For the love of puppies

While crytocurrencies have had their value driven up recently by hordes of eager buyers, they are not the only assets worth investing in. Same can be said for cockapoos. Till the start of December, Bitcoin’s value has risen by about 170 per cent. Surprisingly, in United Kingdom, the value of a Yorkshire terrier is up by the same amount. One could argue that it is a price worth paying for given the returns of mental well-being that a loving puppy can provide. In the West, pets have become more expensive as lonely homeworkers clamour for companionship during the pandemic. Furthermore, remote working has made caring for furry friends a lot easier, resulting in demand outstripping supply. So much so that in the UK in April and early May, there were more than 400 buyers for every pet advertised, according to Pets4Homes, a digital platform that connects breeders and rescue shelters with those who would like to bring home an animal.

(Adapted from “What’s a Better Bet, Bitcoin or a Cockapoo?” published by Bloomberg Opinion on December 4, 2020)

The pitfalls of remote work

In recent years, big names such as IMB, Yahoo! and AT&T implemented expansive remote-work programmes that were eventually abandoned after disappointing results. Poor employee communication, lack of motivation and performance, lower creativity and innovation have been some of the obstacles faced in the past. There is good reason why US tech giants have invested in lavish campuses and free meals in recent decades as a way to encourage rich, in-person, spontaneous, non-work interactions since these build a culture of innovation. The lesson here is that even fully remote teams need to regularly gather for in-person interactions. The remote work pioneer Upwork recommends building in plans for face-to-face time as “we are not machines, after all”. This need will pull many workers back to office once the pandemic is brought under control.

(Adapted from “Glassdoor Workplace Trends 2021 — 5 Trends Reshaping How We Work After Covid-19” By Andrew Chamberlain, published by Glassdoor on November 19, 2020)

Climate change and decreasing fresh water

The Arabian Sea has risen by 1.1mm during the period 1856-2000. Pakistan’s 1,000km coastline makes millions of people in the southern coastal region and the Indus delta vulnerable to seawater intrusion and the contamination of freshwater by seawater. According to some reports, nearly a million acres of cultivable land in Thatta, Badin and Sajawal district has been lost due to the intrusion of seawater. Flooding has forced fishing communities and farmers to seek alternative homes and livelihood in nearby cities and towns. Pakistan’s freshwater needs are met by the River Indus whose tributaries are fed largely by the ice and snow melts in the high altitude Himalaya-Karakoram-Hindu Kush mountain glaciers that are sensitive to higher temperatures. Given Pakistan’s dependence on agriculture and livestock for food security and livelihood, large segments of population are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events.

(Adapted from “Tackling Climate Change During a Pandemic” by Shafqat Kakakhel, published by the Jinnah Institute on August 24, 2020)

Shops’ surveillance to reduce shoplifting

In the south of England, 18 shops have been using real-time facial recognition cameras to scan shoppers that enter the store. The Southern Co-op franchise has been using this technology to reduce abuse against its staff as well as shoplifting. Every time someone enters the shop, cameras scan their faces, convert the footage to numerical data and compare against a watch list of ‘suspects’ to see if there is a match. If a match is made, staff members receive notifications on their smartphones. Southern Co-op says that there has been an 80pc increase in assaults and violence against staff members this year when someone tries to apprehend a shoplifter. So far, over 3,000 incidents of theft have been diverted. The facial recognition technology is from Facewatch, a London-based startup.

(Adapted from “Some UK Stores Are Using Facial Recognition to Track Shoppers” published by the Wired magazine on December 12, 2020)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, December 28th, 2020