Signals of Change

Smart Appliances Meet Smart Grids SoC351

The integration of sensor, computing, and network technologies in appliances and energy grids is rapidly evolving the means to optimize energy consumption, distribution, and production processes. Energy savings are just one benefit though—others will include convenience, safety, and reduced utility bills.

Lifelogging for Everyone SoC352

Location technologies, wearable video cameras, wireless networks, and inexpensive storage capabilities will soon allow people to record their everyday activities and movements constantly and automatically if they choose to. The necessary technology is already closer than many people probably realize.

Pills for Every Purpose SoC353

If one is prone to stroke and heart attacks, weight gain, or unsafe sex practices or is simply looking for a boost in cognitive ability, researchers will soon provide (if they have not done so already) an assist in the form of a pill. Reaching beyond traditional medicinal or nutritional purposes, researchers are inventing pills to help consumers with a variety of life's problems.

Leveraging Social Networks SoC354

Researchers studying behavior in social networks are using a combination of new algorithms, better data, and more data to improve processes ranging from analyzing group dynamics to predicting future behaviors.

Exploiting Online Searches SoC355

The public is generally aware that Internet search engines monitor and analyze consumer search activity. However, most individuals are probably unaware of just how much information they are revealing about themselves when they use search engines online.

Framing Influences Behavior SoC356

The discipline of behavioral economics is gaining steam as new studies not only disprove old assumptions but also provide new directions for economists, policy makers, and marketers to take in exploring human decision making.

Insights

Transportation Transformation D09-2588

The transportation industry is one of the world's largest industries and has begun to evolve more rapidly than at any time in its past as a variety of factors have come to bear. Driving forces for the transformation of transportation systems throughout the world include volatile oil, energy, and materials prices; growing public concern about climate change and environmental issues; continuing migration to cities in many countries; regulatory initiatives to incorporate previously externalized societal costs of transportation systems; rapid advances in energy, sensor, computing, information, and networking technologies; and the global financial crisis. As a means of speculating about and anticipating the future of transportation, Scan™ continually identifies new technologies, trends, and business models relating to the transportation industry. This study discusses and analyzes some signals of change that Scan has identified relating to the rapid transformations taking place within the transportation industry. Author: Aster Peng. 12 pages.

Scan™ Meeting Digest: 21 January 2009 Meeting D09-2589

This document is a digest of the Scan™ abstract clusters that participants in the 21 January 2009 Scan meeting identified. The digest includes a description of the Scan process for people who have never attended a Scan meeting, a list of the clusters that meeting participants identified, and a one-page description of each cluster's premise and supporting abstracts. The document has active links that allow the reader to access the supporting abstracts for each cluster in Scan's online abstract database. The document also has links to previously published Scan documents relating to the particular cluster. Clusters of abstracts for this January meeting included economic decision making, water problems, model coddling, the counter–green revolution, Cupid's martini, countersurveillance, split-second hiring, reductionism 2.0, microefficiency, and the power of shared emotions. Compiler: Aster Peng. 36 pages.

Calendar

Scan™ Abstract Meetings

Scan abstract meetings (in which SRIC-BI [now SBI] staff participate in a free-form discussion of current Scan abstracts) are open for client observation/participation in Menlo Park on:

• 18 March 2009 at 9:00 am
• 20 May 2009 at 9:00 am
• 22 July 2009 at 9:00 am
• 23 September 2009 at 9:00 am
• 21 October 2009 at 9:00 am
• 20 January 2010 at 9:00 am.

Scan also sponsors occasional Scan abstract meetings in Croydon, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. Contact your SRIC-BI (now SBI) marketing representative to schedule participation in any of the Scan abstract meetings.