corporate Directors have a fiduciary duty to act in shareholder interest
Thus, decisions not in shareholder interest are illegal
Actions taken by directors will be presumed to be in shareholder interest or they would not be taken.
Directors must adhere to the law so that new Legislative mandates may promote or presume to benefit other stakeholders, but at a cost to shareholders.
Overall question: To what extent do we desire the government to impose
rules that will decrease business profits in order to strive for other benefits
What does the Business Roundtable expect or hope to change with revised statement of purpose?
Former “purpose”: “Maximize shareholder Value”
New “purpose”: “Act to benefit all stakeholders”
Stakeholders: customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders
Possible intentions:
Change corporate reporting on selective topics?
Motivate investments into areas not directly in shareholder interest?
Motivate shareholder resolutions on new corporate action
Bring about new government rules on business actions
Potential areas of Government mandates: ESG
(Environment, Social, Government)
Action regarding global warming;
Other environment improvement measures
Reduction of income inequality
Increase diversity in management personnel
Impose unnecessary costs for named investments
Establish more “days off” for employees
From the WSJ. Financial Advisers Turn to ESG, Warily – WSJ
IEA warns oil companies doing nothing on emissions is not an option
https://eresearch.fidelity.com/eresearch/goto/evaluate/news/basicNewsStory.jhtml?symbols=XOM&storyid=202001191929RTRSNEWSCOMBINED_KBN1ZJ005-OUSBS_1
Capitalism, Alone’ Review: Inclined Toward Inequality
Capitalism Alone
https://lucidmanager.org/milton-friedman-corporate-social-responsibility/
https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2019/09/26/analysis-of-the-business-roundtable-statement/
https://www.coursehero.com/file/8478280/Purpose-of-the-Corporation/
The Davos Crowd Embraces Big Global Government – WSJ
Club captain: Charles Goodyear
Good intro video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtBnu-YtibA
New date and place: DCA second floor for 8:15- 9:15 on Monday December 9.
Discussion leader: Jim Phillips
https://www.alvareztg.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-5g/
https://www.celltowerleaseexperts.com/cell-tower-lease-news/pros-cons-how-will-5g-impact-your-city/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48616174
https://www.investors.com/news/technology/5g-stocks-5g-wireless-stocks/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/science/5g-cellphones-wireless-cancer.html
https://www.barrons.com/articles/5g-stock-opportunities-51572025082?mod=hp_DAY_7
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6894452
Discussion leaders: Jack Fitzgibbons & Gary Banks
The microbiome is the genetic material of all the microbes (bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses) that live on and inside the human body.
It is one of the most promising, yet challenging topics in modern medicine.
The Microbiome is a new field with implications for many different areas including obesity research, causes of arthritis, intestinal ailments and psychiatric illnesses.
Here’s a short introduction to get you started.
https://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/downloads/FF_Microbiome.pdf
Introduction from MSK:
https://www.mskcc.org/blog/what-your-microbiome-and-three-things-could-change-it
Good overview of the microbiome and the many diseases influenced by it.
https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/microbiome/disease/
Amish vs Hutterites – asthma
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/opinion/health-secrets-of-the-amish.html
The Gut Microbiome and Its Role in Obesity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5082693/
New Study Reveals Gut Microbes May Help Protect People Having a Bone Marrow Transplant
From Harvard:
From the Harvard Medical School
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome
Antibiotics can disrupt the gut ecosystem for months.
Cancer Immunotherapy and the Microbiome. A 6 minute video from Johns Hopkins
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/results/directory/profile/0002419/cynthia-sears
Prostate Cancer Therapy and the Gut Microbiome
Are ready for a challenge? This is from journal Nature. Not easy for the layman. The first couple of pages give a good idea how complex and active a research area this is.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1238-8
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-019-0074-5
Animals
The microbiome is important in animals. For instance, here is an article where altering the microbiome of a cow reduced methane production by 95%.
https://animalmicrobiome.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42523-019-0004-4
Just to give you an idea how active the research is in animals. Here are 4 journals that are starting up.
Antimicrobial resistance and the microbiome
Microbiome, Environmental Microbiome and Animal Microbiome are coming together to launch a special series inviting authors to submit their research pertaining to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the microbiome.
The emergence and spread of AMR can only be described as a catastrophic problem for human and animal health. It is projected that there would be more deaths due to AMR than cancer by 2050.
During the last decade a large number of studies have reported the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) and defined in detail how these are mobilised between pathogens and also within communities of bacteria. The impact of antibiotics on microbiomes particularly those of humans and animals is a cause for concern and can alter physiology quite dramatically. In addition the spread of ARG to these microbiomes has been reported and occurs on a global scale clearly indicated in studies of sewage and waste water treatment plants. Further spread may occur under selective conditions in the presence of antibiotics in sewage and other biocides such as detergents both of which could cause significant changes in diversity. We need to understand the impacts of ingression of ARG into microbiomes and consider the wider issue of AMR spread into the environment.
The importance of human microbiomes is indisputable now as many new aspects of their roles have emerged in the past few years and continue to build a complex picture of metabolic interactions with their hosts. Similarly, animal and plant microbiomes studies have provided an exciting view into the potential benefits of healthy, diverse and stable microbiomes for sustainable agriculture. Understanding the persistence and spread of ARG in agricultural and other food production systems such as aquaculture will be critical for food safety and production. We are just beginning to reveal the importance of microbial assemblages in the environment for both bioremediation and biodegradation in addition to the vital roles played in nutrient cycles. Antimicrobial agents can have impact on all these activities in addition to spreading new gene combinations due to the rapid mobilisation of ARGs due to the highly selective effects of antibiotic therapy. Whilst some antibiotics are natural products others are xenobiotics and remain and persist in the environment and mobile ARG will spread as a result of selection. Most naturally occurring resistance genes are chromosomal and further work is needed to investigate these impacts.
Microbiomes may work syntrophically to degrade recalcitrant compounds and recent research has demonstrated the emergence of antibiotic biodegraders within the environment and these bacteria may provide the answer to reduce the persistence of antibiotics and their detrimental effects in nature. By understanding the natural role of antibiotics produced in nature we may find the clues to avoiding the arms race of ever increasing resistance in the face of novel drugs, streptomycin production gene clusters are still found in soil streptomycetes and were dated thought to have emerged several million years ago yet they are still apparently useful in nature today. Further research will inform new ways to administer antibiotics, new types of drugs and new ways to combat resistance.
This is a research are for our an upcoming speaker, Dr. Sarah Kahn
The microbiota–gut–brain axis
This cross-journal collection brings together both human and animal studies covering all aspects of the microbiota-gut-brain axis’ role in health and disease, as well as its therapeutic potential. The participating journals, spanning both neuroscience and microbiology, are listed below.
Submissions should be formatted according to individual journal guidelines. Please indicate clearly in the cover letter that the manuscript is to be considered for this collection.
All manuscripts will undergo standard peer review, and must be submitted through the relevant journal’s online submission system by 31st December 2019.
Engineering optimal livestock microbiomes
The human population is predicted to reach approximately 9.7 billion by 2050. Consequently, ensuring future food availability, safety and nutritional content is crucial. Gastrointestinal tract microbiomes of livestock animals play a crucial role in processing dietary components and providing the host with the necessary nutrients for growth. Recently, the terminology of the holobiont (the host and its microbiota) has been introduced in recognition of the importance of the interactions between the host and its microbiota and their influence on host phenotype, and the need to consider them as one unit.
Whilst livestock holobionts have evolved over millennia, this is often does not result in increased food availability through enhanced production, as the GI tract microbes prioritise their own nutrition before the nutrition of the host. This means that feed conversion is often sub-optimal and therefore understanding what is the ‘best’ microbiome from a production perspective, and biotic and abiotic factors which govern microbiome composition, are key to our ability to feed the human population in the future.
Discussion leader: Bob Baker
8:15, DCA Lilian Gade Room
Special guest: John Visi, Darien Registrar of Voters
DMA Current Affairs
October topic-Election Regulations
Regulations: Past-Present-Future
Basic Authority: US constitution through first ten amendments has no mention of rules for elections; hence authority is granted to the several states.
Two broad divisions of regulations: (1) who is eligible to vote. (2) who may contribute, and by how much, to influence election results.
ELIGIBILITY
Three Constitutional amendments expanded voter eligibility. XVth Amendment (1870) said race could not be a limit on eligibility. XIXth Amendment (1929) said sex could not limit eligibility. XXVI Amendment (1971) stated eligibility cannot be denied to anyone age 18 or older.
Broad objectives: Insure all persons who are eligible to vote will have THE OPPORTUNITY to vote. No persons who are not eligible to vote WILL BE ABLE TO VOTE.
CONTRIBUTIONS to influence election results
Basic protection: permission is derived from First Amendment freedom of speech, freedom of press.
Broad objective: to insure all information relevant to an election is available to the voters.
Concerns: Ability to finance publication of views can give some individuals/organizations an unfair advantage.
Readings:
https://legaldictionary.net/voting-rights-act-of-1965/
Of note here is that contributions are not allowed from persons who do not have legal status in US.
Given that to gain participation to the next Dem. Debate, persons need to have a certain number of individual donations. How enforced?
https://www.thoughtco.com/current-political-campaign-contribution-limits-3322056
https://www.politicallawbriefing.com/2012/12/is-my-donation-really-anonymous/
https://www.fairvote.org/universal_voter_registration
The ‘Citizens United’ decision and why it matters – Center for Public Integrity
Voter Fraud is Real – Federalist
https://thefederalist.com/2016/10/13/voter-fraud-real-heres-proof/
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth
https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/debunking-voter-fraud-myth
Heritage Foundation
https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/heritage-explains/voter-fraud
GOP Voter Fraud in North Carolina Invalidates Election
Kolback Voter Fraud Commission Disbanded
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/report-trump-commission-did-not-find-widespread-voter-fraud
https://www.thoughtco.com/current-political-campaign-contribution-limits-3322056
Dual registration and/or voting in the United States
It is not illegal to be registered to vote in more than one state.
It is illegal to vote more than once in the same election.
Many states do not address the issue of notifying a state from which a voter has moved when registering in a state to which the voter has moved.
States may remove a voter registration when a registered voter has not voted
for a specified number of times.
Readings suggested by John Visi – one of Darien Registrar of Voters
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/counterintelligence/foreign-influence/protected-voices
National Rifle Assn: Total Contributions | OpenSecrets
https://www.wsj.com/articles/honest-ads-act-is-false-advertising-11570995764
Discussion leader: Sunil Saksena & Alan Greene
8:15 in the DCA’s Lilian Gade room.
Agenda
- What is AI
- Why is AI important
- Current Applications of AI
- Ethics and hazards associated with AI
THE RESPONSIBLE AI
Needs to be ethically sound and complies with regulations
Foundation of end-to-end governance
Supported by strong performance that address’s bias and fairness; explainability and robust security.
FIVE KEY AI CHALLENGES:
Governance:
Who is accountable?
Does AI align with the business strategy?
What controls need to be in place to track performance and problems?
Are the results consistent and reproducible?
Ethics and Regulation
AI solutions should be morally responsible and legally and ethically defensible.
Explainability
AI should be easily explain to members of the organization, shareholders, outside reviewers and
consumers.
Robust and secure
AI systems need to be safe resilient and secure.
Fairness
Must be fair without bias
Here are a few articles to prepare for the discussion :
How to Build Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust
Book: “Applied Artificial Intelligence” by Mariya Yao
June 12 845-945 at the DCA (John Hess and Doug Campbell)
5G networks are the next generation of mobile internet connectivity, offering faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices than ever before.
5G will greatly impact manufacturing, energy and utilities, agriculture, retail, financial services to name only a few.
Jim Phillips will lead a discussion on the issue of illegal immigration on June 20, 2019, 8:15am in the Lilian Gade room at the DCA.
https://www.numbersusa.com/solutions
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/real-reform-can-fix-immigration
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_some_realistic_solutions_to_immigration
Monthly arrests at border reach highest point since 2007 – The Washington Post