Tag Archives: Survival

Preventing cholera in Bangladesh by used folded saris

A New York Times article (Sept 27, 2011) describes the historic levels of cholera that persisted when sweetened drinks were strained using a sari (made of cotton fabric) because microorganisms are smaller than the pores in the fabric. A research … Continue reading

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Lost cost diagnosis and Supply Chain Impact

An article in the New York Times (Sept 27, 2011) describes efforts in a lab to use small postage size paper bits to diagnose mold and bacteria.  One impact of a low cost test for mold is diagnosis of aflatoxin, … Continue reading

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Nokia volume drops and supplier impact

A Wall Street Journal article (Sept 27, 2011) describes the declining fortunes of Nokia and its impact in suppliers. These suppliers are described as finding that Apple and Android based smartphones are using custom built components that are closed to … Continue reading

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Internet productivity and future employment across supply chains

An article in the International Herald Tribune (Sept 24, 2011) describes a presentation by Yuri Milner, a Russian investor in Facebook and Zynga.  He describes internet based companies generating revenues of $ 100 million per employee compared to 10 to … Continue reading

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Plan to tighten Clean Air Rules abandoned

A New York Times article (Sept 2, 2011) desctibes a plan to abandon improving air quality rules to reduce smog causing chemicals, thus moving to a relaxed standard set in 2008.  Worries about the impact of this new legislation on … Continue reading

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Incompatible plug-in for electric car battery charging

A New York Times article (August 26, 2011) describes the incompatible standards for fast charging 480 volt chargers that can charge a Nissan Leaf in half an hour. The issue is that standards for these fast chargers are not set, … Continue reading

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Mosquito Net distribution in Africa

A New York Times review of a book “Lifeblood” by Alex Perry describes the role of Ray Chambers, an industry CEO, in coordinating the distribution of mosquito nets, 300 million to date, in Africa. It describes how disorganized efforts and … Continue reading

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Japanese Tsunami and Supply Chain Disruptions

A New York Times article (March 17, 2011) describes the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and its consequent impact on electricity supply, ports, manufacturing plants and the global supply chain.  It describes Texas Instruments as claiming that one of its Japanese … Continue reading

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The Projected Impact of New Kidney Allocation Rules

An Op-Ed piece in the New York Times (Friedman Ross and Hippen, March 5, 2011) contests the impact of new kidney allocation rules that would provide preference to allocate the organs of young donors to young recipients.  The authors suggests … Continue reading

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Is Apple more like Zara ? How can the ipad be sold for $ 500 ?

A article in WIRED magazine (February 21, 2011, Brian X. Chen) asks the question – how can the ipad be sold for $ 500 when other manufacturers cannot attain that price ? The answer suggested is that Apple is, for … Continue reading

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