> home
> About
> Contact Us
> Editorial Info
> IEEE-USA

09.11

By Terrance Malkinson

As we experience yet another downturn in the economy, many are increasingly concerned about prospects for their future and the future of their children.  Regrettably, the term “jobless recovery” is becoming the norm with each economic cycle. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The number of unemployed persons (13.9 million) and the unemployment rate (9.1 percent) changed little in July. Since April, the unemployment rate has shown little definitive movement.”

Of particular concern is that many “experts” envision no change for many years. Some even believe that we are doomed. While other “experts” believe that they have the ultimate solution.  Others believe — and possibly correctly — that we are at the starting edge of an economic revolution not unlike that of the agricultural or industrial revolution.

These are challenging times for political and business leaders of many nations and for employees seeking sustainable meaningful employment.  Times are particularly challenging for our youth making difficult decisions about the best educational pathway, and who, after spending many years in preparation for their career, graduate deeply in debt and unable to find employment.   Many speak of the importance of innovation and indeed it is very important.  An extensive and authoritative body of knowledge exists on management of technology and innovation — we know how to be innovative. We have always been leaders in cultivating and educating the most creative and innovative minds in history. From these minds, products and services of enormous benefit to all globally have emerged.  What we often fail to do is to capitalize on the innovations nationally by not manufacturing the goods or providing the services ourselves.

Perhaps it is time to revise our definition of “business.”  We might focus on more return to the employee rather than financial return to the stockholder.  We might focus on building a society less based on individual achievement and more on collaboration.  Business might be based on respect for the employee and the greater social purpose of employment.

Humanity has proven over and over again throughout history that we can overcome what initially appears to be insurmountable challenges and emerge stronger and better. One only has to look at our standard of living now and compare it to ten years ago.  We are, in general, much better off in all aspects of our life. Keep things in perspective, always believe in yourself, and reach out to others in a positive manner. We have the ability within ourselves to overcome all challenges.

Other Bytes

Here are some of the things going on in and around the community:

• In “The Code War” [Bloomberg Businessweek,  25-31 July 2011, pp. 51-57, www.businessweek.com], Michael Riley and Ashlee Vance discuss the increasing frequency and severity of cyber espionage and nation-state backed hacking incidents. Examples of recent cyber-attacks, history of the problem, hacking techniques, and challenges in eliminating it are discussed.

• A series of five articles — "Best Protective Steps"; "How Old is Your Heart?"; "Is it a Heart Attack?"; "The Tests you Need"; and "Heart-surgeon Ratings" — discuss important consumer related issues related to heart disease. [“The Business of Healing Hearts,” Consumer Reports, pp.26-32, September 2011,  www.consumerreports.org]. The informational articles cover the topic in a reader-friendly manner from the individual's point-of-view, alerting you to questions to ask your health care providers.

• The most recent issue of Harvard Business Review [89(7/8), July-August 2011, www.hbr.org] spotlights the topic of building a culture of trust and innovation through collaboration.  A series of five articles discuss how to change organizational culture from individual achievement to collaboration.

• Many athletes, techno-geeks and patients meticulously monitor their personal metrics to assist them in making better choices about their health and behavior. In “The Measured Life” [MIT Technology Review,  114(4):38-45, July-August 2011, www.technologyreview.com], Emily Singer discusses new devices that monitor activity, sleep, diet and other functions that could help make us healthier and more productive. Stories of entrepreneurs who are starting up new businesses developing this technology and marketing it to early adopters are provided.

• “The earth beneath our feet is the Earth’s infrastructure for the resources that sustain our civilizations-and our futures.” That is the opening statement by Lester Brown in his article “Eroding Futures: Why Healthy Soil Matters to Civilization” [The Futurist. 45(4):23-30.  July-August, 2011. www.wfs.org]. Brown discusses many important issues related to the importance of the natural assets of the world and how it is being compromised, and offers a sustainable plan to preserve soil.

• The feature article of the June 2011 issue of Information Outlook, “Accepting the Challenge,” [15(4):12-25.  www.sla.org/io] provides insights into the ways in which libraries are responding to become “future ready” so that they are positioned to meet the needs of patrons as information, particularly multi-media, continues to grow. A series of articles “Preparing to be Future Ready,” "Using Online Communities in Professional Associations,” and “Aligning through Knowledge Management” discuss important librarianship issues as the transition to the information age continues.

• Today the majority of professional journal articles in all fields are increasingly co-authored. Publications are an important criterion for scholarly activity and often linked to performance reviews, promotions and successful funding applications. Deans of 440 accredited colleges of business were surveyed on their views on undeserved authorship in business journals and the impact of these undeserved authorships upon the faculty performance reward system [“College of Business Deans’ Views on Undeserved Authorships in Business Journals,”  Journal of Faculty Development, 25(2):5-11,  May 2011,  www.newforums.com]. The conclusion for the research of Edgar Manton and Donald English was that many Deans were aware of the problem, with forty-one percent feeling that the practice is “somewhat extensive.”

• The cover story of the July issue of Scientific American discusses the question “Can We Get Any Smarter?” [“The Limits of Intelligence,”  Scientific American, 305(1):36-43, www.scientificamerican.com]. Douglas Fox discuss laws of physics that might prevent the human brain from evolving into a more powerful thinking machine, and muses on how humans might still be able to achieve higher intelligence collectively, and that technology might enable us to expand our mind outside the confines of our body.

Terrance Malkinson is a communications specialist, business analyst and futurist. He is currently an international correspondent for IEEE-USA Today's Engineer, an associate editor for IEEE Canadian Review, and a member of the editorial advisory board of IEEE The Institute. He was Vice-Chair of the IEEE-USA Communications Committee (2004-2010), and editor-in-chief of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Digest (2004-2008). He was an elected Senator of the University of Calgary and an elected Governor of the IEEE Engineering Management Society as well as an elected Administrative Committee member of the IEEE Professional Communication Society. He has been the editor of several IEEE conference proceedings, and past editor of IEEE Engineering Management. He is the author of more than 420 publications, and is an accomplished triathlete. His career path includes being an accomplished technical supervisor and medical researcher at the University of Calgary a business proposal manager for the General Electric Company, an associate for Sears Canada Inc. and research administrator with the School of Health and Public Safety/Applied Research and Innovation Services at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary Canada.

The author is grateful to the professional support of the Haskayne School of Business Library at the University of Calgary. He can be reached at todaysengineer@ieee.org.