Intermediate

Currently, 34 vaccine candidates for the novel coronavirus are in various stages of clinical development, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the process is long, typically many years. In the race for a vaccine, there is some debate on the merits of rushing through the process.

The vaccines process is long because there are 3 phases of trials. The first two trials focus on effectiveness—does the vaccine work or not. This is a relatively straightforward question and it can be proven in relatively small sample sizes. So, just a few hundred people are needed to test it. However, Phase 3 is used to prove the safety and efficacy of the vaccine—does it have significant side-effects, is it safe for people with compromised immune systems, and can everyone use it?

This opinion is a rant—a passionate, typically angry, speech or piece of writing about one particular topic.

This rant is about American anti-maskers—people who are opposed to wearing a face mask during the coronavirus outbreak. 

Take a deep breath and try to read as emphatically as you can.
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"I can't stand it! These people who won't wear masks even though all the medical science says it helps prevent the spread of COVID-19. I hope all the anti-maskers have never taken meds for anything, or know anyone who has. That includes blood pressure meds, insulin, asthma inhalers, allergy medicine, pain relievers, eye drops—heck, even bandaids! What do they put on a cut? Natural remedies like moss and honey? I highly doubt it. So they're either totally ignorant, or total hypocrites.

Mascots, or yuru-kyara, are incredibly popular in Japan. There are yuru-kyara for everything, from sports teams to prefectures to a toilet disinfectant (seriously). Now they're offering the world a mascot for the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The yōkai (supernatural being) Amabié was first described in 1846, during a series of severe epidemics in Japan. It has three legs, a fish-like body, and the head of a bird with long, flowing hair. The original story goes that Amabié was spotted by an unnamed man on top of the ocean waves, glowing with a strange light. It gave its name to the man and prophesied a good harvest. Then Amabié said, "Should an epidemic come, draw me and show me to those who fall ill and they will be cured,” and disappeared into the water, supposedly never to be seen again.

Around 48 million people have some degree of hearing loss. Given the rise of wearing face masks in public, hearing-impaired people are struggling to understand those wearing ordinary masks as they muffle their voices. One way to solve this problem is to put on masks with clear windows.

When wearing such a mask, people can see your lips, which allows the deaf or hard-of-hearing to lipread and see facial expressions.

Alicia Austin teaches infants and children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Currently, Austin has many online lessons with her students, and she says that wearing a mask can make communication problematic. She says that children need to see facial expressions and recognition to learn, even if they do not have a hearing disability.

In a Forbes article, Bernard Marr predicts the 25 most important technology trends that will define the next 10 years. Not surprisingly, a number of them involve A.I. and IoT. Others will come from things like virtual, augmented and mixed realities; nanotechnologies; 3D printing; and Big Data.

The past 20 years have given us major technological game-changers, like Bluetooth, social media, and, of course, the iPhone. Other innovations include flash drives, hybrid cars, GPS, and the Cloud.

The speed of change in technology is increasing exponentially—every new development drives a number of others, each of which drives more, resulting in faster and faster change. It looks like this:

What technology trends do you think will drive the next 10 years?

According to The Japan Times, the tragic events of March 11, 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns at three nuclear reactors in Fukushima, forced Japan to reconsider nuclear energy. Today, 24 of Japan’s 33 reactors remain offline.

After the disaster, the government increased its push toward renewable energy, but it also invested heavily in coal projects. The dirty fuel was seen as the fastest, cheapest and most reliable way to keep the lights on.

A return to coal has left Japan with only modest long-term climate goals. Electricity generation is now responsible for almost 40 percent of the country’s emissions, and Japan aims to cut total emissions 26 percent by 2030 from 2013 levels.

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has impacted the consulting industry in ways that seem potentially ruinous. But do not lose hope. Yes, consultants are used to traveling a lot, and widespread travel restrictions make that impossible. And much of consultancy work is done face-to-face in internal and client meetings, which can’t be done when gatherings are prohibited. There is also the fear that businesses will suspend contracts in the economic downturn.

But we have an advantage this time that we haven't had in past catastrophes. We have the internet. We can have virtual meetings, share documents online and even give presentations with conference software that lets everyone be in the same “room” at the same time. So travel restrictions are less disruptive than in the past—people can do much of what’s needed almost as well from home.

This simple equation is at the heart of the global economy: One person’s spending = another person’s income.

It’s referred to as “supply and demand”—producers will supply as much as consumers demand. So if consumers aren’t buying anything, producers won’t be able to sell anything. In other words, whenever you buy something, you pay someone else’s wages.

So the current COVID-19 pandemic is not just a global health crisis but also an economic one. When people are told to stay at home, they stop going to restaurants, bars, and movies. They can’t travel, so they don’t spend money on gas or airfare, and they don’t stay at hotels. And when no more than 10 people can be together in one place, everything from birthday parties to music festivals to major world sports events are canceled.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, a report studying freelancers published by consulting firm Mackenzie said that the gig economy has done away with workers’ rights achieved through decades of activism and legislation. Mackenzie concluded that freelancers face labor conditions similar to those of workers before the Industrial Revolution.

The advantage for employers is clear, as working with freelancers offers companies managerial flexibility. They pay for the services of a person as if that person were an entire company, without any obligation to provide social benefits or fulfill labor laws. It turns the employer–employee relationship into a customer–supplier one, which can be very unequal.

A report by the Upwork and Freelancers Union forecasts that by 2027, some 50% of all U.S. workers will be freelancers. Mackenzie estimates that the current proportion is around 20-30%, which includes people who supplement their income through freelance work.