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What is Generation Z? Jan 27, 2020

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What is Generation Z?

The term Generation Z refers to people born from around the end of the 1990s onwards. Like all generations, the group has its own supposed defining characteristics. Members of Generation Z are often labelled as hyper-digital, super idealist and even depressed. But what’s the scientific basis for all of this?

The term Generation Z originated in 2012 from an online contest organised by the daily newspaper USA Today. OK, so it’s not the most original name, with Generation Z following on directly from Generation Y, also known as the millennials. They in turn followed on from Generation X.

When people first started talking about Generation Z, some saw 1995 as a would-be cut-off date. Others preferred to go with the year 2000. In the end, the Pew Research Center, an American think tank, came up with 1st January 1997 as a start date.

Of course, the date is somewhat arbitrary. Researchers justify the date saying people born from then on have a different perception of the world. For example, they don’t have any memory of 9/11, but have always lived in a world that’s afraid of terrorism. They didn’t witness the creation of new technologies first-hand, but use electronic devices from an early age.

According to The Economist, members of Generation Z are more educated, open-minded and militant, but also more stressed than preceding generations. Above all, they are generally criticised when arriving in the workplace. Too mollycoddled, oversensitive, smartphone-dependent, asocial, unaccepting of a hierarchy. In other words, a headache for a lot of companies. But along with that comes opportunities too. Generation Z are also the next big group of consumers. So it’s better for companies to learn to understand them!

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What is foie gras? Jan 25, 2020

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What is foie gras?

Foie gras is a French delicacy often eating during the holiday season. The words foie gras literally translate to “fatty liver”, due to the way it is made. Ducks and geese are deliberately fattened for several days in order to produce foie gras. Animal rights groups are strongly in favour of banning foie gras production, a step which has been taken in several countries.

The fattening process is known as “gavage”, and has its roots in ancient Egypt, where similar techniques were used to fatten animals. Foie gras spread to ancient Greece and Rome. Over time, Jews migrating to western and central Europe brought the tradition with them. Foie gras gradually became part of French cultural heritage, a status which is even protected by law. In the 1980s, production became industrialized and it became more and more popular among families at Christmas time.

Nowadays, geese and mulard ducks are used to produce foie gras. The animals are force-fed large quantities of corn for around 12 days and then slaughtered. The fattening process is carried out by inserting a 10-inch tube into the birds’ throats. Their livers accumulate so much fat, they swell up to several times their normal size. This condition is a disease known as hepatic steatosis.

Every year, animal rights groups around the world criticise foie gras producers. They cite findings from researchers which show that the force-feeding process is unnecessarily harmful. Organs surrounding the liver are often squashed, while the animals often also suffer from fatigue and diarrhoea.

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What is gamification in the workplace? Jan 23, 2020

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What is gamification in the workplace?

Human beings love playing games. They stimulate our hormones, our brains and our emotions. Now, games wouldn’t necessarily be the first thing you’d associate with your job. But some managers are using gamification to help their employees feel more satisfied at work. In turn, they are often more efficient.

So gamification in the workplace means using games to motivate or train employees. The idea is in fact not totally new. In 1920s Soviet Russia, engineers would organise competitions between workers in order to improve their productivity and cultural level. In the 80s and 90s, when fulfilment at work became a hot topic in society, gamification really took off.

It’s now common to see workplaces with foosball tables and slides, as companies aim to instill a sense of fun in the environment. The term gamification comes from the word “game”, meaning game elements or principles are used in a non-game context. After all, games are structured by rules, which are part and parcel of worklife.

Amazon are one example of an American company using gamification in their warehouses. Screens are installed next to workers’ stations, displaying video games. Every time a worker retrieves or stores a product, that physical action is translated into a virtual action on the screen. For example, it could be a car progressing around a virtual track. Workers can win badges and prizes by having high productivity levels.

Clearly, gamification is intended to make tasks less tedious, in order to create a greater tempo and better mood in the work environment. And it appears that productivity is generally improved as a result. With video games all the rage among younger generations, could gamification in the workplace have a bright future ahead?

Some purists think mixing work and play takes away too much of the traditional pleasure element. In the age of gamification at work, the game is no longer simply played for its own sake, but for financial reasons. It can even be seen as manipulation, because the true purpose of the game is somewhat hidden.

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What is the keto diet? Jan 20, 2020

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What is the keto diet?

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet which allegedly helps weight loss and fighting diseases such as diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and cancer. This diet is growing in popularity, but not without its risks.

The keto diet was invented in the United States in 1920 to combat certain forms of epilepsy in children. Other treatments came along, pushing it to the background until interest picked up again. You can find dozens of books and Youtube videos on the subject.

The idea is simple enough. Fats, proteins and carbohydrates are the macronutrients that make up the major part of our diets. With the keto diet, you drastically reduce the amount of one of those three groups. Carbs are more or less banned. To make up for that, you consume fats in larger quantities, as much as 90% of your daily energy intake. So say goodbye to cakes, cereals and bananas; hello to butter, meat, avocado and vegetable oils.

The keto diet works like this. The lack of carbohydrates makes your liver work, converting fats into fatty acids and ketone bodies. These ketone bodies replace carbs as your body’s main energy source, and your body starts burning fat.

It’s a pretty difficult diet to follow - you really have to be disciplined. But the short term results seem to be there. You can easily lose 5 - 10 pounds in a few weeks. Followers talk about the advantages the diet can have for preventing Alzheimer’s. It can also stop tumors from growing as they basically feed off glucose. However, scientists are adamant that no solid research backs up these claims.

Some nutritionists have pointed to undesirable effects such as nausea, constipation, fatigue and vitamin or mineral deficiency. In the long term, the keto diet could increase your risk of cardiovascular diseases or kidney stones. And don’t even get me started on the excessive animal fats in the diet. They can bring on conditions like fatty liver disease or hypercholesterolemia.

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What is endometriosis? Jan 18, 2020

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What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition which affects one in ten women. The main symptom is pelvic pain, which can be more intense during menstruation. Although it affects a relatively high proportion of women, the condition is commonly misdiagnosed.

Each month, the womb lining thickens as part of the menstrual cycle. This is to prepare the womb to host a foetus in case of pregnancy. If no fertilization takes place, the lining detaches and is discharged from the body along with blood.

Endometriosis is sometimes described as retrograde menstruation. Instead of leaving the body through the vagina, cells flow in the opposite direction up through the fallopian tubes. It can reach the organs of the pelvis, such as the ovaries, bladder and colon. The cuts and cysts caused can be very painful.

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What are skin-whitening creams? Jan 16, 2020

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What are skin-whitening creams?

Believe it or not, the market for skin-whitening creams is rapidly expanding. Many people are using these products to obtain whiter skin, despite health authorities warning about how dangerous they can be.

Skin-whitening creams actually work by removing the surface layers of skin, or reducing the body’s production of melanin, the pigment which gives skin its colour. When their use is prescribed and supervised by a dermatologist, these creams can be useful in treating melasma, a skin condition where brown or grey patches develop on a person’s face.

But these products have now gone way beyond their intended medical use. In 2019, the United Kingdom’s Local Government Association said that skin-whitening creams should be “avoided at all costs”. Nevertheless, it’s estimated this industry will grow to be worth over $25bn by 2024!

The popularity of skin-whitening creams is partly down to a form of discrimination known as colorism. What that means is the lighter a person’s skin, the more privileged they are in society. Fashion and lifestyle magazines generally feature white people much more prominently than those of other ethnic backgrounds. On their covers and pages, white skin is sold as being a standard of beauty. Meanwhile, photographs of models are often retouched to make their skin look lighter. As you can imagine, colorism is leading millions of people to turn to skin whitening products, in order to change their appearance. It’s happening in many parts of the world, from Europe to Africa, to India.

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What are bed bugs ? Jan 13, 2020

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What are bed bugs ?

Bed bugs are insects that feed exclusively on blood. They often live on furniture or bedding and bite humans during the night. Eliminating bed bugs from one’s home can prove to be very difficult. And the problem is getting worse as these modern-day vampires are becoming more and more common across the world.

The most common kind of bed bug is the Cimex Lectularius species. They measure around a quarter of an inch in length, have a flat oval-shaped body and are of a reddish-brown colour. Getting bitten by a bed bug isn’t painful, but the bites can become very itchy.

Bed bugs have been around feeding on human blood since ancient times. They were particularly abundant during World War II, until a potent insecticide called DDT came along. DDT nearly wiped out bed bugs in many countries, but they have made an unwelcome comeback in the 21st century. Bed bugs are back with a vengeance, and have been known to invade entire neighborhoods across the United States and Europe.

Bed bugs have almost certainly become more resistant to pesticides. At the same time, the most potent and dangerous pesticides have gradually been banned. The constant increase in global tourism has also had a role to play in the spread of bed bugs around the world. Bed bugs can just as easily set up home in hotels, hospitals, buses and subway trains. The issue is not just an issue of cleanliness or dirtiness; anyone can be contaminated.

Bed bugs don’t usually cause any significant health problems. But an infestation in your household can quickly become a nightmare. It is extremely difficult to totally get rid of these insects. They lurk inside mattresses, walls and many other places where they are hard to find.

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What is HAARP ? Jan 11, 2020

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What is HAARP ?

The acronym HAARP stands for High Frequency Auroral Research Program. It’s an American research project dedicated to analysing the ionosphere. HAARP is funded by the American armed forces, and has been the target of conspiracy theorists since the 1990s. They believe the program is responsible for natural disasters and mind-controlling radio waves.

The ionmmm osphere is a layer of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, from around 37 miles to 620 miles in altitude. Its characteristics are complex and varied due to solar activity. It is of interest to scientists studying the atmosphere, as well as armed forces, as it plays an important role in radio wave propagation.

So the US army decided to finance the HAARP research program, in order to study the ionosphere, and more specifically the geomagnetic storms which occur inside it. Work on the facility began in 1993 in Alaska. The state was chosen because auroras occur frequently, and because it’s far away from wave interference caused by human activity. Such as electronics and lights for example.

HAARP uses a high-frequency radio transmitter to temporarily excite precise parts of the atmosphere. The transmitter has 180 antennas and a total of 3.6 MW in transmitter power. In total, up to 300 million dollars were invested in the program. But the army decided to abandon it in 2014, as it was becoming too expensive to make equipment meet anti-pollution standards. The University of Alaska then took over the program, as well as all the conspiracy theories that come with it.

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What is greenwashing ? Jan 10, 2020

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What is greenwashing ?

Greenwashing is a marketing practice used by corporations to convince consumers that their business is environmentally friendly. Of course the aim is really to sell more products. Consumers may be convinced they are acting in an environmentally responsible way. While in reality brands are often hiding practices that are not at all helpful to the planet.

The term greenwashing first appeared at the start of the 1990s, around about the time mainstream Western society was becoming more aware of environmental issues. As soon as some kind of trend would appear, advertisers were lying in wait to capitalize. By the 2000s, ads using environmental claims were everywhere.

Greenwashing is often very visually apparent. A product’s packaging might change, or it could be the communication about the product. For example, the colour green is used more; you see more flowers, trees or animals. Sometimes brands are more explicit in boasting about their environmental performance. And in a way that a lot of people would see as being inappropriate.

Their products, whether it be anything from cars to detergents, can turn out to actually be harmful. In those cases, it’s borderline false advertising. In America, the Federal Trade Commission had to update its “Green Guides” in 2012, cracking down on greenwashing. Now brands have started using subtler tactics, making detection more difficult.

Coffee is a perfect example and many authors have criticised this kind of greenwashing.

One of the world’s best known coffee brands has managed to engineer a luxury image for itself, and also sell itself as being environmentally friendly. The reality is totally different however.

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What is FGM ? Jan 09, 2020

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What is female genital mutilation ?

Female genital mutilation (or FGM) is an operation whereby some or all of the external female genitalia are removed, for traditional reasons. Procedures vary across the world, but most commonly the clitoris and labia are cut off using a blade. FGM is illegal in many countries, but still common across the world. In 2016, Unicef estimated that at least 200 million women in 30 countries had been subjected to the practice during their lives.

FGM is usually carried out by an older woman, taking on the role of circumciser. The cutting may be done with or without anaesthesia, often using a non-sterile item like a knife, razor, pair of scissors, piece of glass or fingernails. The circumciser partially or completely removes the clitoris, and sometimes the inner labia too. In some cases, the outer labia are sewn closed with the vagina only opened for sexual intercourse when the girl is older.

FGM is most commonly practised in Subsaharan Africa and the Middle East. In countries like Somalia, Guinea and Djibouti, it’s estimated that over 90% of women between the ages of 15-49 have been subjected to FGM. A CDC report in 2016 estimated that over 500,000 women in the United States were either at risk of FGM, or already victims.

FGM has been carried out for thousands of years actually, since well before Islam or Christianity arrived in the regions in question. Some communities defend the practice, saying it preserves women’s virginity, increases sexual pleasure for men and decreases it for women. Other justifications include saying it is a rite of passage for young girls before they become an adult.

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