Author: Contributor
by Emma Sheppard-Simms In Australia, interment in a cemetery or a churchyard has been the most common choices for in-ground burial. Over the past 20 years, though, burial has become a less accessible and more costly option for many people. This is because increasing numbers of deaths have created a boom in demand for burial plots and cemeteries are fast running out of space. Since the 1950s, cremation has gained in popularity. But, although a majority of Australians who died last year were cremated, it is far from sustainable. Each cremation releases about 50 kilograms of CO₂ as well as…
by Brian Harman and Janine Bosak We are creatures of habit. Between a third and half of our behaviour is habitual, according to research estimates. Unfortunately, our bad habits compromise our health, wealth and happiness. On average, it takes 66 days to form a habit. But positive behavioural change is harder than self-help books would have us believe. Only 40% of people can sustain their new year’s resolution after six months, while only 20% of dieters maintain long-term weight loss. Education does not effectively promote behaviour change. A review of 47 studies found that it’s relatively easy to change a…
by Sara Jo Nixon It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when holiday parties collide with collegiate and professional athletics events. What do they all have in common? Booze, lots of it, and often free. It’s no wonder the lead reindeer has a red nose. Of course, drinking isn’t limited to a single season, but it holds a prominent place during the holidays. Across a few short weeks, consumption of spiked cider, boozy nog, wine, beer, cocktails and variations thereof may be higher than at any other point in the year. One industry study suggested that drinking doubles at…
by Liang Zhao One of the hottest topics in cryptocurrencies is the prospect of major economies launching state-backed digital coins. China’s central bank recently accelerated plans for what is currently known as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP). It could launch within the next 18 months, while the European Central Bank is looking at something similar. Meanwhile, Russia has been working on a state-backed cryptoruble for several years, and Sweden has its e-krona project. Indeed, several countries have got there already: Senegal and the tiny Marshall Islands now have digital coins that sit alongside their existing currencies, while others such…
The MTN Foundation SA, Huawei and the Dept of Social Development have partnered to bring some early Christmas cheer to kids from Orange Farm, South of Johannesburg. Two hundred pre-teens and teens from the Afrika Tikkun Arekopaneng Centre were treated to a fun ICT themed party packed with activities and lots of festive cheer. Deputy Minister of Social Development, Henrietta Bogopane-Zulu says, “Through this initiative, we are spreading the spirit of giving and sharing, born out of the recognition that many vulnerable children cannot share the cheer and joy that traditionally comes during the festive season. We look forward to tapping…
by Ken Rotenberg When Dame Helen Mirren revealed she had been the victim of a “humiliating” scam on the press junket for her latest movie (in which, coincidentally, she also plays the victim of a hoax), it highlighted how everyone needs to be on their guard against fraudsters. Even members of the royal family are not immune, as was illustrated when Prince Charles was dragged into a major counterfeit art scandal. But what motivates scammers, other than greed? I believe the answer can be gleaned by investigating why humans lie in the first place. Online fraudsters carry out a sophisticated…
by Clement Prince Addo All over the world, the internet has provided extraordinary socioeconomic opportunities to businesses, governments, and individuals. But less developed countries still face numerous obstacles to maximise its potential. The problems range from obsolete infrastructure, the nonavailability, non-accessibility, cost, power fluctuations, policies and regulation. Many countries on the continent still have bandwidth as low as 64 kilobits. This is in contrast to the 270,000 megabits per second in the US. Data also shows that downloading a 5GB movie took 734 minutes in the Republic of Congo, 788 minutes in Sao Tome, 850 minutes in Ethiopia, 965 minutes…
Ever wondered if you are driving the ‘best’ or ‘worst’ vehicle on South African roads? Well here’s a breakdown of what we ranked as the best and worst vehicles to buy in 2019. We have based the best vehicles on their resale value. Here Are The Facts The vehicle evaluation group, True Price has provided us with the data on the cars you are about to look at with the best resale value in South Africa. True Price have taken results from vehicles sold on auctions around South Africa. “To determine which passenger cars have the best resale value, we…
With the festive season approaching, roadblocks will be in full swing with many people being pulled over for drunk driving and invalid license disks. Have you ever found yourself flashing your lights to an approaching vehicle to warn them of a roadblock? Although you may think you are helping them, you could find yourself facing the law. What Could Happen To Me? The Justice Project South Africa was formed to strongly warn motorists against warning others about police activity on the roads. Although law officials may struggle to catch those motorists warning others, if you are caught, you could face…
It must have happened to you at least once, where you buy either airtime or data and then the next day you are back to zero. Finding out that you have been using out-of-bundle data because your data has been depleted and you didn’t even notice can be extremely frustrating. Now what? Where Does Our Airtime Go? The answer is WASP which stands for “wireless application service providers”. These providers secretly subscribe users to their content subscription, obviously without the user’s consent. This happens to thousands of users every single month. The mobile operators give WASPs the ability to bill…