Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the “Kyliest” of them all?

Teenage girls usually get angry when another girl wears their same clothes and sometimes even when someone in their class has their same name, as they don’t feel as special or as unique. However, these types of fights have been blown out of proportion with the feud between Kylie Minogue and Kylie Jenner. For those of you who don’t know them, Kylie Minogue is an Australian singer, songwriter, actress, author and entrepreneur who was born in Melbourne in 1968 and Kylie Jenner, on the other hand, is a 19- year old American television personality, socialite, model and businesswomen member of the famous Kardashian family. Although these two have little in common, it has been the only thing that they have the same the source of their legal troubles, as they both wanted to trademark their first name for their business endeavours.

When Kylie J created and released her cosmetics line in 2014, she decided to name it KYLIE after herself and, in order to prevent people from stealing her idea and image, she tried to register “KYLIE” at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), for “advertising services” and “endorsement services”. However, Kylie M opposed this as she had already trademarked her name before. As Kylie M argued, she had trademarks for that name in a wide variety of products such as perfumes, jewellery, songs, books and even has her own webpage www.kylie.com so she stated that allowing Kylie J’s trademark could be confusing and tarnishing to Kylie M’s reputation as she had been using it since the 1980s. Furthermore, Kylie M’s lawyers filed documents describing the Keeping up with the Kardashians star as a “secondary reality television personality” who had been critised for “photo exhibitionism and controversial posts” and recently over false marketing as many customers have spotted that her new lip kits are old ones called differently and charged at a higher price, whereas Kylie M was described an “internationally renowned performing artist, humanitarian and breast cancer activist”.

Despite the harsh words, since the legal action started, the case has been suspended twice already, which seemed to imply there was an understanding and that there would be a solution. However, this has not been the case with both Kylies still fighting for their name. Although neither one of the Kylies nor their respective teams have said anything, Kylie M has finally come up on top as the USPTO has sided with her and she will continue to use Kylie for her business and recording projects. Nevertheless, Kylie J has appealed against this sentence so the incident isn’t entirely closed yet. Thus, we will have to stay tuned to see what the final verdict is.

If Kylie J’s appeal is cancelled she might have to take away her name from all of her cosmetic products, especially taking into account that the trademark for her using her full name “KYLIE JENNER” was also denied. This makes the situation tricky for Kylie J and hopefully she will be able to solve it quickly and without this much drama. In the meantime, Kylie Minogue 1- Kylie Jenner 0.

Sources

http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=86810719&pty=EXA&eno=1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35689207/its-kylie-minogue-versus-kylie-jenner-in-a-battle-for-who-owns-their-name

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35689207/its-kylie-minogue-versus-kylie-jenner-in-a-battle-for-who-owns-their-name

Spanish sources:

http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/02/06/estilo/1486406095_136245.html

http://www.glamour.es/celebrities/noticias/articulos/kylie-jenner-polemica-labiales-ediciones-limitadas-engano/25902

 

 

 

India’s on the move

Being a member of the BRICS has helped India establish itself as a powerful emerging economy with a growing GDP and unprecedented levels of growth of its life expectancy and social well-being. BRICS is an acronym for an association of 5 emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that all have a very large population and have the fastest growing economies in the world. With a GDP in 2016 of $2,288 bn US dollars (a 7.6% increase from last year) and the literacy rate up to 82%, India certainly is moving fast and is becoming more developed every year. For example, India’s GDP is higher that France’s GDP in 2015 and is catching up to countries such as Germany.

Companies all over the world have definitely noticed this and, as a result, the country is getting more opportunities that, in turn, could boost their development even more. A recent example of this would be that Apple is planning to start assembling their phones and later start manufacturing in Karnataka, a state in the south of the country. Although Apple hasn’t confirmed this, Priyank Kharge, minister of information technology and biotechnology in Karnataka, told the AFP news agency: “We have an understanding with Apple and we expect them to start manufacturing in Karnataka by the end of April.”

Unfortunately, the difference between the rural and urban population still remains unresolved as poor people in rural areas still face a lack of resources and opportunities and the gap between rich and poor is still overwhelming. As a result, there is a wide disparity and the differences between those well off and the people who struggle are more than evident. Therefore, the government already has plans to solve the issue. The administration plans to spend $7.09bn on a scheme that would offer every rural household 100 days of work each year and, as a result, people could have money to boost the local economy. Furthermore, funds have been allocated in order to improve roads, electricity, irrigation and access to housing and sanitation to the most rural areas so that rural spending and quality of life could be improved. There are also plans to halve taxes for the poorest percentage of the population.

Overall, the government plans to drive economic development to try to mitigate the current situation in India and to also reduce the negative effects of their decision to ban rupees in rural and semi-rural areas of India. This was such a bad idea as most transactions in these areas happen in cash, which has been in short supply since the rupee ban in November last year. If everything goes well, rural and farm spending would be increased by 24% as part of the administration’s strategy to double farm incomes over five years.

Nevertheless, in order for the plan to be successful, the country would still have to undertake many economic reforms in order to avoid the “leakage system” so the people who are most affected actually receive the help they need so desperately. Finally, top authorities would also have to plan and assort the adequate financial needs as accurately as possible as the government is planning to carry on many schemes and each one of them should receive the funds and time they need. As much as I admire plans to improve India’s rural areas, caution is needed, as all schemes should get sufficient money so that the whole country could really develop as a whole unit and to reduce the rural and urban inequalities.

Sources

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38853640

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38828452

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38824368

 

Don’t show your fingers in selfies

This title might seem slightly confusing mainly because most people show their faces in selfies, not their fingers and even if they do, they usually do the peace sing which is not harmful at all. So, what is this whole thing about?

When biometric fingerprint locks started to be developed for our devices, many thought it was one of the safest methods of data protection developed so far. However, researchers in Japan working at the country’s National Institute of Informatics (NII) have found otherwise. According to their findings, hackers could lift fingerprints from our pictures up to three meters away if the image has a good lighting and is clear enough. Hackers could use our biometric information to steal our identity and to access our documents such as our bank details. Furthermore, hackers could also unlock our phones, computers, doors and anything that requires fingerprint identification.

As a result, experts have warned about the safety breaches that could happen as a result of it. They have identified that celebrities could be most at risk although normal people could be affected as well and so, they have developed some solutions. For instance, they have created a film made of transparent titanium oxide, which can be worn on our fingertips and therefore can hide them without inhibiting unlocking our phones. Another solution would be using a type of paint that prevents people from being able to access your fingerprints although this method is not fully tested as it is still being perfected. Other simpler solutions could be wearing gloves or not showing our fingers at all when taking pictures. Despite this, it is important to take into account that our fingerprints can never be changed therefore, once stolen, people could use them all the time with a wide degree of ease.

Nevertheless, there is no need to panic as of right now. Firstly, because this technology is still not fully developed and secondly because the companies building and creating fingerprint scanners are refining their process daily to make the scan even more precise. This makes it increasingly harder for the hackers to be able to get our fingerprints, as you need a very specific machine to be able to access our full fingerprint.

Although we don’t need to worry right now, it is useful to know this information for our future security, as we always want to feel as protected as possible and enjoy taking pictures without worrying who might be able to access them or any of your body’s information. So peace out readers, but remember, just in case don’t show your fingertips when taking any pictures!

 

Sources

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/making-peace-sign-selfies-could-9611242

 

Spanish sources

http://tecnologia.elpais.com/tecnologia/2017/01/27/actualidad/1485512728_331052.html

 

A Series of Unfortunate (and Exploding) Events

When launching their Note 7 phone, little did Samsung know these phones would go down in history not as the iPhone rival they were initially designed to be, but instead as the exploding phones of many internet memes. For those of you who don’t know what a meme is, it’s a virally-transmitted cultural symbol or social idea usually through captioned photos or videos that are intended to be funny, ridiculing an idea o product. Examples of such memes include pictures such as the following:

Despite the YouTube videos of burning phones, the negative stories and being mocked by the entire internet, Samsung does not seem to have been too badly tarnished by the bad press. The South Korean company actually made a quarterly profit of 9.2 trillion won ($7.2bn; £5.8bn), the firm’s highest since 2013. Indeed, the company’s results are mesmerizing taking into account their technological problems with their phones. However, the company’s flat screen televisions, semiconductors and chips have done extremely well, contributing greatly to the firm’s success. Furthermore, many experts agree that the firm’s brand loyalty is still very strong partially due to the firm’s success in recalling products quickly and in replacing phones for their customers.

In a recent investigation and presentation, Samsung claimed that it was the batteries that caused all the problems as you can read by clicking here  and that they are now working to avoid such problems in the development of their new S8 phone. In order to have their products in perfect state, Samsung is going to delay the phone’s launch instead of showing it at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as had been expected. Nevertheless, there are some who claim that the delay is partially due to the court issues and rumoured corruption cases the company faces.

Although Samsung has faced many problems, I find it quite remarkable that they are still able to make such huge amounts of revenue and that they took the correct actions in order to avoid greater problems. Finally, it is extremely important to regain lost trust and thus, the delays in order to perfect its new products are a smart idea in the long run.

To end this post on a positive note, here is a link to view a funny video created by my friend Barbara Meuser about the Note 7 explosions. Check the video out here!You can follow her on instagram: @miss.babimeuser and on youtube: Babi Meuser

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38727651

http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=7482

 

A lending hand

Around the world, women tend to be in poverty at greater rates than men. The United Nations reported in 1997 that 70% of 1.3 billion people in poverty worldwide are women. The American Community Survey data from 2009 even tells us that in the US, the richest country in the world, 55.2% of the 42.9 million people who live in poverty are women and girls. To help the situation of the girls and women around the world, several organisations have been set up to provide help to businesses that operate in the developing world. An example of one of these organisations is GEA, the Girl Effect Accelerator. Launched at the end of last year, GEA is run by the Nike Foundation, the charity arm of sportswear giant Nike, and Colorado-based business-support organisation, the Unreasonable Group. GEA was set up specifically to help boost small firms (run by both women and men) that are helping to improve the lives of the 250 million adolescent girls around the world that the United Nations estimates are living in poverty. Although GEA does not directly invest in any of the companies it is also helping to introduce the businesses to potential investors and last year, GEA provided 13 organisations with established business mentors.

One of these 13 organisations to be helped was Embrace Innovation a social enterprise (established by Ms. Chen) who works to help millions of vulnerable babies through its revolutionary infant warmers. It is estimated that around one million premature babies die around the world each year because of the level of poverty, as females cannot inafford incubators for the new-borns. To help maintain a premature baby’s body temperature and to keep it alive, Ms Chen’s business – Embrace Innovations – has developed two low-cost baby warmers. This product is aimed specifically at mothers and hospitals in the developing world, as the warmers are effective and a significantly cheaper alternative to expensive baby incubators. The firm’s product, the Embrace Care, does not require any electricity. Instead, a wax-like pad is heated using hot water, and then transferred to a specially designed baby-sized sleeping bag. The basic warmer costs less than $300 (£200), and while sales figures have now been released, Ms Chen says it has helped more than 150,000 babies since it was introduced in 2008. This product could help reduce the number of deaths especially in LICs (Lower Income Countries) as the 16 million girls aged 15 to 19, and some one million under 15 who give birth every year, mostly in lower income countries, could afford to keep their babies safe as it doesn’t need any electricity and will help preserve life.

Another of the businesses being backed by GEA is India-based Ayzh, which sells a clean birth kit (a small pouch containing a number of sterilised items). The business was set up in the city of Chennai in 2010 by young female entrepreneur Zubaida Bai, with the aim of preventing infections during and after childbirth. Ayzh has now sold 100,000 of its clean birth kit, which costs $3, and last year the business expanded overseas into a number of countries in West Africa. Ms Bai, says that companies such as her own, with the support offered by GEA, are helping to challenge the mistaken belief that only charities can assist people living in poverty. With her business she has helped to prevent deaths by labour and reduce child mortality and her products have made hospitals and homes a safer place to give birth to with fewer chances of infections and problems in the health of mothers and babies. With this method, people can be healthier and as a result, not pay for expensive hospital fees and treatment, work more and longer to support the family potentially leading to more income and a family out of poverty.

Finally, a third business backed by GEA is Kenyan firm ZanaAfrica, which makes low-cost sanitary pads. The company, (set up in Nairobi in 2008 by US expat Megan White Mukuria) aims to lower the number of girls who do not go to school because they can’t afford sanitary pads. In Kenya, 65% of teenage girls cannot afford to buy sanitary pads, and as a result were missing school because of the embarrassment. White realised that this was having a knock-on impact on their education and decided to put a solution to this problem so girls could go to school and still participate fully in lessons. Keeping costs to a minimum, and accepting a much lower profit margin than the big producers, ZanaAfrica sells packs for a quarter of the original $1 price. Ms White Mukuria says that the pads, and the health education ZanaAfrica also provides, together with schools are the tools that are helping to alleviate poverty among adolescent girls.

These businesses provide evidence of a good business culture and CSR. With the help of these companies, many girls and women will be able to get away from poverty, as they will be able to get an education and work. I truly find these businesses inspiring and hopefully, when the UN releases a new report, world poverty especially for women and girls will have been reduced, partially because of the help of businesses such as the ones mentioned above.

To find more about the businesses click here, here and here.