Saturday, May 21, 2016

Identifying Local Opportunities

Police:  SunRail Train Crashes into Vehicle in Longwood


On Friday, May 20th the local commuter train system, SunRail, collided into a vehicle in traffic in Longwood, FL.  The vehicle was stuck on the railroad track which was caused by traffic and not being able to move past the tracks.  The train hit the car but there were no injuries in the accident.

Problem:  The problem with SunRail systems crashing into vehicles is that there have been 16 crashes since 2014.  Although I will assume that most of the incidents were at the fault of the drivers, there may be a benefit to SunRail and Orlando residents if the rail commuter company took on some sort of corporate social responsibility.  There may be an opportunity for a company to create a system to further reduce accidents between trains and vehicles.

Who:  Orlando residents risk the chance of being involved in serious injury or death while SunRail run the risk of a possible lawsuit or negative public press.




The Real Reason That So Many Women Have to Spend So Much Time Getting Ready


There was a study conducted by two researchers on women’s grooming as it relates to their job salary by two researchers.  The results of the study revealed that women that are well groomed tend to earn higher salaries that those not as well groomed.  This study suggests that women have an incentive, regardless of moral and ethical opinions, to spend more time on grooming themselves while preparing for work.  According to the article, “changes in grooming have a substantial effect on whether women are perceived as attractive, and their salaries.”

Problem:  Women not well groomed receive lower salaries than their counterparts that take the extra time to groom themselves to a “professional” standard.  The problem is that it takes women a considerable amount of time to reach these grooming standards every day they go to work, which can be stressful.  There may be an opportunity to introduce a grooming product that can save a few minutes while preparing for work.

Who:  Women that already take a significant amount of time to groom themselves may be stressed out from the time it takes to prepare for work.  Also, women that don’t take much time to groom themselves end up earning less possibly because they do not want to be stressed from taking so much time to get ready for work.



Miami Zoo’s Cat Poop Problem Putting Animals at Risk


The Zoo Miami have recently been dealing with an issue of stray cats sneaking into the zoo at night and defecate in the sand of exhibits.  Cat feces contain toxoplasmosis, which is a deadly parasite and has been the blame for the deaths of three squirrel monkeys and a red kangaroo at the zoo.  The zoo took measures to capture these stray cats and placing them up for adoption if they are healthy.  The Cat Network did not agree with the solution of the zoo and felt the Zoo Miami should take steps to keep all other land species out of the park.

Problem:  The problem is that the Zoo Miami has only created a short term solution to keep cats out of the park.  Their solution of capturing the cats is not a feasible long term solution and they can not capture every cat, considering that they are coming into the zoo at night.  This is an opportunity for a long term solution to protect the animals at the zoo that’s also harmless to the cats.

Who:  The animals at the zoo are in danger of disease and eventually death from the cat feces.



Not Even a Baby in a Stroller Makes New Orleans Drivers Stop at Crosswalks:  A Letter to the Editor


A mother from New Orleans wrote a letter to the editor to discuss the growing issue of drivers not stopping at crosswalks despite the fact that she’s pushing a stroller.  She’s very upset at the number of times that a driver has almost hit her and her 6-week old baby or just sped through the intersection.  She goes on to explain that some progress is being made by the posting of signs but there still needs to be more enforcement of the law.

Problem:  The problem is that the lady that wrote to the editor is not the only person that has experienced the issue of careless drivers speeding through crosswalks.  This is not only happening in New Orleans but several other places, especially larger metropolitan cities.  There is an opportunity to develop a solution to further deter drivers from being so careless while protecting pedestrians from fatal accidents.

Who:  Pedestrians can be seriously injured or dead from drivers not paying attention to their surroundings.



Couple Offers Public Electric Car Charging Station at Home

  
An Ozark, AL couple in their 60s recently purchased a Tesla Model S P90 electric car and also placed a public charging station at their home for use by other Electric Vehicle owners.  The Tesla can travel about 286 miles on a full charge, has an auto-pilot feature, parallel park assistance, and can accelerate zero to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.  They received a $7,500 tax credit for their purchase of the Tesla Model S far exceeded the safety the Consumer Reports safety standards.  The only maintenance required is to refill their windshield wiper fluid and have the tires rotated every 5,000 miles.  The Wyse’s are the only owners of a Tesla in their town and they are coordinating with local first responders to make it available to first responders for training purposes to prepare for emergencies.

Problem:  The problem with owning a Tesla Model S is that charging stations are not as easily accessible as gas stations. There may be a business opportunity to begin placing charging stations in areas that lack adequate stations to support Tesla or EV owners.

Who: The lack of charging stations results in Tesla owners avoiding long distance travel and potential owners from buying the vehicle.  


2 comments:

  1. I also used Orlando Sentinel but you found an article that I didn't. The sunrail article is very interesting to me. You pointed out a serious problem within that article and the others you presented. The Tesla article is cool because we are constantly seeing not only more Tesla's but eletric cars in general. It will be interested to see what the future brings in ways of charging stations.

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  2. Hi! I found your articles to be really interesting. Especially the women about women who groom themselves making more money. After reading that article I started to really evaluate women that I've seen and it's definitely true but I do see why it is that way because it comes with the territory of the job. Just like how a man who is a CEO of a company versus a regular employee will dress and groom themselves differently.

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