Innovation
Articles on innovation in chronological order.
The Nordic region – not cheaper, but smarter?
Smart solutions are often digital. Digitalisation is central to how society develops and it affects our lives in completely new ways. How does this development work in practice and how is the Nordic region contributing? There are several questions: Can the future become too smart? Do we need to pose more questions? Discuss more?
Digitalisation - The Nordics showing the way
Everyone, from the cradle to the nursing home, is affected by the digitalisation. Nordic Labour Journal looks at how the Nordic countries tackle the challenge.
Cycling into the future
There are great digital ambitions in the Nordic region: “Sweden will be a world leader in exploiting the opportunities of digitalisation”. Danish businesses will be “among the best in Europe when it comes to using IT”. But despite the grand words, there is also a worry that the Nordic region is lagging behind countries like the USA and China.
Youths monitored – voluntarily – by 2000 sensors
There is much talk about digitalisation and smart cities, but it is high time we posed some critical questions around how technology is being used, thinks Malin Granath. In early October she defended her thesis on the subject at the University of Linköping.
Digital revolution in the nursing home
At the Solbjerg nursing home, new digital solutions have freed up more time for employees to spend with the residents, and this is just the first phase in a digital revolution. In ten years from now, all of the home’s offices will be gone, predicts the nursing home’s coordinator.
Bus drivers – a dying occupation as Finland goes for digitalised transport?
Finnish commuters are facing a very different journey to work in the future. Many transport sector jobs can disappear, or at least change. New traffic legislation aims to make transport services more flexible, based on the sharing economy and call control. And the self-driving robot buses are just around the corner.
When the welfare state falls short: Is social entrepreneurship the solution?
Social entrepreneurship and social innovation could help develop the Nordic welfare models, says Norway’s Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion Anniken Hauglie. These are issues she would like to promote when Norway takes on the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2017.
Finland: Social Impact Bonds to help refugees
Finland launches a social innovation programme allowing private investors to finance measures to improve the integration of refugees. They will be able to profit from solutions which helps solve problems for the public sector.
Europe wants to turn waste into gold
Leading Danish politicians and businesses believe the circular economy is about to become a mega trend in Europe. Now they get backing from a new study which lists the enormous economic benefits which following a better use of resources. A new EU plan is in the works.
New tendencies are focusing minds
The OECD leaves little doubt that the Nordic region has come through the crisis better than most other countries, with low unemployment, high employment and little inequality. But take nothing for granted. New tendencies are focusing minds. Organised labour is under pressure while the sharing economy spreads at an ever faster rate. The Nordic Labour Journal checks out the facts.
Why own when you can rent? The sharing economy and working life
Uber, Netflix and Airbnb are names associated with the sharing economy — a term which tries to describe the rapid changes in the way we consume goods and services. We rent rather than own, we swap, share, borrow or give away. New technology allows for new kinds of transactions, which in turn influences working life.
The sharing economy is changing the services market
Mow the neighbours lawn? Quickly get hold of a skilled handyman? More and more digital marketplaces are emerging in order to facilitate the link between those who offer and those who need services. There are many different solutions, and two of the market’s players predict that things are only just starting.
The sharing economy threatens Nordic trade unions
The sharing economy is a brand new phenomenon which has exploded into fast moving marketplaces with names like Uber, Netflix and Airbnb. It’s all about renting, not owning — be it a car, a boat, a bike or using your own home to make a little extra cash. New online technology creates new opportunities for both consumers and producers. We look at how the sharing economy is shaping up in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, and how it affects the labour market.
Make room for creativity in the workplace
Forget sending employees to courses in creativity and focus on creative breaks during the working day instead. That is one of many pieces of advice from Denmark’s new professor of creative leadership, businessman and billionaire Christian Stadil.
Sea-based Icelandic cluster worth its salt and then some
The business cluster Íslenski sjávarklasinn or Ocean Cluster in Reykjavik is a cooperation between innovation companies and Iceland’s fisheries which has been running for two years. Foreign visitors are showing great interest. Other countries are very likely to set up similar centres in the future.
Technology changes working life
Working life goes through great changes from time to time. Right now technology is having an overwhelming impact on working life. A combination of several technological changes, like robotisation and 3D printing, means the nature of manufacturing and services is changing completely. We look at what technology means to working life.
The technology leap - a taste of the future
Artificial intelligence. The words stimulate the imagination and creativity. What can a robot do? What can 3D technology do for us? How many care sector jobs will be replaced with welfare technology? And imagine what information this editorial might contain if it was written by a robot? This month the Nordic Labour Journal offers a taste of a future with new technology.
The modern industry worker: a new technology operator
“There’s no smoke, nobody seems to be around, what is it you’re doing?” A question often put by foreign visitors to the Director of Herøya Industrial Park. Change, improved efficiency and new technology has made an old industry competitive in the global market, and turned workers into knowledgeable operators.
Robot journalism pushes the boundaries for what’s possible
Robots are taking over tasks only humans used to master, like writing articles and taking pictures. They relentlessly gather information or photograph the same subject hundreds of times.
3D technology breakthrough pushing up product development tempo
3D printers have been in the spotlight for a long time. They represent technology which now looks like it is having its breakthrough. This is not only about printers becoming cheap enough to buy for private individuals. It is about a completely new production technology which represents the opposite of the way industries produce products today.
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