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 S11Managing Change, One Day at a Time   At a client’s off-site meeting a few years ago, I gave a talk on how companies can bring about dramatic cultural change—the focus of my firm’s consulting work. At the end, a man quietly approached and asked, “Are you a friend of Bill’s?” Seeing my confused expression, he attempted a clarification: “Are you a friend of Bill W’s?” “Who’s Bill W?” I said. The man explained that Bill Wilson was the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and that members use the question “Are you a friend of Bill’s?” to discreetly inquire about whether acquaintances are in AA. “I’m not,” I replied. “Why do you ask?” He said that the methods I’d described to lead change reminded him of the methods AA uses to help people stop drinking—so much so that he’d wondered if I was a 12-stepper myself. I thought it was an interesting exchange but gave it no further thought at the time.
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S62Replacing shipbuilding with creative industries won't be without risk for Northern Ireland's economy  If you’ve ever watched Game of Thrones, The Fall, or Line of Duty, you’ve already witnessed Northern Ireland’s growing role in the global film and TV industry. But its popularity as a location for film shoots is only one part of a growing role within the creative industries sector. The launch of a £72 million film-making complex in Belfast this year, Studio Ulster, is another big step towards the region’s aim to become a creative industries hub. The new studios will offer virtual production, alongside traditional facilities for film, animation, video games and broadcasting.
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S55Soul Brothers: the story of a band that revolutionised South African music  Because of that very scarcity of a public record, the first kind might miss many parts of the story that can’t be checked in formal records and archives. The second risks being bent out of shape by hero-worship or fallible memory.So the book, recently revised and relaunched for its second edition, combines the strengths of both kinds of biography, and avoids most of their weaknesses.
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S42True Detective: Night Country's indigenous representation offers hope for decolonising television  True Detective: Night Country, the fourth season of the HBO/Sky drama, is a twist on its familiar neo-noir mystery format, starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as the lead detectives. It’s the first time women have been at the show’s helm.The season is set in Ennis, a fictional mining town in Alaska, during a polar night. The local indigenous community, Iñupiat, (a real group of indigenous Alaskans) have formed families and social ties with incomers over the years, but their coexistence is not without hurdles.
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S41Senegal's pink lake is on the verge of disappearing - how to protect it  Lake Retba, better known as Lac Rose (the Pink Lake), is located around 35km from the city of Dakar, Senegal. It sits in a depression with a shoreline 6.5 metres below sea level.The lake is isolated from the sea by about 1km of sand dunes. Its fresh water comes from the seasonal water table in the dunes, which are higher than the lake. Thus the sea provides most of the lake’s water and all of its salt.
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S35Oscars 2024: Our predictions for next week's nominations  Caryn James: There are only four films with any real chance of winning: Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon, which are likely to battle it out for the prize, along with the audacious Poor Things and the smart commercial juggernaut that is Barbie. For any other films, the cliché is actually true this time: the nomination is the real honour. The Holdovers, American Fiction and Anatomy of a Fall are likely nominees, possibly along with The Zone of Interest and Maestro, even though that has been losing traction. It would be terrific if Celine Song's jewel-like Past Lives snuck in instead. But the most serious omission is likely to be Ava DuVernay's stirring film about caste and race, Origin, which hasn't been part of the awards conversation. DuVernay has been making a strong public-relations push to correct that recently – but it might have come too late.Nicholas Barber: In recent years, the Oscars have favoured such quirky independent films as Coda, Nomadland and Everything Everywhere All at Once, but this will be the year of high-profile, high-budget Hollywood hits. The nominations – including best picture – are bound to be split between Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Barbie and Poor Things. Of the other contenders, the one I'd most like to see on the list is Jonathan Glazer's staggering Holocaust drama, The Zone of Interest. And this category now has room for 10 nominees, so look out for American Fiction, The Holdovers, The Color Purple, Anatomy of a Fall, and The Boy And The Heron.
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S37American Nightmare: How hit thriller Gone Girl impacted a shocking kidnapping case  In March 2015, a woman from Vallejo, California, Denise Huskins, was kidnapped in the middle of the night from her boyfriend's house, held hostage for 48 hours and raped. However, on her release, as detailed in the new Netflix documentary, American Nightmare, she was not only accused by police of orchestrating the terrifying ordeal, but her case was linked to Gone Girl, the 2014 movie adapted from the best-selling 2012 Gillian Flynn thriller, both by the media, and, allegedly, an investigating FBI agent too. In the film, a sociopathic woman, Amy, (played by Rosamund Pike) concocts an elaborate plan and fakes her own abduction to punish her husband and family. In reality for Huskins, this false characterisation and gross miscarriage of justice violated a vulnerable victim all over again. In episode two of the three-part series – subtitled Gone Girl, and also featuring footage of the film – Huskins relives her disbelief at escaping captivity, then finding herself under interrogation in a police holding room as a suspect. "For the last 48 hours I have been living moment to moment, trying to survive," she says. "The last thing you’re thinking about is: 'If I do survive, I’ve really got to make sure that all of this is believable'."
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S34Prince Harry's Spare, Gwyneth's trial and Try That In a Small Town: 11 of the most controversial culture moments of 2023  Arts and culture may be a sanctum from the trials of daily life for many, but that is not to say they can't cause as much debate and consternation as they can provide comfort and joy. So here are 11 moments from within the cultural sphere that really created a commotion this year:He may have quit the British Royal Family and moved to California with his wife Meghan and their children, but the Duke of Sussex proved he was far from leaving the past behind him, when in January he released his autobiography Spare, and pulled no punches. Bearing the Prince's distinct tone of voice and turn of phrase, the book – though ghost-written by JR Moehringer – was as candid as they come, generating acres of headlines with its more sensational stories, revelations and claims. From detailing his alleged fisticuffs with the Prince of Wales to a case of frostbite on his genitalia during Prince William and Catherine's wedding, there was seemingly no filter applied. Perhaps as a result, according to Guinness World Records, Spare became "the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time" on the date of its release. But while Prince Harry will have been celebrating his literary success, his father King Charles III was reported to be "hurt and dismayed" by the publication. And the year was literally book-ended by scandalous royal tomes, when in December royal reporter Omid Scobie released his own book, Endgame. It again detailed alleged royal tensions, and caused particular controversy when a Dutch edition of the book was erroneously published naming King Charles and Catherine as the royals who allegedly discussed the potential skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first child.
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S50Students do better and schools are more stable when teachers get mental health support  When it comes to mental health at school, typically the focus is on helping students, especially as they emerge from the pandemic with heightened levels of anxiety, stress and emotional need. But as school officials seek to put resources toward student well-being, another school population is possibly being overlooked: teachers.Teachers are experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety and work-related trauma in the classroom – much of it stemming from student behavioral problems. The pandemic exacerbated this issue, impacting students and teachers alike.
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S56Cash-strapped conservationists in South Africa are struggling to collect biodiversity data - how to change that  South Africa’s government conservation organisations have experienced substantial budget cuts. Even after steps to cut costs, South African National Parks reported a big shortfall (R223 million or about US$11.92 million) for 2021/22. So did the provincial body KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife (R89 million; about US$4.77 million). South African conservation authorities manage millions of hectares of protected areas. However, recruitment freezes and insufficient funds have reduced their ability to conduct basic operations. One of these is biodiversity monitoring.
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S40Mr Bates vs The Post Office is perfect social realism: it speaks directly to the public  In the wake of British broadcast ITV airing its four-part drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, new legislation has been tabled, former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has handed back her CBE and, for the first time, Fujitsu, the company behind the faulty IT system at the scandal’s heart, has admitted it should contribute to compensation for the victims. The question that won’t go away is why it has taken a TV drama for the wheels of justice to really start moving.
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S61Migration can be a good thing for the environment - here's how  Amsterdammers are proud of their city. But it turns out that people who have moved there from other parts of the world are just as concerned about keeping the place green and pleasant. We surveyed Amsterdam residents and found, among other things, that recent migrants were just as likely to recycle as those born and raised in the city.Sustainable development means enhancing wellbeing in ways that fairly meet the needs of present and future generations. A new set of studies has shown that new policies are needed to manage migration in a way that ensures such sustainability, while also minimising involuntary displacement due to conflict or disasters.
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S24Do You Have a Growth Mindset? Mindset is everything. If that statement seems too strong, consider that we bring these basic assumptions to every decision and action we make. Left unexamined, they may unnecessarily restrict us or lead us in the wrong direction altogether. Perception may not truly be reality, but when it comes to how we approach challenges and opportunities, mindset determines the world we encounter and possibilities we apprehend. Achieving the power of pull requires us to make our assumptions explicit and examine them in different contexts — testing, challenging and refining.
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S51S33The little-known truth about vanilla  The story of vanilla, as with most truly international crops, criss-crosses a world atlas. But vanilla did not originate in Madagascar, despite the country's current global dominance of its trade. Instead, it started in the jungles of Mexico and Central America, where a long, windy vine evolved to develop that distinctive, penetrating aroma that we all know so well.What is perhaps most compelling about vanilla is the fact that its multi-billion dollar industry exists because of a 12-year-old enslaved boy who lived 180 years ago on a remote Indian Ocean Island. But the orchid, whose pod-shaped fruits contain the sweet vanilla essence, would take a wild journey to get there from Mexico, where the Totonac Indigenous people, who settled around 600 CE on Mexico's Atlantic coast, first noticed the scent.
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S32Discover the five best ramen spots in Tokyo  Ramen might be Japan's best-adapted import. A version of Chinese wheat noodle soups said to have reached Japan via Yokohama's Chinatown in the late 1800s or early 1900s, it has become the ultimate Japanese comfort food.For some, the frenzied slurping of noodles from a piping-hot soup is the culinary hug that makes a bad morning in the office feel better. For others, it's a satisfying (and cheap) way to cap a day out with friends or recover from a night of drinking. Some will even wait in line for hours to try the noodles at a famous ramen joint.
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S31The Belgian waffle that brings New Year's luck  There's no waffling about Belgium's baking heritage: waffles have a special place in the country's heart. In fact, the words "Belgium" and "waffle" are as synonymous as "France" and "baguette".But there is no one single Belgian waffle, according to Regula Ysewijn, author of Dark Rye and Honey Cake: Festival Baking from the Heart of the Low Countries, published in 2023. The cookbook highlights her homeland of Belgium, featuring 13 different waffle recipes because just like Belgian beers, which are each served in a unique glass, every Belgian waffle is distinct. They differ in ingredients, shape, texture and even when and how they're eaten.
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S53Women lifestyle influencers are changing the face of the far right - podcast  When you think about the far right, you probably picture groups of young, white men carrying images of swastikas or torches like those seen at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. Some of these influencers, she found, are sharing what you’d expect on social media: beauty tutorials, curated photos of a beautiful home, and product recommendations. But interspersed with these may be antisemitic conspiracy theories, anti-feminist messages, and white nationalist sentiments.
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S39Ecuador's crackdown on violent crime helped turn the country into a narco state  An unprecedented surge in violence in Ecuador recently has captured global attention, especially after a gang took control of a television station during a live broadcast on January 9. Once considered to be a haven for peace and stability in the region, as of 2023 Ecuador has earned the infamous distinction of being the most violent country in Latin America.The recent gang violence in Ecuador is just a symptom of a deeper issue affecting countries across the region. The unrest is rooted in the erosion of state capacity as a result of government austerity measures across Latin America. It has created fertile ground for the growth of criminal gangs.
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S60Body image issues are rising in men - research suggests techniques to improve it  Body image issues are sometimes thought to mainly affect women. But some surveys estimate around 28% of men aged 18 and over regularly struggle with their body image.Yet, despite evidence showing body image issues are on the rise in men, there’s a distinct lack of awareness about the problem – alongside a dearth of assistance available to help them. Much of the support that’s available still tends to focus on women.
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S52S58DNA from stone age chewing gum sheds light on diet and disease in Scandinavia's ancient hunter-gatherers  Some 9,700 years ago on an autumn day, a group of people were camping on the west coast of Scandinavia. They were hunter-gatherers that had been fishing, hunting and collecting resources in the area. Some teenagers, both boys and girls, were chewing resin to produce glue, just after eating trout, deer and hazelnuts. Due to a severe gum infection (periodontitis), one of the teenagers had problems eating the chewy deer-meat, as well as preparing the resin by chewing it.
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S45Nicaragua released imprisoned priests, but repression is unlikely to relent - and the Catholic Church remains a target  Bad news has been the norm for Catholics in Nicaragua, where clergy and church groups have been frequent targets of a wide-ranging crackdown for years. But on Jan. 14, 2024, they received a happy surprise: The government unexpectedly released two bishops, 15 priests and two seminary students from prison and expelled them to the Vatican.Those released included Bishop Rolando Álvarez, a high-profile political prisoner who was detained in 2022 for criticizing the government and then sentenced to 26 years in prison for alleged treason.
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S54As the world's conflicts spread, should you be digging a bunker? How to think about the future of war  How worried should European citizens be in countries that have come to expect unprecedented levels of security and safety? If the many warnings currently circulating are to be believed, then the answer looks grim.Leaked documents from Germany’s defence ministry suggest that Berlin is expecting Russia to extend the war that began in Ukraine in 2022 into Europe by 2025, forcing a major conflict with Nato. There are concerns that Russia will “escalate to de-escalate”, launching an attack that will be so shocking that liberal states will accept the new world order that Vladimir Putin wants to create as his legacy.
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S47S44What are the principles of civilian immunity in war? A scholar of justice in war explains  About 1 in 100 Gazans have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health’s Jan. 8, 2024, update. More than 24,000 people have died, an average of 250 each day. The Israel Defense Forces’ own figures acknowledge that two-thirds of those killed are civilians. The magnitude of the death toll has led to widespread criticism of Israeli military action in Gaza. Human rights groups have accused it of committing war crimes. South Africa has accused it of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
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S43S29The disabled traveller market represents billions in untapped revenue  Hours had passed since Julie Larame and her family arrived at Promenade Park, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, US. Her seven-year-old son, Vine – who was born with spina bifida, and uses a wheelchair – was still playing on the splash pad with other children.The experience was exactly what she'd hoped for when the family planned their trip, specifically selecting the destination so Vine could take advantage of its disability-friendly attractions. Their visits to other recreation areas were usually short, since most facilities have limited opportunities for disabled people. Promenade Park, however, has multiple accessible features, and has even won several awards for inclusive design.
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S49S16S30Entrepreneur Jane Wurwand on why 'high-touch will overshadow high-tech' in business  On a sunny day in Los Angeles, Jane Wurwand stands outside the first storefront for her skincare brand Dermalogica. In 1983, she started with the idea to create a training programme for the industry. "I actually wrote down my first kind of statement of purpose: total world domination of professional skincare," she says. The humble beginning set the stage for a monumental ascent in business – the one she'd envisaged from the start. Along with her training academy, Wurwand also created Dermalogica's skincare line in 1986. Her products are now sold in more than 80 countries – and Dermalogica is one of the most recognisable brands in the industry.
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S38China's population shrinks again and could more than halve - here's what that means  The National Bureau of Statistics reports just 9.02 million births in 2023 – only half as many as in 2017. Set alongside China’s 11.1 million deaths in 2023, up 500,000 on 2022, it means China’s population shrank 2.08 million in 2023 after falling 850,000 in 2022. That’s a loss of about 3 million in two years.The two consecutive declines are the first since the great famine of 1959-1961, and the trend is accelerating.
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S48S67Ukraine recap: possibility of imminent Russian offensive focuses minds on Kyiv's weapons shortages  As you’d expect, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been working the room at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. After a disappointing end to 2023 on the battlefield, with signs of battle fatigue among some of his key allies, Zelensky will be aware of the need to press his country’s case to so many world leaders. An estimated 60 heads of state and government are thought to have made the trip to Switzerland for this global forum, more than in previous years. It was preceded by a meeting of more than 90 national security advisers, for whom a key agenda item was coming up with a viable peace plan for the conflict in Ukraine. Zelensky will also have been aware of the way the focus of global attention has moved to events in the Middle East, so a chance to get in front of his allies at this point is like gold dust.
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S15Transcending Either-Or Decision Making  Jennifer Riel, an adjunct professor at the Rotman School of Management, presents a model way to solve problems: integrative thinking. It’s taking the best from two inadequate options to come up with a successful solution. She gives examples from the film industry to show how CEOs have put the process to work. Riel is the co-author, along with Roger Martin, of the book Creating Great Choices: A Leader’s Guide to Integrative Thinking.
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S64S59How AI threatens free speech - and what must be done about it  Headlines about the threats of artificial intelligence (AI) tend to be full of killer robots, or fears that when they’re not on killing sprees, these same robots will be hoovering up human jobs. But a serious danger which gets surprisingly little media attention is the impact these new technologies are likely to have on freedom of expression. And, in particular, how they’re able to undermine some of the most foundational legal tenets that protect free speech.Every time a new communications technology sweeps through society, it disrupts the balance that has previously been struck between social stability and individual liberty.
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S14How to Overcome Your Fear of the Unknown  For many of us, uncertainty can be nerve-racking. That reaction, however, obscures a crucial fact: Uncertainty and possibility are two sides of the same coin. Chances are, your biggest achievements and transformational moments all came after a period of uncertainty—one that probably felt stressful but that you pushed through to accomplish something great.
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S28Maneuver Warfare: Can Modern Military Strategy Lead You to Victory? Business has gone through a dramatic transformation in recent years. So has warfare. Every executive knows firsthand the daunting challenges of the twenty-first-century business environment: rapid and disruptive change, fleeting opportunities, incomplete information, an overall sense of uncertainty and disorder. While military commanders have long faced such challenges on the battlefield, meeting them has be […]
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