Japan-based fintech Smartpay has launched Smartpay Bank Direct, the country’s first digital consumer finance service that allows customers to pay for online installment purchases straight from their bank accounts. Smartpay Bank Direct emphasizes user security while delivering convenience for the consumer, through a network of 67 partner banks across Japan[1]. Smartpay is Japan’s first digital consumer finance company to utilize Japan’s open banking system. Continue reading
Simon Chadwick, SKEMA Business School and Paul Widdop, University of Manchester
After four weeks, 64 games and more than a decade of controversy, Argentina has won the Fifa men’s World Cup in Qatar. And as Lionel Messi and his teammates celebrate victory over France, another competition has also reached its conclusion – the battle for “soft power”.
LAGOS/BANGKOK – Days before his FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed, co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted “Hello, West Africa!” – his latest nod to a region where a growing number of kitchen table investors had put their faith, and savings, in FTX.
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By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist
| Targeted online advertisements are impossible to ignore. Ads based on our browsing history, geolocation, and personal information appear constantly on our social media feeds, news articles, and streaming platforms. As the authors of a new report on the advertising surveillance industry put it: “Targeted advertising is unavoidable for anyone who owns a smartphone or goes online.” Continue reading |
Melanie Channon, University of Bath and Jasmine Fledderjohann, Lancaster University
The world’s population is expected to hit 8 billion people on November 15, according to the UN. Already this has prompted worry about whether there will be enough food, water and energy to support our growing population. While human activity is undoubtedly driving the climate crisis, population growth is a red herring.
Vuzix® Corporation (NASDAQ: VUZI), (“Vuzix” or, the “Company”), a leading supplier of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and products, today announced that its Vuzix M400C™ smart glasses are now available for customer orders in the US, Canada, UK, EU and Japan. Vuzix M400C smart glasses list for $1299.99 and interested customers should contact the Company sales department directly. Continue reading
David Bach, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s recent speech to the Communist Party Congress could be one of the most consequential of the decade. He told the audience – and the world – that his economic growth-crushing zero-COVID policy is here to stay, and that Beijing is more determined than ever to reunify with Taiwan, peacefully if possible and by force if necessary.
Many elevators do not have a floor numbered 13 because of common superstitions about the number.
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images
Barry Markovsky, University of South Carolina Continue reading
Vuzix® Corporation (NASDAQ: VUZI), (“Vuzix” or, the “Company”), a leading supplier of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and products, today announced that its M400 smart glasses are currently being trialed in Japan for an emergency medical care plan with the objective of providing early treatment in an effort to improve patient outcomes and lifesaving rates for critically ill patients undergoing transport to the hospital. The collaborative effort on this trial involves Juntendo University, Shizuoka Hospital, the Shunto Izu Fire Department, and AVR Japan Co., Ltd. Continue reading
Noorin Khamisani, University of Portsmouth
Designer Issey Miyake has died aged 84, leaving an indelible mark on the fashion world. He was celebrated for clothing that responded to the body in movement and which was conceptual in design but also completely appropriate for the everyday. His garments were often based on simple geometric shapes made in finely pleated fabrics that resulted in new and unexpected silhouettes.