Eclaire July 2012

VOLUME 33 > JULY 2012 > NUMBER

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YOUR FUTURE SELF 17

“WE’RE ALL STRANGERS IN OUR FUTURE”

CYCLE FOR WATER 10

THE UPCOMING EFR CAMEROON TRIP! 6

INTO THE FUTURE

Een baan waarin je elk miljard moet omdraaien

Startende financials voor de Rijksoverheid Het gaat om veel geld. En het gaat om belangrijk geld. Geld dat van ons allemaal is. En dat besteed wordt aan zaken met een grote maatschappelijke impact. Zaken als milieu, veiligheid, onderwijs, gezondheidszorg en infrastructuur.

En die kunnen weer tot nieuwe beslissingen leiden. Dat maakt dit werk dynamisch, interessant en vooral uitdagend. Kun jij die verantwoordelijkheid aan?

We zoeken frisse, financiĂŤle professionals met een afgeronde studie Het is jouw taak om het financieringsbeleid voor te bereiden. Om te economie, econometrie of bedrijfskunde, een flinke dosis enthousiasme en affiniteit met maatschappelijke issues. zorgen dat een departement een correcte begrotings- en controlecyclus volgt. Of om de staatsschuld te beheren en geld te lenen op de kapitaalmarkt. Iedere beslissing vraagt om nieuwe berekeningen. Meer weten? Kijk op www.financials.werkenvoornederland.nl

www.werkenvoornederland.nl

www.werkenbijpwc.nl

Soms weet je precies wat je wilt

Soms sta je open voor suggesties Je hebt tijdens je studie alle mogelijke kennis opgedaan.

En nu wil je aan de slag. Op een plek waar je al je ambities kwijt kunt. Waar de lat hoog ligt en waar je samenwerkt met professionals. Je start je carrière vliegend en gaat recht op je doel af. Dat is: het beste in jezelf naar boven halen.

Kom verder op werkenbijpwc.nl

Neem voor meer informatie contact op met een recruiter: 088 792 87 77 werkenbijpwc@nl.pwc.com www.werkenbijpwc.nl/contact Volg werkenbijpwc op Facebook en Twitter

Š 2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers B.V. (KvK 3412089) Alle rechten voorbehouden.

Index

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• EFR-INVOLVE ON A MISSION

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06

• COMPANY UNDER SPOTLIGHT – OPOWER

Editor-in-Chief letter

• PLACEBO EDUCATION

Tim Langstraat

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The future is an interesting concept. We can’t hold it, we can’t reach it, and yet, all of us live our lives knowing that it’ll always be there. It’s this fascinating future that dominates the final Eclaire.

As we finish our school year, we will have a look at some of the technologies that lie ahead, and what we can do to make sure that the prosperity we’ve known all our lives, will continue to exist in the future.

This Eclaire is filled with articles that take a peek at our future. Whether it is Quantum computing, Google’s attempt at integrating virtual life into the real world, or the potential for a meat tax, there will be something for everyone in this Eclaire. We also keep things close to our EFR-heart with the articles on the upcoming trip to Cameroon, and the introduction of our new board.

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Talking of passing the torch to a new generation, I’d like to thank a few people. I would like to thank the 48th board, for their help, guidance and overall excellence over the last year. They have managed the EFR perfectly, and left it a better place. Of course, special thanks go to Sten, our Marketing Officer, and Joris, the Commercial Officer, for their efforts in helping publish the Eclaire.

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FROM THE ARCTIC TO THE ANTARCTIC: AN INTERVIEW WITH CYCLE FOR WATER >

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“The guys of Cycle for Water, Michiel Roodenburg and Joost Nootenboom returned after their 20-month trip on a bamboo bycicle from the Arctic to the Antarctic. We interviewed them about their journey.”

• IS BIG PHARMA IN TROUBLE?

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• INTRODUCING: THE 49TH BOARD

• GOALS

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“The struggle between your present and future self, explained”

Also, I’d like to thank my committee, for their writing over the last year. It has been an absolute joy working together with all of you, and I hope that some of you will return next year as well to write again. So, to Kim, Nadia, Winter, Nicole, Leigh, Vanessa, Martin, Ashleigh and Youvale: thank you.

That is all from me for now. All that’s left is to wish you a very good summer, and good luck with your future.

Colophon

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Editorial Address: Burgemeester Oudlaan 50 3062 PA Rotterdam, Kamer VB-24 Tel: 010 - 40 81 146 Fax: 010 - 40 82 892 E-mail: eclaire@efr.nl

Visual styling and printing: OCC dehoog media partners www.occ-dehoog.nl Editor in Chief: Timothy Langstraat

Writers: Vanessa Abeyawardena Martin Jaakola Leigh de Jager Nicole Stelea Winter van der Vlist Ashleigh Woodend Nadia Zafirah Kim van Adrichem

g e n e r A l

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QUANTUM COMPUTING: SCIENCE FICTION OR A (Q)BIT OF REALITY? >

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• 5 TRENDS THAT ARE CHANGING YOUR LIFE

• THE SOCIAL MEDIA DREAM

• PINTEREST : ALL A-BOARD!

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Thomas Dekker

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"The shift from wall-writing to board-pinning"

MEAT TAX: A GOOD IDEA, OR A CRY OUT FROM ANIMAL FRIENDS? >

• AUGMENTED REALITY GLASSES

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Dear reader, Since we are facing the end of the academic year there could not have been a better moment for a theme like this. At this point we have to look forward to see what the upcoming year will bring us! What will our future look like? Are you continuing your studies or are you going to start your first job? Or maybe you haven’t figured out yet what you will do…

If we look into the future of EFR some amazing events are going to take place. After months of research our Involve team will finally head for Cameroon to perform their fieldwork. Of course we are all intrigued by what the results are going to be and if our EFR team can make a difference!

After the summer months the new academic year will kick off, and it is going to have a spectacular start with the EFR-EenVandaag Lijsttrekkersdebat. On the 6th of September all the political leaders will debate on the future of our nation and that of Europe.

The future of the EFR next year will be in the hands of 8 new board members. On the 1st of June they presented themselves at our Champagne Drink. I am convinced the 49th EFR board will lead the EFR to new heights in the academic year 2012-2013. Nienke, Marc, Patrick, Beatrijs, Marlou, Jeroen, Redmar and Johan I wish you all nothing but the best in succeeding!

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On behalf of the 48th board I would like to thank you all for an unforgettable year, especially the active members who were always there to help us out!

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Best regards, Thomas Dekker President of the 48th board

5 Marketing officer: Sten Boerkamp, marketing@efr.nl

EFR Membership: Alissa Dauer, secretary.vp@efr.nl

Commercial officer: Joris Winkelman, commercial@efr.nl

Subscription: Price: €29 Contact EFR-Eclaire at eclaire@efr.nl

Frequency: Sent six times a year to all students of the Economic Faculty at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, including the one-time special edition: the EFR-Eclaire Special with a circulation of 35.000 copies.

Copyright ©2012, EFR

Circulation: 6.000 units Website: efr.nl/eclaire

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Presidential

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EFR-INVOLVE ON A MISSION ‘We feel that we are actually making a difference’

By Ashleigh Woodend

What is EFR-Involve?

The EFR-involve committee has been set up just this year to replace EFR’s Eurotour.

In sharp contrast to its predecessor, the committee aims to take on projects that allow it to contribute to society through volunteer work that focuses more on brainpower than manpower.

Their first project, set to take place this year, involves creating a business model for sustainable water provision in the SouthWest of Cameroon. Essentially, 20 members of EFR-involve will be acting as consultants, with guidance from BCG Consulting, to investigate the viability of a water provision enterprise in this area. Furthermore, the team will also set up a business model of the enterprise, which Livebuild will actually implement in March 2013.

Why water provision and why Cameroon?

Well think back to the last time you experienced a water cut, to that frustration you felt when you turned the tap and saw nothing. Now imagine, having that happen everyday, or better yet, imagine not even having that tap at all. This is the reality of millions of people worldwide.

In Cameroon alone, 5 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. ‘80% of these people live in rural areas that are systematically ignored by international financial markets and companies.’ However in Cameroon, a key issue is not so much water shortage, but more that existing water infrastructure is inadequate and sanitation coverage is poor. As a result water-related diseases are common.

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The in-depth practicalities of the project

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Luckily however something is being done about this. Upon deciding to conduct a volunteer project, EFR-Involve has been able to seamlessly intertwine their objectives with those of Livebuild – a young Dutch organisation conducting water and education projects in Cameroon. What Livebuild aims to achieve in Cameroon is Drinking Water As A Service (DWAAS), and the task of assessing this possibility and designing a structure to attain it is up to our very own Involve committee.

Subdivided into four sectoral groups; Social, Technical, Financial, and Economical, the committee will come up with

a proposal for this social enterprise and describe alternative ways of providing this service to the Base of the Pyramid, BOP (people that live on less than $2.5 per day). Doing desk research in Holland and field research in Cameroon, each group will work on specific research questions related to their function. For instance, the Social group will look at customer segments and relations and answer questions associated with customer demand and culture; the Technical team will investigate distribution channels and revenue streams and focus on issues like how to get the product to the end-consumer and how to collect revenues; the Financial team will focus on key activities and cost structure and delve into matters such as how big the corporation should be and where in the value chain it should be located; and finally the Economics team will pay attention to key partners and resources and discuss issues of corruption, capital sources and whether to incorporate national/local/regional government. However, these are just examples of possible questions to be answered.

Hopes and aspirations for the project The fuel behind this project is to alter the existing aid model.

By setting up a social enterprise that can be sustained by the people, Livebuild and EFR hope that Cameroonians can gain easy access to safe drinking water and begin to see it as a rightful service. Furthermore, the committee hopes that this idea will spread.

C o m me r c e

Company under spotlight – Opower

By Nicole Stelea

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s energy prices are on the rise and consumers are more and more confused about their usage and utilities bills, Dan Yates and Ales Laskey decided to found a company that would offer a viable solution to that problem. Opower is a young startup that facilitates energy efficiency of utility companies and was founded in 2007 in United States. The company develops software that is responsible for saving around 1 Terawatt hour (TWh) of energy, as announced earlier in May 2012. If that number does not tell you anything, it means the energy use of a 200,000-inhabitant-city for an entire year or the power supply of the Empire State building for the following 21 years. By saving 1 TWh, American households have saved up to $120 million in energy costs.

Origins Yates wanted to found the company in order to do something for the environment, after he witnessed the degradation of the ecosystem on a nine-month trip from Alaska to Patagonia, and he contacted his former classmate from Harvard, Alex Laskey.

Laskey acknowledged that politics had changed its attitude towards climate change; however, there were no means to help people understand and monitor better their usage, so that waste could be prevented.

“By saving 1 TWh American households have saved up $120 million in energy costs”

Achievements Not only US state leaders have recognition for the company’s energy efficiency, but also president Obama has praised Opower, when he visited Opower in March 2010. He called the company a success story in the tough economy, and he expressed his wish to be able to replicate its success across the entire country.

Today, Opower delivers its reports to 13 million American households through partnerships with more than 70 utility companies. Its partners include eight out of the 10 biggest and some of the most innovative companies in the energy sector in the United States. Another 15 utility partners and six expansions have been announced in May 2012. In October 2011, Opower announced a partnership with Facebook and Natural Resources Defense Council and in April 2012 the fruits of this partnership were reaped: an application was launched, in which consumers can compare their energy use with their Facebook friends. The firm is also opening an office in London and has partnered up with Honeywell in order to develop a thermostat that can be controlled with the smartphone/laptop through Wi-Fi. As this article is being written, tests are still conducted for this smart thermostat. The company’s future objective is to save another terawatt hour of energy by the end of 2012. With all the success the company has had, the recent developments and the utility it provides to its users, we see nothing but a bright future for this company.

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Utility companies are interested in signing with Opower, because they have financial incentives for achieving energy efficiency, as in the United States these companies are regulated by the government. Opower’s customer empowerment model helps them to achieve a higher profit margin, by reducing energy consumption, particularly during peak hours. On top of that, it gives a positive image of energy

companies, one that wants to help their customers out instead of just cashing in.

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The idea of the company was to change the way energy companies communicate with their customers. Instead of just sending the utilities bill, the company explains the numbers on the bill and offers personalized energy reports to consumers. The reports provide data on the monthly and yearly use, and how it compares to the use of its neighbors.

It also gives three tips on how energy can be saved in the coming month. The data is determined by the company’s patent-pending ‘analytics engine’.

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I thought; a bank is the most boring place to work at Loes Verstappen, trainee General Management, ING

Where do you want to go?

ING wants General Management trainees. If you have the hands-on mentality and skills to back it up, you’ll find the bank to be a world of opportunity. Try, practice and discover what you’re good at. Like reorganising a division of the bank or improving customer services. We’ll throw you in at the deep end, but not without a coach, a lifeline and ample rewards. Join the ING International Talent Programme at ING.nl/graduates

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PLACEBO EDUCATION ‘What if we just gave people lots of face-to-face contact and told them they were being educated?’

By Ashleigh Woodend

How individuals value this relative to tuition fees essentially answers the question of ‘is it worth it?’ Nonetheless, critics of the system have come up with more depressing conclusions and see higher education as a stage on which so-called ‘experts’ ‘polish pebbles, dull diamonds and instill in graduates an unwarranted sense of confidence that

proves vital in allowing them to succeed.

If this is really true, then wouldn’t it be wise to save resources and completely redefine the setup of higher education?

Taking placebos to a new domain We’re all more or less au fait with what a placebo is. A sick person gets a sugar pill instead of some amazing drug and starts to show signs of improvement that can only be attributed to the power of the mind. An interesting notion in itself, but what if we went one step further and extended this to higher education? Ridiculous idea?

Well, when the university classroom is dissected, some see it as a “theater" aimed at convincing students that they now belong to an elite group of higher earners. If students believe this story, many of them will then live it, and this is where we observe a placebo effect. Furthermore, graduates are even more likely to hold this sense of entitlement because they struggled so much to get their degrees, and given that they go out into the world with both credentials and confidence, success becomes significantly more likely. So what advocates of placebo education ask, is ‘What if we just gave people lots of faceto-face contact and told them they were being educated?’

This way professors and students could animate the feeling that learning has taken place (much like they already do), and according to the placebo effect, we would see the same

results on the success of graduates as we have seen in the past.

Really?

Although the idea does bridge on ludicrous, it does have a certain intellectual charm and is worth some thought. I mean, what is it, besides the name, which makes Harvard and Yale graduates so much more attractive and successful than those from other non-Ivy League universities? I ask this, because much of the curriculum is very similar, and so there is a somewhat unjustified premium received by these graduates simply because they went to that university.

Personally however, I am not of the mind that such an idea would work in reality, and furthermore for degrees that are far more specialized and complex, placebo education would simply not work. I mean, imagine being operated on by a surgeon who throughout medical school, was just told he was being educated. This may be an exaggeration, but what I mean to say is that while tertiary education has its faults and does not guarantee that life will go exactly as we’ve planned, its educational, social, networking and emotional benefits do, in my opinion, outweigh its costs. That is, of course, unless you go to Harvard.

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Ok, so how many times in this year alone have you found yourself either sitting in class, or slogging over a book, and asked ‘What is this all for?’ Well you’re not alone in asking in this; many academics and critics have examined much the same question. On the one side, there are those that argue that while the exorbitant fees for tertiary education may seem to outweigh the value of a degree, getting a degree is not an end in itself, but rather a gateway to further opportunities. And so, while a degree does not guarantee a high-paying job and a one-way ticket to the ‘good life,’ the process does prepare young adults to take advantage of a more expansive set of career opportunities.

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Views on higher education

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From the Arctic to the Antarctic:

an interview with Cycle for Water

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iChiel roodenburg (27) And Joost notenboom (29) Are both grAduAtes of rsm. About two yeArs Ago they deCided to CyCle from the ArCtiC to the AntArCtiC on bAmboo biCyCles to rAise AwAreness for the globAl wAter Crisis. After A Journey of Almost 20 months through the AmeriCAs And A tAlk At tedx AntArCtiCA, they Are bACk in town. the eClAire Could not forgo the opportunity to interview them.

By Nicole Stelea

Q: Almost straight out of university you decided to travel across continents on bamboo bicycles. How did you arrive to that choice?

Michiel: I always knew that I wanted to travel after my graduation. Joost and I met when we went to Israel as part of our master exchange. There, we made a trip through the Middle East. In Iran, we stayed in a little hostel, in the middle of nowhere and suddenly this guy came in, covered in dust, with his bicycle and we said to each other: ‘This guy is crazy!’.

We spent a couple of nights with him and his stories about the people he met and about his adventures were so inspiring that at that point I decided I wanted to do that too, to travel with my bicycle. But, I had to convince Joost to come along.

That was the biggest challenge.

Joost: At the same time I was writing my thesis about water issues between Israel and Palestine and, having worked in different parts of Africa or the Middle East, we saw local communities struggling for water. I wanted to join, but I wanted to do it for a cause. That is why we did Cycle for Water.

have the knowledge to make websites or to build wells and pumps, but we looked for sponsors and found partners.

KPMG was willing to sponsor us for this trip, and IN10 decided to be our media partner and made our website. We also teamed up with a whole range of organizations that had water projects in these areas.

Experiences

Joost: We convinced people to help us and showed them that we have a passion about this subject and that they should help us out to realize it. Everybody has their own particular set of skills and it is because we can bring them together and form a team that you can actually do these kinds of things.

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“I feel like everybody has a great story to tell…”

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Q: How did you arrange your trip?

Michiel: We had no money and we did not

of weeks, in Alaska. In the beginning, we had a lot of broken stuff and physically and mentally it was hard. Then, at some point we met Heinz Stucke, coming on the other side, cycling on his little foldup bicycle. This man has been cycling for 50 years; he hasn’t been home since 1962. We stopped to have a chat with him and he was such a positive person. After meeting him we just looked at the world differently. We started to appreciate what we were doing more, the sky got bluer and the water got clearer and from that moment on it was just an upwards spiral. Inspiration is found in unexpected places sometimes.

Q: Did you prepare physically in advance for cycling 30,000 km?

Joost: No! We forgot about that! We had a very steep learning curve the first couple

Q: “Mark Twain once said: “twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.

Discover“” This quote comes from your very first post on your blog. What did you expect to discover on this trip?

Joost: This quote is very meaningful. One of our board members, Robert Swan, the polar explorer, used that quote while presenting here during an event of the EFR. It inspired us to make the decision to commit to it. I think for me, personally all my expectations have been met and surpassed. When we started, we never knew what it would turn out to be like, especially with the raising awareness for the water issues part. But, we had a lot of success. We have been on CNN;

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Michiel: For me, it was the team effort that kept the whole thing going. You share the good moments and the bad moments together. The good ones become twice as good and the bad moments you forget them. Sometimes you feel down or sick, but you always have somebody else who is there.

That security kept me going the whole trip. We differ a lot from each other, but if you realize you are different and you are honest to each other and you talk about these differences, you can enhance your individual strengths

“Inspiration is found in unexpected places sometimes.”

Q: During your trip, you had an encounter with a bear, swam with a whale shark, spotted a pink river dolphin, saw poignant poverty, came up with the Theory of Plastic Bag and finally you touched Antarctic ground.

What is the most memorable memory of the entire trip and how did all these experiences change you as a person?

Michiel: I feel like everybody has a great story to tell and I am more open now to inspiration from others. You need to enjoy the moment and suck up everything you can. Sometimes it is very difficult and sometimes it is also very easy, it just overcomes you. I have been cycling up a hill with this grand view of the valleys below and, without knowing why, I just started crying. I was not feeling happy or sad, it was just grasping that moment and realizing this was once in a lifetime opportunity. Nothing will be the same again after this. But, the most beautiful thing of the whole trip was not a sunrise or a sunset, not a certain country or a village. It was the people we met on the road and their friendliness. People taking you into their houses, showing interest, exchanging stories and these stories are the things I am going to take with me for the rest of my life.

Idealism

Q: Can you tell more about the projects you visited?

Michiel: We visited a lot of projects along the way and we also sponsored a couple of them. For us, whenever we sponsored a project, it was very important that the local community was involved, that the NGO involved knew about the people, had their contacts and had education as one of their pillars in their project.

That’s the most important thing. You need to educate the people and give them independence from aid. You need to give them the tools to fix things for themselves - they are open to that and they are very proud and eager to learn skills. Once you give them that, they can change the world for themselves for the better, and that is, I think, the most sustainable way to help people.

Q: In the European Union 11% of the inhabitants don’t have access to safe drinking water. Do you have any opinion how we can improve the water safety in the EU? Joost: That is a lot of people and the fact that this isn’t on the cover of every magazine in the Europe says a lot about the hidden truth about water.

A lot of people do not know that these issues exist. When we cycled through the Americas, we also observed that a lot of people in the capital cities don’t know that people in their country are struggling with access to clean drinking water. That this happens as well in the EU is a surprise, even for us. It’s an eye-opener. What you can do about it, is making people aware that this actually

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Q: What thought kept you going during difficult times?

and you can decrease your individual weaknesses and that is a beautiful thing to experience.

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we did talks at universities, at schools.

People are really interested in this issue and really want to change something. It is important that they are standing up and are trying to take charge of their own destiny and situations. We really resonated with them and that is a very motivating thing, as it was not so much the physical challenge of cycling 30,000 km. After a couple of weeks, everybody is fit, you can do it. It is rather the mental aspect of getting on the bike, putting up tents, finding food, finding a new place to stay, and doing that every day, 600 days in a row. Then, there was the mental aspect of leaving people behind that you just met. You make new friends because you connect very quickly with people.

You have this story to tell and people are opening up to you, so you very much become a part of their stories and then after every day you have to leave. That was the most difficult, for me.

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happens here, because if you want to change anything you need action and for action you need awareness. You need to know that there is a problem before you can actually start fixing it.

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Q: What are your plans for the future?

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to roll it out on World Water Day, on the 22nd of March. In 2013 we will do the first one and we are talking to schools in a couple of countries around the world, who are interested in doing this program as well.

“You need to know that there is a problem before you can actually start fixing it.”

Michiel: We came up with an idea that probably will have the Cycle for Water brand live on and will raise more awareness for the global water crisis.

We are going to work together with primary schools by organizing a water day for children 7-to-12-year-old, with experiments to learn about water, or even race along a track to collect money for water projects.

Q: Last but not least, do you have any useful tips for future adventurers?

Joost: We have a pilot program in October with a school of 400 kids in the UK that are doing this, and then we want

Commit! Do it! Make the decision to go.

Be inspired and grasp that inspiration and do something with it. As long as you have passion for your project, you

will see it through and it will work.

You can probably imagine 100 reasons why you should not do something; you only need one reason why you actually should. As long as you have that reason, just go for it!

If you want to read more on Michiel and Joost’s trip or on their Cycle for Water initiative, you can visit their blog online: www.cycleforwater.com

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Is Big Pharma in trouble?

By leigh de jager

The Pharmaceutical Innovation Crisis

The large pharmaceutical companies are bound to change, and have to adapt to the changing market if they want to survive. One of the solutions to the drop in innovation is increased productivity of the research and development pipeline. By adding different groups that play an integrated role in the decision process, the decision is not left to only one entity, meaning that different viewpoints are included in the decision process. Additionally, certain groups then focus on their specialization, such as academia doing the basic research, leading to more effective outcomes.

The pharmaceutical market still heavily relies on the outdated blockbuster model, where one drug generates a profit of 1 billion dollars which the company then relies on for their main revenues. By market stratification taking place it could give a more diversified portfolio of drugs instead of just one drug. An example of this could be by investing in pharmacogenetics which would normally have been neglected as they are not perceived as big blockbusters. However, changing this essential business model could be challenging for larger companies that have relied on it for so long. Most pharmaceutical companies do not want to create a completely new business model that has not been proven to be effective, and this continue to rely on the blockbuster model.

The bigger you are the harder you fall With most of the blockbuster drugs coming into the public domain and the entrance of new drugs on the market dwindling, the job of the big pharmaceutical companies may go to the small niche generic companies. With lower costs and less pressure to create new drugs, the generic companies can produce affordable drugs while still making a profit. Thus, with the large pharmaceutical companies facing many new challenges in the future, the main question is how consumers will react. Will they remain brand loyal and pay the higher prices, or will they switch to the cheaper generics and leave the large pharmaceutical companies to fend for themselves?

Only time will tell, but in an ever-changing market, Big Pharma will either have to sink or swim.

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Inevitable changes

Nevertheless, the solutions of public funding and financial incentives are only short term, and thus changing the pricing and reimbursement policies and the regulatory framework could be more effective long term solutions. Making reimbursement more attainable for new drugs could lead to companies investing in new drugs as they would have some security knowing that it will reach the market and gain reimbursement.

Furthermore, the stringent regulatory framework would need to be updated yearly, where outdated regulations are taken out and the additions of new regulations are adequately monitored. Nonetheless, these solutions would take time to put into place which means that the crisis cannot be solved overnight.

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The pharmaceutical market is facing an innovation crisis. You might assume that the financial crisis is the main reason for this pharmaceutical innovation crisis, but there are other factors that play a key role. The number of new molecular pharmaceuticals that are approved each year has remained quite stagnant, while the research and development costs have continued to rise. In simple terms, this means that the costs are exceeding the benefits of investing in new innovations. On top of that, the launch success of new drugs is minimal, and the already existing blockbuster drugs are reaching their patent expiration date. Additionally, attaining reimbursement has become more difficult due to the focus on cost-containment. If that wasn’t enough, regulations are only added, and never removed, from law, leading to increasingly complicated legal requirements. With all these challenges facing the pharmaceutical market, the larger companies have begun to neglect the investment in new innovations.

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Advertorial

Real financial responsibility, right from the start Getting the challenges to show what you can do is the secret to rapid career progression

Fokke Jan Burema, Masters in Organization Management Control. Currently Innovation Marketing and Strategy Controller for Philips Consumer Lifestyle in Amsterdam.

Fokke Jan Burema is typical of the ‘Top Talent’ that is helping Philips to grow.

After graduating from Groningen University in 2007 with a Master’s degree in Organization Management Control, he joined Philips Lighting’s factory in Winschoten (The Netherlands) as a Production Controller. Within the space of just four years, he has risen to the position of Innovation Marketing and Strategy Controller for Philips Consumer Lifestyle in Amsterdam. From dealing with budgets of just a few million Euros in the factory, he’s now in control of a three-figure (million Euro) annual budget that carries with it far greater responsibility.

A fast track record of success “One of the great things about working for Philips is that you get meaningful project responsibility right from the start, so you can quickly begin to add real achievements to your CV,” says Fokke Jan.

While he has seen many of his peers staying in a job for two to three years in order to build up a proven track record of success, Fokke Jan has succeeded in moving into a more challenging and more responsible job every one-and-a-half years.

“If people at Philips think you have the potential, they positively encourage you to make the most of your talents,” he says.

“During the Philips internship that I did during my Master’s, they offered me a place on one of their European Business Courses, which immediately got me the Production Controller job in Winschoten. Then they put me on their ‘Top Talent’ program to help develop my business and inter-personal skills so that I could fast-track my career even more quickly.”

Broad experience In addition to the speed with which he has been able to progress, Fokke Jan has

also been impressed by the variety of work that he’s enjoyed at Philips.

“At Philips Lighting in Winschoten I learned a lot about supply chains and manufacturing - how you organize financial systems to cater for just-in-time production,” he says.

“Then when I moved to Philips Consumer Lifestyle in Drachten I got to know the other end of the equation - the design innovation and product development process. In fastmoving consumer product markets, where development costs have to be recouped over as little as one or two years, controlling R&D project costs proved to be highly challenging. Now in my current job, it’s all about new media channels such as web promotions and social networking, which are just as fast-moving. So it’s extremely important that I help to make sure the budget is spent on the most effective means of communicating with Philips’ customer base.”

The rapid pace of change within Philips means there will plenty of new opportunities for Fokke Jan to take his career in the directions he wants to go.

“My next move will be international, probably to Asia,” he adds, “but with Philips’ rapid expansion in emerging markets such as China, it will be perfectly possible for me to do that without moving to another company.”

Internship opportunities If, like Fokke Jan, you’re keen on fast-tracking your finance career in a company committed to creating meaningful solutions that improve people’s lives, find out more about our current internship opportunities that Philips offers you by visiting www.philips.nl/carriere and fill in job number: 017828 or 017079

Start a finance career where you develop more than just your professional skills Grow with Philips. Join a company that places great value on people as well as

financial results. We challenge and empower you to make the most of your talents while working in multidisciplinary and international teams. You will be surrounded by passionate, insightful colleagues who share your drive to create superior customer experiences. Our growth depends on yours, so we’ll support you with career opportunities that let you accelerate in the directions to which you aspire.

Visit our website and give your financial career a boost while facilitating growth for our business.

www.philips.nl/carriere

Join 120 years of innovation

stu d en t

l i fe

Introducing the 49th Board

l

Ast June first, the efr-members gAthered to witness A speCiAl oCCAsion. After muCh speCulAtion, Just After 9 pm they finAlly AnnounCed whAt we’d All been wAiting for: the 49th boArd, the ones who will leAd us in the upComing yeAr.

By Tim langstraat Selecting a new board is a tough job every year. Selecting the right people for the right job, from nearly a hundred applicants, is a formidable task. Over the course of 3 weeks the previous board looks at curricula, holds extensive interviews and, finally, decides which mix of candidates would make the best board.

And on June first, they finally announced their decision.

Familiar faces One thing that can be said about the new selection is clear: they’re mostly people we already know. Out of our eight new leaders for the coming year, a grand six are active members: be it from the Involve committee, such as Redmar Poot, or Activities, like Marc Hendrickx, these are people who have been active for a long time, and have finally decided to be involved with the EFR in the best way possible.

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However, while you might not know all of the board immediately, I’m sure that won’t stay for long. Our new President, Nienke Benders, and our Marketing officer, Beatrijs Bakker, will make sure that you’ll know their names before long. Just like the 48th have before them, they’ll soon become well-known members of the EFR community.

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Ordeals After everyone met the new board, the party could finally start.

An evening of heavy drinking would soon follow, as the 48th made sure that whatever happened that night, the 49th would not leave a beer undrunk. While for most of us an evening of heavy drinking would be a close of a good time, for the 49th it was only starting. Armed with a meager supply list, vague instructions and a hangover worse than most can imagine, they went off to find the 48th board, which was holed up in a location somewhere in Europe. As their first teambuilding exercise, they had to work together to reach their eventual location.

Introductions Of course, as they always do, the new board found their predecessors, and had an excellent week getting to know each other. Now, all that’s left is to wish the 49th a very, very good year ahead, and a lot of luck in running this awesome organization, and of course introduce our new board. They are: president – Nienke Benders vice-president secretary – Marc Hendrickx treasurer – Patrick van Tol marketing & it officer – Beatrijs Bakker Activities officer – Marlou Veloo international officer – Jeroen Huisman Career & hr officer – Redmar Poot Commercial officer – Johan Schoone

s tud e n t

l i f e

Present vs Future selves i

f you’re At your lAptop right now And wAnt to kill time, ted.Com hAs A speeCh by dAniel goldstein, who tAlks About why the sCrooges of the world think they’ll be bill gAtes tomorrow, And the simon Cowells think they’ll be mother teresA. he opens with A greek myth, whiCh hAs the sAme dilemmA As the sCene in hArry potter And the deAth of his beArded mentor, where dumbledore tells hArry he hAs to follow his orders “no mAtter whAt”. A CommAnd delivered with whAt goldstein CAlls “A Cool heAd”, to preempt the wreCkAge thAt Could be CAused by A hot-heAded deCision.

By Vanessa Abeyawardena

In the study, they began with the hypothesis that people’s decisions for future selves were different from their decisions for present selves and instead resemble decisions for others.

There were four experiments to the study to compare their feelings about taking the task now or in the future: drinking something disgusting (for “research purposes”), tutoring peers during exam week, receiving emails for charity, and receiving money. This gave interesting results. For example: in the first experiment, participants were fine with choosing

So, why do we have such a detached opinion of our future selves and other people? Pronin, Olivola and Kennedy explain that we take into account our thoughts and feelings when making decisions for our present selves, but we don’t do this for our future selves, and neither, of course, for other people.

How do you combat this? The next time you make a resolution or a simple deadline, remind yourself that your future self will share many of the same feelings you feel now. If it’s not a goal, step outside yourself and make an objective, logical decision.

This will make sure you don’t do anything impulsively. These are strategies that deal well with problems that infiltrate all our lives: saving money, dieting, meeting a deadline, giving up smoking, or visiting your least favourite aunt.

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It’s obvious to any of us that although we can have great insight into our emotions today, predicting our emotions tomorrow is something we cannot excel at. We know we also can’t accurately predict other people’s emotions. But in 2008, a fascinating study by Princeton’s Pronin, Olivola and Kennedy provided us with the first empirical evidence that not only do we think of ourselves as different from our future selves, but we go so far as to give that future self a whole new identity.

to ingest a significantly higher amount of the disgusting drink in the future than at present. They also chose larger quantities of the drink for other people to ingest. All of this supported the researchers’ hypothesis.

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In case you’re not the miser or caustic so-and-so that I accounted for just now, and thus have no intention of turning into either a genius philanthropist or saint who believes in salvation for all (even those who cannot sing), here’s an example we can all relate to… tomorrow, I will be on that diet. Haven’t we all been there? It’s the classic New Year’s problem. Tomorrow, I will reply my Grandma’s tedious Christmas email with no punctuation. Tomorrow, I will be able to forgive Brad for cheating, but today I must put his iPod in the washing machine. Tomorrow, I will be a better person.

What makes us so different tomorrow? It’s not simply a hope that we will be better tomorrow, it’s irrational certainty that we will be the older, wiser, “ideal” version of ourselves. Of course your goals are attainable, but that’s not the point.

The irrationality is in thinking that change comes overnight.

Your future self is not going to be self-disciplined enough to launch your diet, or smart enough to cram the material you procrastinated today.

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Them e

5 Trends That Are

Changing Your Life

By Kim van Adrichem

I

n the March issue of Time magazine 10 life-changing trends were introduced. As I read them, I realized I had never consciously thought about these topics, yet, they are fairly accurate in describing today’s changing times. Hopefully, these ideas will make you realize how the world is changing and how you fit into it.

1. Living Alone is the New Norm The nuclear family consists of mom, dad, and (at least two) happy children.

Introduced in 1950 as the ideal form of co-habitation, the nuclear family quickly became the representation of a conventional domestic life. For instance, think of all the Norman Rockwell prints where a happy family unit is portrayed; mother cooks and cleans, dad cuts the meat, the children are loved. Now, 62 years later, the form of habitation has changed drastically. In the USA, nearly 33 million American live alone (28% of all US households) so that childless couples are now the most prominent residential type. It was found in a 2011 consensus that the group of Americans living alone is most concentrated in the cities. Living alone, being alone, and feeling alone are different things. Harvard psychiatrists found that those living alone often times suffer from increased loneliness which is damaging to health and happiness; social isolation and disconnectedness are an inevitable result. An NYU sociology professor, Prof. Klinenberg, has found that with social media networks we feel more connected and by living alone we have both time and space for restorative solitude.

We can be ourselves when living alone; individuality, by now a sacred modern value, gives us personal freedom, control, and self-realization. Living alone will allow you to discover yourself and might just be what we need to reconnect.

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2. Handprints, Not Footprints

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Most of us have probably heard of the concept ‘carbon footprint’. A carbon footprint represents the total amount of emissions you have caused during your life that contributes to global warming. A footprint is not a positive thing and we are encouraged to live more eco-friendly lives in order to reduce the impact of the footprint (by traveling less by plane, taking shorter showers, etc.). Prof. Norris, a Harvard professor made his students calculate their footprint for his class and was dismayed when he found his students concluding the planet would be better off if they had never been born. The carbon footprint was only bringing bad news. So, in order to motivate people to make a positive change, he created the tangible counter-part to the footprint; the handprint. The handprint is a way to encourage ecofriendly behavior; after someone has signed up at handprinter.org, they pledge to enlarge their handprint and personal progress can be shared via Facebook status updates. For instance, if you print double-sided you can update your action and enlarge your handprint. If you recruit other handprinters and they also show good behavior, then you get rewarded. This has been seen as a move from awareness of global warming to ongoing action. With this positive goal in mind, you feel good about every small step in the right direction and this makes the handprint a more manageable way to continue ecofriendly behavior.

T h e m e

4. Your Head is in the Cloud

You go to university, you make sure to participate in extra-curricular activities, then you get a good job, work your way up and eventually reach your goal of living “the good life”. But how good is the good life? Turns out that stress at the topic has such a toxic effect that it cancels out many positive aspects of succeeding. High-status individuals tend to be driven and work-devoted, those people who are unable to fight the urge to answer every single e-mail. Another supposed perk of high-status that can be punishing is power. If you have power over someone’s career, it is likely you would face interpersonal conflicts.

For instance, if you are the boss and have to fire someone who you have worked with for a long time, then it will likely keep you up at night. And then there are the small details sociologists call “micro-impressionmanagement activities” of whether you are wearing the right clothes, live in a certain type of home, will have kids that go to Harvard, etc. in order to retain credibility.

These stressful factors are a normal component in high-status communities. Turns out high-status people also have stressors, they are just different kinds of stressors. So, be careful what you wish for.

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Recently there has been a lot of debate in the USA about how and when American can be tracked in public on the internet by companies.

But what is privacy? Officially, privacy is “the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people”. But where does privacy start or end?

According to the Supreme Court, you lose your privacy when you leave your house. Yet, social media follows us everywhere and continual details of our private lives online are collected and stored as never before. Retailers gain insights into customer demand while law enforcement can use the information to detect criminal behavior. Indeed, it has been found that Americans are happy to give up their privacy in exchange for safety or to save time or money. In the Supreme Court, five Justices have defined privacy according to Americans’ expectations: it is up to you to set the bar for what is private and/or public.

However, the Supreme Court does have to draw the line somewhere, in case information is misused.

With technology delivering us to the public, the gift of privacy is slowly disappearing.

5. High-Status Stress

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3. Privacy in Public

With more information accessible to us every day, we are becoming more dependent on search engines and smart phones to remember information for us. The fact that we are outsourcing our memory expecting that information will be continually and instantaneously available – is changing our cognitive habits. Prof Sparrow, from Columbia University, found that when a person does not know the answer to the question, he will immediately think about where to find the nearest Web connection rather than think about the subject itself. Also, it turns out that when we expect information to be available later on, we don’t remember it as well as when we think it might become unavailable.

We live in a hyperconnected real world so that we feel it’s unnecessary to encode information internally; “when we need it, we will look it up”. Complementary to the first observation, it turns out that the expectation that we’ll be able to location information down the line leads us to form a memory not of the fact itself, but of where we’ll be able to find it. However, it is important to know certain facts, maintain cognitive knowledge, because factual knowledge must precede skill. You can’t just Google context. One of the worst fears many of us (unconsciously) have is losing our Internet connection; so, if you are going to keep your memory on your smart phone, better make sure it’s fully charged.

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worl d

Quantum Computing: Science Fiction or a (Qu)bit of Reality?

A

few months Ago, After wAiting ten minutes for my lAptop to turn on, loAding my AppliCAtions, And finAlly lAunChing my web browser, only for it to stAll And freeze, i rAn to mediA mArkt. like most people, i deCided thAt i needed to immediAtely buy A new Computer. As teChnology Ages we must ConstAntly be on the lookout for the next best thing – lest we beCome outdAted ourselves.

By Martin jaakola

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In the last few decades we have seen computing power double every 18 to 24 months, a phenomenon known as Moore’s law. Unfortunately this trend cannot continue indefinitely and, if we are to continue producing exciting new technology, a paradigm shift must occur. Dr. Michio Kaku of NYU predicts that research and development will move in one of four directions in the next decade: atomic, molecular, optical, or quantum mechanics will provide the basis for a new wave of technology. However, what the future holds is never certain.

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Why Quantum?

Currently, silicon is used in semi-conductors, the basis of most of our technology. Unfortunately, as silicon chips get smaller and smaller, they tend to melt, limiting how

efficient current technology can become.

In short, quantum computers are our best replacement and could be a game changer if researchers figure out a way to turn the theories into reality. While the theory behind quantum psychics may be dry and mind-boggling, the implications held for quantum based computing are quite the opposite. This technology would be useful in artificial intelligence, encryption, tracking of weather patterns, image processing, and even in improving the efficiency of search engines such as Google. Any field which must solve large systems of linear equations will be directly influenced.

wo r l d

Quantum computers aren’t simple. These days, a standard home computer works by breaking information down into small pieces, the smallest being bits, known as ones and zeros. Quantum computers on the other hand, involve qubits. Qubits are able to be zeros or ones at the same time, or any value in between. In essence, they work by isolating a particle, such as an electron, spinning it and measuring the wavelengths it makes to process large amounts of information quicker than any supercomputer could today. One point should be stressed; they cannot calculate small equations any faster than standard computers, rather many equations simultaneously or massive numbers which take far too long to calculate on normal computers.

One field in particular, artificial intelligence, holds promising potential. Some robots are currently able to see and hear better than humans, but don’t understand what they are experiencing. Quantum computing could change this. Due to its capacity to process large amounts of data, we could encounter robots in the next few decades which not only have superior senses to humans, but can actually think for themselves. The age-old question of what comprises human consciousness could be solved, or perhaps, we will be sent into the world of iRobot where evil robots take over the world. It sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but it could be reality.

“The age-old question of what comprises human consciousness could be solved, or perhaps, we will be sent into the world of iRobot where evil robots take over the world.”

but, “useful computers are still decades away.” The fundamental problem of maintaining a state of coherence while managing decoherance – interference from microwaves for example – is needed to extract calculations by the computer without disrupting the fragile particle. To exemplify just how difficult this is, in June, a new record was achieved by scientists from Simon Fraser University who kept an electron trapped inside of a slice of silicon for three minutes. An impressive accomplishment; but far from what it will take to build a marketable quantum computer.

“If we are to continue producing exciting new technology, a paradigm shift must occur.”

We are approaching an important point in history where the decisions we make will affect future generations and possibly the fate of the human race. Our progress can lead to faster computers, sustainable farming, and even advanced weaponry. What the future holds may not always be clear, but breakthroughs are just around the corner and we may be pleasantly surprised if the promises this technology holds become true – unless it leads to robots taking over the world.

Not Just Science Fiction

Of course, not everyone is optimistic about such a result.

Scott Aaronson of MIT, who wrote an eye-opening article in the New York Times entitled: Quantum Computing Promises New Insights, Not Just Supermachines, states that, “quantum computers are a tantalizing possibility”

jj u u ll yy 22 00 11 22

While theoretical physicists are still attempting to develop a working quantum computer, Dr. Geordie Rose of D-Wave Industries claims to have built one, sparking a rift that has isolated him from the mainstream scientific community. With none other than Lockheed Martin as a customer, Rose is right to claim success but whether or not he has developed a superior computer using advanced silicon technology, or a true quantum computer, is up for debate. The company refuses to release data about exactly what they sold to Lockheed Martin which is a highly secretive aerospace and defense manufacturer. Whatever the technology is, Rose refers to it as the world’s first quantum computer, and it means that the future is heading in a quantum direction.

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entertA i n m en t

The Social Media Dream

By Nadia Zafirah

A

ndreAs kAplAn And miChAel hAenlein define soCiAl mediA As "A group of internet-bAsed AppliCAtions thAt build on the ideologiCAl And teChnologiCAl foundAtions of web 2.0, And thAt Allow the CreAtion And exChAnge of user-generAted Content.” fortunAtely, it goes beyond thAt. it does not Just Allow exChAnge of Content, but Also mArketing of Content. it is Common to see people promoting their produCts And businesses, if not themselves, on every soCiAl mediA plAtform possible. we’re All too fAmiliAr with Artists who mAke their fAme on youtube, or the video bloggers, but how About other soCiAl mediA plAtforms? other types of CreAtivity, suCh As writing And designing, Are enhAnCed by soCiAl mediA network, And mAny other plAtforms Are ‘embedded’ into it to mAke shAring eAsier.

At first it may seem Social media allows us to be more creative, instead of the common view that online users mostly waste their time browsing through their friends’ latest late-night adventures. At first it may seems that the time spent browsing is not productive, but it might create just the right inspiration and drive to showcase your arts with the fellow writers and bloggers.

Writing online has its perks; from getting supportive comments and constructive criticism from your loyal readers, to additional ideas, and volunteering proofreaders. There are even websites that will pay you for your ideas, and help you develop the articles in their safe environment.

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The same goes for designing. It may start from simple photoshopping, but by posting it online, and joining the readily available fandom communities, you can get not only feedback on your work but also create new connections and networks. These things can help your writing and design to grow. Additionally,

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what started as a way to spend your free time, can be made into your portfolio.

Designing will be more fun too with the abundant amount of material available online, although we could be more careful with the copyrighted materials.

With the number of reviews and followers and shares or likes that the designs or stories have, it is made easier for headhunters to look for their future writer or designer. You could even add it to your CV. Get recruited your own take on a movie orTV series poster on other social media platforms, you are putting your name out there with the chance of your work being seen by media representatives and get recruited. Some writers already have their works published as a companion to the main fiction. One of the mosttalked about book, Fifty Shades of Grey, originated from a fanfiction based on Twilight.

Free marketing

For aspiring writers and graphic designers, social media can be the right place to start. In today’s globalized world, opportunities are presented everywhere if you know how to get them. If it’s hard to network, finding someone to get your work published or at least to be known, the internet can be the place to be. You never know where your doodling, simple montage and leisure writing might take you.

With its sharing ability, social media users could share their favorite pieces with their friends, providing free marketing for aspiring writers or designers. Awards in the online community give some sense of achievement and recognition of your work. When needed, it can be presented as the success of your works.

e n te r tA i n m e n t

Pinterest: All A-board! m

ove over fACebook. writing on wAlls is so yesterdAy. pinning on boArds is the future.

Alright, so thAt’s being A bit overdrAmAtiC. As riveting As it is to follow the rivAlry between the vArious forms of soCiAl mediA, pinterest, JAm-pACked with user-generAted Content from All over the web, ACts As more of A Complement to your fACebook And twitter ACCounts thAn As A replACement. it’s A more orgAnized, vAried extension of fACebook pAges. it’s A virtuAl version of An inspirAtion sCrApbook, of All the piCtures, Quotes, reCipes, proJeCts And plACes to go thAt you ColleCted. pinterest, with everything sorted elegAntly by CAtegory, is A hAven for Anyone who knows the web is A Complex And Confusing plACe to ColleCt your informAtion And ideAs. reQuest An invite And sign in with A fACebook or twitter ACCount And soon you Could be pArt of the Community.

By Vanessa Abeyawardena

A unique interface When Facebook announced the new Timeline feature in 2011, saying it was received with “mixed feelings” is an understatement. Privacy concerns aside, Facebook’s new dual column view with oversized photographs was, to some, an

assault on the eyes. Everyone was used to text-based interfaces, such as Reddit.

Similarly, Pinterest did not at first turn heads or capture hearts with its simple grid framework of large pictures. Silbermann pursued it though, regarding this unique interface as a more organic and instinctive organization of collectibles.

Simply browse the collections of people you follow, and re-pin your favourites onto your own boards, to plan events, design a new house, get ideas for a new phone, or collect various tutorials on DIY.

A magic speed-marketing button Add the Pin It button to your bookmarks bar, and you too can contribute to Pinterest’s content. What does this mean? You can pin your own website or business, and it could spread faster than iPod giveaway spam. No matter how many times a pin shows up, it links directly to its original site. This works to the advantage of many media empires such as Martha Stewart Living (MSL), which employs “an army” of pinners to keep it among the top brands getting pinned, according to Kelly Alfieri of MSL. It’s clearly worth

the effort. “Pinterest regularly surpasses Facebook and Twitter as referrals”, she says. Additionally, tracking allows MSL to pinpoint exactly which of their pins draws the most attention – their crafts section.

According to Alfieri, 22,000 people follow MSL in Pinterest, but as many as 45,000 keep track of the MSL crafts boards, making this a focal point of interest for MSL staff as they continue to keep their website and magazine current and relevant. They’re not the only company recognizing Pinterest’s growing importance, either.

With Facebook having an estimated 10 billion in cash, is there a chance Pinterest will be taken over by Facebook?

Some analysts say no, citing Facebook’s takeover of Instagram as one of the signs that Facebook might soon go head to head with the fastest-growing social network of today. Others speculate that Pinterest, most recently valued at $1.5 billion, might be the next of Facebook’s take-overs, in an attempt to create an even more accurate user profile. However, with Mark Zuckerberg managing his own Pinterest account, everyone can see that Facebook has taken more than just a friendly interest in this serious competitor.

You don’t have to request an invite to get onboard and be inspired. Take a browse, select the categories you want to see, and collect anything you want. Once, you might have bookmarked these pages in your browser and lost them to a broken laptop, but now you can have all your collections, lists and inspiration online, so you can access them anywhere. If you like it, request an invite and add your own finds or blog to the mix. Sharing ideas has never been easier.

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Founder Ben Silbermann understands this. He was a collector too. "What you collect says so much about who you are," he says. With this inspiration, an innovative idea and a background working for Google, it should have been a cinch for him to make Pinterest a success. But it wasn’t always this busy. You may have only heard about it last year, or maybe not even till now in spite of its popularity, but Pinterest has existed since 2010. Silbermann had to personally contact the starting few whom he would later credit with “keeping it going”. After months of perseverance and dedication, it finally caught on. More than 80 percent of all pins are re-pins, meaning a lot of it is circulated ideas of other people.

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A collector’s dream

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Commerc e

Meat tax: a good idea or a cry out from animal friends?

T

he animal party in Holland has uttered their plans for higher tax on meat. Even though their proposal is probably mostly motivated by the wellbeing of animals, there is actually a lot to say for discouraging meat consumption.

By Nadia Zafirah

Arguments in support of a tax raise:

Fair

As much as most of us like or even love meat, the fact is that the production has a lot of negative side-effects.

One of those negative side-effects is the huge amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the production of meat.

Livestock accounts for 18% percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it the number 1 contributor. To put this into perspective: halving the amount of meat we eat, we’d have no trouble meeting the Kyoto Protocol standards. Aside from methane emission from the animals themselves stock farming hurts the global environment in a number of ways. The land needed for grazing, for a large part, is attained through deforestation. An estimated 70 percent of deforested Amazon rainforest is now used for grazing. In addition to that the grazed areas are often subject to overgrazing and erosion. Besides environment concerns the ecological footprint of meat and national health concerns are among the major issues. The production of one kilo of beef costs as much as taking a hot shower every day for two years!

Having discussed the wide array of problems caused by the overconsumption of meat one might wonder why meat is so cheap. After all, it costs so much! The problem is that the costs that meat production incurs on society are not properly reflected in the price. Most of these costs aren’t costs that the producer of meat will have to cough up. The costs are incurred by all of us, through pollution and the overuse of common goods like clean water.

Overconsumption is the outcome of a price that is lower than the total costs. To address this market inefficiency one must internalize the public costs in the price of the good. A tax is a good tool to do this. A much cited phrase ‘the polluter should pay’ is appropriate here.

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‘Not fair’

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Criticism against a tax raise is often focused on the fairness of such a tax. Low income families wouldn’t be able to buy meat. The availability of cheap meat is apparently a right we need to protect. Besides the fact that meat is hardly

C o m me r c e

the primary need that people worship it to be, the prizes that meat change owner for these days often dip below the price of cat food. Even the argument that low-income families wouldn’t be able to buy meat with a higher tax seems exaggerated. At the moment, low-income families consume more meat than high-income families.

Effectiveness How effective an increased tax would be in reducing meat consumption is not an easy question to answer. Food in general is a typical example of an inelastic product: a product whose turnover responds little to changes in price.

However, within the category food one could brand meat as a luxury product that should have a higher price-elasticity than, for example, bread. The leader of the animal party has stated that a 13% tax on meat would lead to a 9% drop in consumption. That would indicate some inelasticity but remains a very substantial decrease. In addition to problem of low price elasticity, critics have pointed to the need for a European or even global approach, rather than one on a national scale.

Political support?

Concluding A higher tax on meat can be justified on a number of different grounds. The ecological impact alone is reason enough to consider an excise tax on meat. Ecological concerns rarely win political campaigns though. Social and mostly economic concerns have historically been of paramount importance. Regardless it seems that the support for a meat tax is growing and it might not be too long before the price of meat is beefed up.

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There are a couple of ways to tax meat, but in order to spare the market for biological meat, the best way would probably be an excise tax (a fixed amount of money per kg rather than a percentage of price), instead of a higher VAT. Biological meat is already twice as expensive as regular meat. Raising the proportional tax would further widen the gap between biological meat and normal meat in absolute terms. The implication of a different tax level on different sorts of food does introduce some difficulties, especially for products that contain only a portion of meat like prepared food. Nevertheless the Ministry of Finance has already stated that such a system is feasible, although it would be accompanied by a lot of administrative burden.

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Feasibility

Good ideas are far from a guarantee that it will lead to policy. Some good ideas just don’t make you popular. And a higher tax on meat might just be one of those ideas.

Proposals that can lead to job losses are almost bound to lead to political thin ice. Nevertheless the animal party is not the only party who has set their eyes on this tax raise. D66, Groenlinks and the Christenunie, the so called ‘Kunduz-coalition’, have all voiced their support for such a tax. The PvdA and the SP have also stated that the current price for meat is too low. In 2007 a petition for an increase in tax already got more than a hundred thousand signatures making it the first proposal on the political agenda coming straight from society.

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Enterta i n m en t

Augmented Reality Glasses

By Nadia Zafirah

J

ust when you thought being a Google employee can’t get any cooler, in the months ahead you might bump into them wearing futuristic glasses testing the company’s new augmented reality glasses, called Project Glass.

What are they?

In April, Google released the prototype version of Project Glass which looked like ordinary, futuristic-looking clear glasses, but hide in its thick frame buttons to control what you see. Information is displayed on the glasses, which can also be controlled by the wearer through voice commands.

They also have a built-in camera for picture and video recording. In the promotional video that was released by Google, video chatting is enabled with wearer’s point of view shown to the person on the other side, while the other person’s face is shown on the glasses.

Basically, they have the features of a cell phone without the hassle of holding the phone, or wearing an earpiece to use it.

Although internet is not shown in the video, global positioning system and public information, such as metro line schedule, are included in the services they offer.

How do they affect us?

It seems that all is well and harmless with the future mass production of such glasses. However, a lot will change when taking pictures can be done easily and discreetly without having other people know about it. Possibly, new regulations will be made, and people’s attitude in public will differ as well. Gone are the days where we can easily avoid having our pictures

taken when we see cameras raised in front of us. What about places that ban photo taking? Does it mean that we have to lose the convenience of the glasses when we are in, for example, museums and go back to using our phones?

"The features of cell phone without its hassle."

Furthermore, being online twenty-four seven has its downside, the same problem that occurs with using mobile Internet on our phones. Besides disturbing other people’s privacy with our constant information prying with the glasses, our own privacy may be at stake. Logging in online all the time strips us from our privacy by letting other people know our location.

Anything that we put online when we store information with the glasses is not under our control and other parties who are aware of the know-how can always use them.

Would you choose your own scenery?

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With all the technological advances that will come with augmented reality glasses, it will not be long until we can create a scenery that we wants to be shown on screen. Being able to choose your own scenery is a privilege. Forget about the gloomy weather of lack of sun and endless rain, we can have our sunny days if and when we want to. As artificial as it is, since the scenery is only visual, if we can believe what we see, it will still affect us to some extent. It may also help with weather/ambience related depressions such as seasonal affective disorder and improve people’s moods in general; although more research is needed on this.

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All in all, the prospect of commonly available augmented reality glasses is exciting. The future developments that come with it will change our life greatly and hopefully in a positive way. When it comes to technology, it depends on us on how to use it and if it is used wisely, we can reap the maximum benefit it has to offer.

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