FEAST OR FAMINE

Most parents are saving for the education of their children, no matter where they are in the world. Some save more, depending on their country and their perception of the importance of education. An HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management (RBWM) study, called The Value of Education Springboard for Success , of 4,500 parents in 15 countries revealed country-by-country differences to their savings plans for education ( The Financial , Finchannel.com, April 21, 2014). On average, 58% of parents globally believe that money spent on their child’s education is the best investment for their children and the family. In Indonesia and Turkey 75% of parents indicated that education expenditure was the best investment, while in China it was 77% of parents, and in Brazil it was 79% of parents. The study revealed that 89% of parents surveyed want their children to go to university and 62% want them to study to post-graduate level. They believe that the higher the educatio...

Family businesses are passed down from generation to generation – but the dilemma is when to pass on the responsibility and control. The firm PwC studied 200 next generation family members in 21 countries expecting to take over the family business in a publication called Bridging the Gap: Handing over the Family Business to the Next Generation ( The Financial , finchannel, April 21, 2014). The issues examined included: how family firms are planning the handover, how the next generation views the handover, and the challenges faced by family businesses in implementing the handover – the succession. From the study, two “gaps” became apparent: (1) the credibility gap; and (2) the communication gap. The credibility gap is the transition from a trusted name to the maintenance of the reputation during the handover, while the communication gap is the crack or chasm that can open between parents and children in talking about succession. PwC looked at the effect of global chan...

Procrastinators put off doing things – or do something else instead – or think the task through thoroughly before doing it. They can’t do the painting because they are doing the gardening, or they’ll write the report after they have washed the dishes. Or they’ll wash the dishes after they have played with the children. Impulsive people will act on the spur of the minute, without too much thought. They’ll buy things on impulse, or go on holidays on impulse, or move the furniture in their apartment on impulse. Procrastination and impulsiveness appear to be opposite ends of a continuum of personality traits. But maybe not … Research indicates that procrastination is an evolved trait in humankind. It seems that when humans lived in caves, hunting and gathering were the first priorities and anything after that they could ponder for ages. Impulsiveness too is an evolved trait, say the researchers. Again, from our cave days, acting on impulsive was more likely to ensure that the...

The exhibition “Faces” by Austrian artist, Georg Wachberg, opened at Europe House, Freedom Square, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday evening. It has a brief showing until 30 April, 2014. The solo exhibition displays 38 artworks; some are screen ink on paper, but many are oil on used cardboard, which the artist collected from his environment. Consequently, although some are “untitled” others are named after a numeral or phrase on the cardboard or other material, such as “589” - “item no. 83033” - and “ingrid nairz kollectionen” (from the entrance ticket to an art gallery) – all oil on used cardboard. Many have their eyes closed. Wachberg says “the faces have their eyes closed because they pray and meditate. It is this moment when all the anxieties, sadness as well as the greed and ambition move and make room for something that seems more profound to me: inner peace” (from Europe House’s Facebook page). With eyes closed, the images do seem, as the artist says, in conte...

What's the opposite of a baby boomer? Answer: an upscale millennial. Baby boomers are those born post war, from 1946 to 1964 – a “bulge” of births – whose generation introduced family planning and contraception, and are currently moving into their “retirement” years. They are the group with the most disposal income and influence in society. Their voice, as the globe fades to grey, is heard amongst discussions on ageing, retirement, health, extended care, dying and death. But, to rival the baby boomers are the “upscale millennials” – the cohort aged between 18 and 34 years – that grew up with Internet access and high household incomes. Globally the upscale millennials make up 25% of the world’s population. And their impact as consumers is considerable. In America, the cohort are 24% of the country’s population, while in China they are 28% of the population, and in Brazil and India they comprise 30% of the population. The Nielsen Company says that these are the ones who...

An Australian doctor believes the country needs to re-think how it treats sick elderly patients in hospital. He calls for more discussion of the issue. The outgoing director of an Intensive Care Unit in a Sydney hospital, who pioneered intensive care medicine, thinks keeping elderly patients alive in hospital – at the end of their life – may be overtreating them. Older patients are being treated more intensively and expensively than ever before and “sometimes you wonder whether it’s the right thing,” Bob Wright, AM, said (Canberra Times, April 22, 2014). He has worked in intensive care since it was introduced in the 1960s and 70s – for 43 years. Wright said that there were elderly people who led an active life and were healthy that could benefit from intensive care, but there was a “spectrum” of doctors, patients, and families who preferred to prolong “vigorous” treatment at the end of a person’s life, even when the patient was “irretrievable.” Some questions ar...

A knowledge-based economy is often equated with high-tech and information technology, but it is more than that. The International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET) in Georgia describes three traditional economic sectors: (1) agriculture (primary industries); (2) manufacturing (secondary sector); and (3) services (tertiary sector) – Finchannel.com, April 21, 2014). A knowledge-based economy fits under the tertiary sector because it is based upon human capital – education, knowledge, and other intellectual inputs – not solely high-tech. It is a service industry that aligns its labour force with its development and future needs. And more importantly, a knowledge-based economy promotes business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. There are countries that have taken the high-tech approach to a knowledge-based economy within the last 30 years – with exceptional success. These include Israel (with over 60 Israeli companies listed on the American techno...

University of Queensland photo Almost everyone has heard of the scientific experiment called the “pitch drop experiment” – it’s been ongoing for 83 years. Nothing much happens, and researchers spend more time watching it than recording its results. But something rather spectacular happened on 17 April 2014 – it produced a result ( Canberra Times , April 23, 2014). The world’s longest-running laboratory experiment started in 1927 when Thomas Parnell, the founding professor of physics at the University of Queensland in Australia wanted to demonstrate to his students that objects that look solid can in fact flow like liquid, no matter how slowly it takes. He took a lump of pitch – the kind of pitch that is used in shipbuilding, bitumen or asphalt to make roads and pathways. That’s where the term “pitch-black” comes from. Some refer to pitch as tar, but pitch is actually more solid than tar. It is a hard substance that will break when hit with a hammer. Pitch is semi-sol...

Countries in tropical regions are prone to cyclones which cause significant damage to crops, especially tree crops such as native fruits (bananas) and exotic fruits. The exotic tropical fruits include lychee, rambutan, durian, mangosteen, jackfruit, macadamia nuts, and avocado. Trees that take years to produce a crop can be devastated by a cyclone in a matter of minutes. Farmers in cyclone prone areas of northern Australia have experimented with disaster management for their crops, in order to reduce damage, and maintain productivity during the roughest of weather. For example, two disastrous cyclones hit the region within a five-year period, leading to farmers leaving the land permanently. As a result Australia’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) commissioned two projects to identify and address cyclone-related issues for primary producers (Rural Diversity, RIRDC, Issue No. 14, Summer 2014). One of the major lessons learned in the first ...