Global research news

The average price of a gallon of gas across the country rose to $2.40 on Monday, according to data compiled by the American Automobile Association (AAA) via The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. That price rise is the highest in 11 months—which seems a bit odd, considering we’re in the midst of the worst part of the pandemic so far. Many businesses are still shut, theaters and restaurants are closed, and millions of people are still working from home. And vacations? Forget about them. … [Read more...] about Why are gas prices rising? Here’s the weird but simple reason you’re paying more right now

Sports toys, including skates, skateboards and scooters (+31%) Fashion dolls and accessories (+56%) Building sets (+26%) Games (+29%) Summer seasonal toys (+24%) The top brands of the year included L.O.L. Surprise!, Barbie, Star Wars, Pokémon, and Marvel Universe, the NPD Group says. … [Read more...] about America’s top pandemic playthings: L.O.L. Surprise!, Barbie, Star Wars, Pokémon dominate soaring toy sales

$22 billion in revenue by selling 3 billion garments across its nine brands. But over the past decade, under Karl-Johan’s leadership, the company has begun to focus more on sustainability, partly because younger consumers care about the environmental impact of their apparel purchases. The company pledged to become climate positive by 2040; it’s an ambitious target, but Ikea has vowed to achieve the same goal a decade earlier. H&M Group also vowed to switch to entirely “sustainable fabrics” by 2030, but the company has gotten into hot water for being vague about what qualifies as “sustainable.” Separately, it has set up bins in stores, collecting tens of thousands of tons of old fabrics, ready to be recycled when the technology becomes available, and it has poured millions of dollars into technologies like the cotton recovery startup Renewcell and supply chain sharing platform Treadler. … [Read more...] about H&M is one of fashion’s biggest polluters. Now its foundation is on a $100 million quest to save the planet

One study by researcher Wayne Decker found that managers perceived to have a sense of humor are rated by subordinates as 23% more respected and 25% more pleasant to work with. In contrast, a 2018 Gallup study found that nearly 50% of Americans have left a job to “get away” from a manager. Employee turnover has increased 88% over the last decade, costing companies billions. The impact of humor on employee retention is a timely salve to a silent crisis affecting leaders and organizations worldwide. … [Read more...] about Humor is such an important leadership trait we teach it at Stanford’s business school

BUILT-IN BIAS The NYPD used its facial recognition system last summer to track down Derrick Ingram, a Black Lives Matter activist accused of shouting into a police officer’s ear with a bullhorn during a demonstration. Dozens of police officers, some in riot gear, showed up at Ingram’s door in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York on August 7. The event caused a public outcry because it was another example of facial recognition being used indiscriminately against people of color. At least three Black men have been wrongly jailed because of faulty facial recognition tech, and more cases may have gone unreported. … [Read more...] about These crowdsourced maps will show exactly where surveillance cameras are watching