Topic Reading-Vol.3224-2/7/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Nike made a hands-free shoe and you have to see it to believe it

One of the businesses that have enjoyed an unexpected growth during the pandemic is comfortable clothes and shoes as people work from, study at, and just stay home. So, won’t it be great if there are shoes that don’t bother your hands to be put on and taken off like slippers? Nike got some idea and has introduced a hands-free shoe, called the Go Flyease. It’s a lace-less sneaker that can be put on and taken off without using hands. You don’t have to be lazy to enjoy this new mechanism that makes your life easier. How does it work?

Enjoy watching the video to learn about this latest lace-less, hands-free shoe from Nike.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/01/business/nike-hands-free-shoe/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3223-2/6/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Why your face could be set to replace your bank card

How would you like to pay your bill, cash, check, card, phone, or face? In the past few years, pay-by-phone has become popular in many countries and overwhelmingly in China. It’s a matter of time as to when you start using one if you haven’t. Now, with advanced facial recognition technologies, you no longer need a phone or card with you for payments. Facial recognition payment might sound futuristic but it is already happening in China and has been rolled out in the US, too. You may worry about the security issue but the service providers say it’s safer than a password. In fact, photos are converted into mathematical maps of unique facial vectors so that outsiders can’t identify the person. Also, the accuracy is so high that even identical twins are recognized as different persons. Indeed, iPhone users seem to be happy with facial recognition and Apply Pay, it might not take so long to see this new payment method can be chosen at shops, restaurants, and e-commerce sites. Another contactless payment transaction under the coronavirus pandemic.

Enjoy reading the article and think if you can show the same smile for a ripoff or good deal.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55748964

Topic Reading-Vol.3222-2/5/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

US airport screeners confiscated guns at record rate in 2020

It is NOT illegal to own and carry guns in America, though restrictions may apply by state. But no passengers are allowed to carry a gun on a commercial flight, except for security officers who are permitted to. However, nearly 10 guns were confiscated each day, or 3,257 in total, at 234 airport checkpoints in the US last year. It represents approximately 10 firearms per million passengers, which is about twice as many as the previous year. Why did so many more Americans try to carry guns with them on a flight? Actually, Firearms can be in checked luggage but must be unloaded and packed in a locked hard-side case. So, did those who tried to carry their guns with them feel so unsafe and want to protect themselves at the airport or on the flight? And why did the figure increase that much last year? Was that because of the coronavirus pandemic, BLM movement, or presidential election? In fact, most of the guns confiscated were loaded, ready to shoot.

Enjoy reading the article and think which protects more nowadays, a gun or facemask.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/tsa-guns-confiscated-2020/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3221-2/4/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

What's new in fast food: Chicken sandwiches and cauliflower rice

As the coronavirus is still continuously spreading all across the world, eat-in restaurants are having another bleak year. For US fast-food chains, it is essential to grow take-out and delivery sales to keep their stores running. So, they are adding new menu items to lure customers who want either healthier or heavier meals. For example, the Nashville Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich, the Grilled Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich with Cilantro Lime Sauce, the Cauliflower rice as a low-carb alternative, the Nothing But Stuffed Crust pizza dough, and the Detroit-style Pizza, none of which tells you what sort of chicken sandwich or pizza is. But they are something new and different. That’s the key. Well, as working from home is becoming a standard work style for many, new menus for takeout or delivery seems to be a good encouragement for workers and delightful entertainment for families.

Enjoy reading the article and watching the video to learn about fresh menus from American fast-food chains.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/30/business/new-fast-food-january-2021/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3220-2/3/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Got a package you didn't order? It could be a scam

Have you received any merchandise that you hadn’t ordered from online retailers like Amazon? If you have multiple times, that could be brushing scams. Many online shoppers check the ratings of the merchandise or the seller before making their purchase decisions. Therefore, for online retailers, these ratings are essential for their businesses. In the rating, the number of items sold is another important factor. So, some online sellers try to boost their ratings by paying people to post positive reviews about their merchandise or do it themselves. In order to make fake reviews look genuine, some of them try to trick the online platformers by placing gift orders to those whose names and addresses are found. This practice is called brushing, and it is a scam. That’s why some people have received totally unexpected, usually unwanted merchandise whose sender is unknown multiple times. Though it causes no financial or legal problems by receiving such “gifts,” it surely annoys you. Also, your name and address are both known to someone. If you receive such a delivery, you should contact customer service of the online shopping site and even change your password. But the actual victims of this brushing scam are those who check the reviews and ratings of the merchandise.

Enjoy reading the article to learn about this mysterious package delivery.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/23/business/package-didnt-order-brushing/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3219-2/2/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
I witnessed the rise of Nazism firsthand

Can you imagine what life was like if you were born a Jew in Berlin in 1930? Year by year, life would have become constrained, threatened, and dangerous by Nazi oppression. You could have been treated inhumanely in a concentration camp to death or put into a gas chamber. Whatever the reason, there were small numbers of people who were freed after the war and lived a new life. Dr. Irene Butter is one of such witnesses of Nazi brutality and cruelty in Germany back then. She was sent from the concentration camp in Holland to the infamous Bergen-Belsen camp in Germany as a prisoner, to Switzerland for a hostage exchange, to a refugee camp in Algeria, and finally to the United States of America as an immigrant in December 1945. Until then, she had been forced to do anything without choice. Indeed, she is one of the few surviving firsthand witnesses of Nazi fascism, racism, and nationalism. Seven decades and five years later on January 6 this year, she had to witness a similar incident at the US Capitol, the symbol of democracy, freedom, and equality when the rioters, some of whom with Nazi symbols, stormed into the capitol building while elected representatives arguing for impeachment.

It may be the time to hear what a firsthand witness of the rise of fascism and Nazism.

Read the article and learn about what happened to a teenage girl in Nazi Germany.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/26/opinions/holocaust-fascism-un-capitol-riots-butter/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3218-2/1/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

'Degree inflation': How the four-year degree became required

What are important qualifications for a middle-skill job, such as a supervisor, support specialist, sales representatives, clerk, and administrative assistant? Besides the job skills, experience, IT literacy, communication skills, eagerness to work, or a bachelor’s degree?

There has been a rising demand for bachelor’s degrees in jobs that hadn’t require one, which is called degree inflation. In fact, the degree gap between the demand for a college degree in job postings and the current or former job occupants has been widening. Indeed, as more jobs are taken by machines and automation, qualifications for the same role need to add new requirements. But does it have to be a college degree? In fact, newly added qualifications may not always bring in more competent candidates to the open position because they may be overqualified or unsuitable for the job. Instead, experienced workers may be more eager to advance their careers within the company or for a new job that they can make use of their skills. Also, a college degree requirement could draw a line between social backgrounds, family incomes, and races because attending college is too expensive for low-income families. Some companies though have already found that it is more efficient to give the chance to already-working employees to advance as they tend to be more committed to the job and company. In fact, the turnover of internally filled positions is much lower than bringing someone with a degree from outside.

It seems that it is time for employers to reexamine what a college degree requirement costs and does to them.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about what degree inflation brings about.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210126-degree-inflation-how-the-four-year-degree-became-required