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Imagination at work

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UK needs four-day week to combat stress, says top doctor | Society. One of Britain's leading doctors has called for the country to switch to a four-day week to help combat high levels of work-related stress, let people spend more time with their families or exercising, and reduce unemployment. Bringing the standard working week down from five to four days would also help address medical conditions, such as high blood pressure and the mental ill-health associated with overwork or lack of work, Prof John Ashton said.

The president of the UK Faculty of Public Health said the five-day week should be phased out to end what he called "a maldistribution of work" that is damaging many people's health. "When you look at the way we lead our lives, the stress that people are under, the pressure on time and sickness absence, [work-related] mental health is clearly a major issue. "We've got a maldistribution of work. "If you've got two people in a couple working, they need to be able to work in such a way that they can spend time together with their children. How we hack the automotive industry: Carlo De Micheli at TEDxVilnius.

Levez vous ! Comprendre le monde en 4min20. L’innovation marchande, une politique hautement toxique | Barricade asbl. Ces derniers temps, les crises sanitaires se sont régulièrement invitées à la une de l’actualité. Ainsi, nous avons appris que nous pouvions manger du cheval sans le savoir, que des prothèses mammaires « PIP » pouvaient être utilisées en chirurgie, ou encore que le logo officiel d’une marque alimentaire connue pouvait cacher de nombreux sous-traitants.

Qu’il s’agisse de se nourrir ou d’acheter des médicaments, de repeindre sa maison ou de choisir des vêtements, nous ignorons en général tout dans la manière de produire les mille et un objets qui façonnent notre quotidien. Certes, on sait que les pratiques de délocalisation vers des pays à bas salaires s’effectuent au détriment de l’emploi bien rémunéré. Mais réfléchit-on assez aux conséquences sur notre santé des pratiques en vigueur dans le monde marchand ? GE Could be selling magnetic refrigerators by 2020 that are 20-30% more efficient than todays fridges. GE researchers describe how they built their breakthrough magnetic refrigeration system. The technology, which is projected to be 20 percent more efficient than current refrigeration systems, could be inside your fridge by the end of the decade. It is using water based fluid to transfer heat, not chemical refrigerants. That significantly lowers any harm to the environment and makes the recycling of old refrigerators simpler.

"This is a big deal," says Venkat Venkatakrishnan, a leader of the research team. The new technology is taking advantage of a century-old discovery called the magnetocaloric effect. Thomas Edison toyed with the concept of building a magnetocaloric heat pump, a device that takes thermal energy from a cold space like the refrigerator and moves it into a hotter environment, like the kitchen. GE materials scientists developed a new type of nickel-manganese alloys for magnets that could function at room temperatures. The most refreshing place on earth?