The future of motorcycles is being forged today. Leading manufacturers are developing new technologies with the potential to revolutionize the riding experience. 

This wave of innovation, however, has garnered sparse news coverage. The media has focused on developments in the automotive industry such as self-driving cars and electric vehicles, paying little attention to similar trends in motorcycles. 

Retail clinic locations have increased 38 percent in the last five years, according to Kalorama Information, a leading publisher of healthcare market research. Retail clinics are positioned for significant growth in the future, as patients continue to seek out convenient, low-cost healthcare services.

Because doctor's offices are usually only open during business hours on weekdays, it can often be challenging to make an appointment, take time off work, and sit in the waiting room before being seen by a medical professional. In contrast, retail clinics offer walk-in services seven days a week, including evenings and weekends.

You may not realize this, but the newspaper industry has long been in the advertising business, deriving the majority of its revenue from the sale of ad space in print publications. In exchange, businesses purchasing these ads were assured a broad audience of readers. For many years, it was a win-win situation for both sides.

But the digital revolution has changed that. Between 2005 and 2015, newspaper publishing revenues fell at an average annual rate of 7.0%, largely due to advertising losses. In 2015, advertising services accounted for 55% of publishing revenues, down from 71% in 2005.

Five days after the close of a month, I sit at my desk and go through our P/L (profit and loss) statement looking for signs, messages, trends, clarity.

I suspect many in the political world are doing the same.

I print out all the pages that show what we call the “monthly trend” so I can see how we’ve done in previous months, with a final column comparison to the budget.

I take out a wooden ruler from my drawer, and I follow each line asking myself questions about what I expected. Does it jive with what I was told? Does it go along with the narrative I heard over the previous 30 days?

If the election were my P/L, here is what I would consider:

During the final two presidential debates of 2016, the candidates broadly discussed trade. In a brief exchange, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton asserted that the dumping of steel and steel products from China, Japan, and South Korea into US markets has damaged the domestic steel industry.

Now that he is the President-elect, Trump’s plans for the beginning of his presidential term include tenets that reflect these concerns, such as withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and working with the Secretary of Commerce to end unfair trade. 

Long reliant on advertisements as their primary source of revenue, internet publishers, broadcasters, and search engine providers face mounting challenges to their ad-supported business models.

In particular, the rising use of ad blockers – software programs that prevent internet ads from being displayed – by consumers is threatening to undermine the industry’s key source of revenue.

What core skills should researchers build in order to excel? How can researchers stay relevant and impactful long into the future, as technologies continue to evolve?

A variety of thought leaders in the marketing and research sectors shed light on these questions in the new report Towards an Insights Driven Organisation from the MRS Delphi Group.  

According to the report, a passion for the customer and rigorous objectivity are just baseline skill sets. Researchers of the future must also develop the following attributes and abilities.

In October 2016, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that provinces must develop a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2018 or face a C$10 tax per ton of emissions. This figure would increase by C$10 per ton each year until 2022, when emissions would be priced at C$50 per ton. This tax will only be imposed if provincial leaders fail to come up with a plan to limit emissions of their own.

The new carbon pricing scheme is part of the government’s effort to comply with the Paris agreement. Signed earlier this year, the agreement aims to limit the global temperature increase this century to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. While further reductions will be needed for Canada to fully comply with its international commitment, the proposed carbon pricing scheme is seen as an important first step.

This month’s passing of the Kigali Accord marks a significant milestone in the development of the global HVAC/R industry. Signed by nearly 200 Montreal Protocol countries, the Kigali Accord represents a global commitment to combat climate change and, if successful, will result in the reduction of the equivalent of 70 billion tons of carbon dioxide between 2020 and 2050.

By singling out one type of refrigerant, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the Kigali Accord also presents a substantial challenge to both HVAC/R equipment manufacturers and users. 

Among the various hose types, demand for fluid power hose stood out as a star performer due to robust growth in US oil and gas production. Over the 2010-2015 period, sales of fluid power hose increased at an impressive average annual rate of 21%, largely attributable to rising sales in the US oil and gas industry. US oil and gas output (in terms of British thermal units) saw average annual gains of 7.6% over the 2010-2015 period, nearly three times the 2.6% average yearly growth from 2005 to 2010.