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78% of businesses have adopted smart building tech to drive energy efficiency, lower costs, decrease carbon emissions, and manage return to work yet gaps still exist

TROY, Mich., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --Toggled, a wholly owned subsidiary of Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR) focused on intelligent building management solutions, released survey results revealing that while manybusinesses are embracing smart building technology to increase energy efficiency and lower costs, they fall short of their goals due to an inability to master the data. The independent survey of more than 500 facility decision-makers throughout several industries gauged smart building technology adoption, its business benefits, and its impact on sustainability initiatives.

"It's clear from our survey the battle for smart building adoption has been won. But we can't stop there. By helping facilities establish a complete tech-to-intelligence loop, they can fully optimize energy and cost efficiencies," said Daniel Hollenkamp Jr., chief operating officer, Toggled. "Most businesses are only scratching the surface of what the technology can do. Once facility managers start to capitalize on what their performance data is telling them and where to adjust, the true business value of a scalable and flexible IoT-enabled smart building network comes to life."

Adoption is high and strides are being madeAccording to the survey, as many as 78% of respondents have deployed smart building features, and the same percentage of this group (78%) has seen an increase in energy efficiency and cost reduction as a result of using the technology.

While the results demonstrate businesses are making great progress in lowering energy use and costs, nearly two-thirds of facility decision makers (64%) say they are still looking for ways to monitor and analyze their carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions in their facilities. Only 36% have seen measurable results in decarbonization.

Verification and analysis are low, inhibiting further progressMost respondents (94%) who have implemented smart building technology say their organization has invested in data analytics. However, as many as 34% say they lack the talent and skills to integrate data science into their smart building platforms. This underscores the importance of businesses choosing a system capable of customizing analytics to the facility and providing simple actionable information in a timely manner. These features enable users to monitor building performance based on real-time data insights, directly from web-based devices without extensive coding or data science knowledge. By doing so, organizations can gain awareness into how these systems are optimizingperformance while also lowering their carbon footprint.

More key findings from the survey include:

"So many of the issues underscored in the survey results are something we see every day and why we developed our solution with so much intention around simplicity, customization, and integration," said Hollenkamp. "By giving users a customizable data analytics dashboard that generates real-time overviews on building efficiencies and anomalies, they gain complete control over their smart building environment so they can optimize performance."

The national survey was commissioned by Toggled and conducted by Atomik Research between April 13 and April 19, 2023. The survey drew responses from 505 U.S. decision-makers who hold authority over their organization's facilities throughout several target industries, including construction, financial services, information services, manufacturing, healthcare, education, real estate, agriculture, restaurant/food and beverage, transportation, energy, hospitality, and tourism.

About ToggledToggled and Toggled iQ are registered trademark brands of Ilumisys, Inc. (dba Toggled), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR). Toggled iQ is a networked lighting and building control system that leverages the Internet of Things, enabling customers to create unique and scalable solutions across many use cases including, lighting control, HVAC, remote sensor monitoring, and intelligent building control. To learn more, visit https://toggled.com.

About Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR)Altair is a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI) that provides software and cloud solutions in simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and AI. Altair enables organizations across all industries to compete more effectively and drive smarter decisions in an increasingly connected world all while creating a greener, more sustainable future. For more information, visithttps://www.altair.com/.

Media Contact:AltairJennifer Ristic+1.216.849.3109[emailprotected]

SOURCE Altair

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Altair's Toggled Survey Reveals Overwhelming Adoption Rates for ... - PR Newswire

Aware of the pressing need to help students foster connections and increase resilience, Suffolk has expanded and deepened its campus-wide culture of caring, said President Marisa Kelly, citing the negative impact of COVID restrictions on students well-being, compounded by relentless exposure to technology and social media in middle and high school.

We understand how important this conversation is, she said. We believe that we need to be meeting this generation where they are, as opposed to saying This is where you should be, please catch up. As a university, we are looking at how we can engage our entire community in the area of mental health.

Other panelists described lengthy wait times and scarce resources for children when they reach a crisis point. Dr. Kevin M. Simon, Bostons chief behavioral health officer, said the city recently launched a pilot program to train 200 new social workers and other specialists who will work for three years in the citys behavioral health centers and schools. Myisha R. Rodrigues, PhD, LMHC, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts, said progress was specifically needed in communities of color and among families struggling with housing insecurity.

Walensky, who recently announced she will step down from her post in June, said new federal initiatives to reduce emergency department visits, support traumatized youth in schools, and add badly needed mental health services were starting to help, but more resources were needed at the state and local levels for progress to continue.

We must create settings in which our children feel safe and supported and link our youth in crisis to treatment. And while we do these things, we must also work to reduce the long-standing inequities and root drivers of our youth mental health crisis, she said.

Taking aim at the digital media root of the issues, Markey, along with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), recently reintroduced the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), legislation that, if passed, will update childrens privacy laws, prohibit the collection of data on users ages 13-16, create a digital marketing bill of rights that limits the collection of personal information of teens, and establish a youth marketing and privacy division at the Federal Trade Commission.

The proposal has so far gained bipartisan support in the Senate, as well as endorsement by a wide coalition of mental health and youth advocates. We have a moral responsibility to get this job done, Markey said.

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Fighting 'Big Tech' to Stem Youth Mental Health Crisis - Suffolk University

Now that Elon Musk announced he isstepping down as Twitter CEO andappointed Linda Yaccarino to take his place at the social media company, the billionaires focus has turned back to TeslaInc TSLA, where Musk has implemented a new guideline.

In a move reminiscent of 2019, Musk, whos known for ruling with an iron first, advised his staff by email Monday that every new hire at the EV giant would need to be approved by him personally, according to Insider.

"No one can join Tesla, even as a contractor, until you receive my email approval, Musk wrote in the memo obtained by the outlet. "Think carefully before sending me the request."

Musk prefaced the new rule by writing that he would like to gain a better understanding of [Teslas]hiring.

Despite Musk announcing in June 2022 his plan to reduce Teslas salaried-worker headcount by 10%, the company increased its payrolls to 127,855 by the end of that year, up by nearly 30,000 from the previous year.

Although Musk is well known for micromanaging his workforce, Tesla received about 3.6 million applications last year, according to Insider.

Read Next:Elon Musk Says This Upcoming Tesla Vehicle Will Be His Daily Ride

Photo: Shutterstock

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Elon Musk Digs Back Deep Into Tesla, Ups Control Over Workforce ... - Benzinga

BBC

BBC claims online listening increase offsets live decline, while Rajar figures show Greatest Hits and LBC gaining audience

Radio 4s Today Programme has lost 800,000 listeners in the past year as they switched to podcasts and rival talk radio shows.

The agenda-setting breakfast discussion programme has been trying to reinvent itself in recent months, adopting a more informal tone for parts of the show. It has also had to deal with Rishi Sunaks government cutting access to government ministers as part of a deliberate communication strategy.

Today reached 7.5 million people a week in 2016 during the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. But with changing listening habits the launch of rival talk stations such as Times Radio, and the growth of news podcasts this declined to just 5.8 million weekly listeners by the start of 2023, according to official listening figures.

Charlotte Moore, the BBCs chief content officer, said the broadcaster was adapting to meet the changing listening needs of our audiences by focusing on podcasts, such as Im Not a Monster: The Shamima Begum Story.

She said the decline in Radio 4s broadcast audience was offset by audience growth for on-demand listening, adding: The quality of content is world class and Radio 4 remains the home for trusted and impartial news, thought-provoking current affairs, groundbreaking documentaries, and boundary-pushing comedy, arts and drama.

Elsewhere, Radio 2 maintained 14.5 million weekly listeners, despite a push to attract younger audiences that has alienated some longstanding fans. However, these figures cover the first three months of this year, before much-loved mid-morning host Ken Bruce departed for commercial rival Greatest Hits Radio.

Greatest Hits Radio has invested heavily in advertising before Bruces arrival and the stations weekly audience has already grown by 26% year-on-year to 5.3 million listeners, aided by the decision to give ex-BBC presenter Simon Mayo a drivetime slot. The network, which combines a number of local stations with a national DAB station, is one of many outlets trying to pick up disaffected Radio 2 listeners.

Commercial radio listening continues to grow at the BBCs expense, aided by the trend of merging local stations to produce nationwide content, as well as smart speakers making it easier to try new outlets.

One of the beneficiaries of these trends is LBCs James OBrien, who recorded his biggest audience ever, with 1.5 million weekly listeners. His station is owned by media company Global, whose stations which also include Capital, Heart, and Smooth now account for 25% of all British radio listening.

The figures are produced by Rajar, which combines a survey of the British public with electronic monitoring of their listening habits.

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Radio 4 flagship Today loses 800,000 listeners in a year to podcasts and rivals - The Guardian

Copenhagen, 17 May 2023

One year since its biggest ever mpox (monkeypox) outbreak, the WHO European Region covering 53 countries across Europe and central Asia is celebrating success in controlling the spread of the disease as the number of cases continues to decline. In the initial months of the outbreak, the European Region had the vast majority of cases globally. But strategic collaboration between health authorities and the most impacted populations including timely risk communications and community engagement, along with a focused mpox vaccination campaign in some of the hardest hit countries helped bring numbers down rapidly to practically no cases being reported at all, in a relatively short time.

Now WHO/Europe is calling for vigilance amid concerns that spring and summertime could see mpox cases flaring up once more. Pre-empting this, and coinciding with the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, WHO/Europe is launching a new mpox campaign today, to remind people that even though it is no longer defined as a public health emergency of international concern, mpox has not gone away; anyone can be infected; and that we have, and must use, the tools to further control and eventually eliminate it.

The new mpox campaign leverages the European Regions year-long experience in responding to this outbreak, including growing evidence on the disease and measures to control it. The campaign will:

The campaign is timely. According to the latest data, at least 17 more people have contracted mpox in eight countries in the WHO European Region, in the four weeks up to 4 May 2023. While the numbers remain low, as does the risk to the broader population, it is vital that health authorities keep monitoring and responding to mpox outbreaks. A possible rise in mpox cases over the coming months could be triggered by:

Our efforts to control the mpox outbreak appear to have paid off, and thats great news. I commend health authorities and the most-impacted communities for their strong partnership in controlling mpox, including vaccine rollout, community outreach and actions to safeguard individual and wider community health, along with concerted efforts not to stigmatize those affected, said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. Elimination is within our reach, but lets not forget that mpox is still circulating, as weve recently seen in our region. Mpox cases could resurge this spring and summer as festivals and events where sexual activities might occur get under way. Some countries in the European Region are still seeing persistent, low levels of transmission. Beyond our region, localized spikes remind us that this outbreak is far from over. Lets renew our collective efforts to ensure we remain on track towards eventual elimination it can be done.

A package of new WHO/Europe publications including an mpox policy brief, a compendium of case studies and a risk communication toolkit outlines the recommended actions that communities, health authorities and providers, and event organizers can take (see below).

Mpox should still very much be a concern to health authorities and the most impacted communities alike in the WHO European Region, said Dr Richard Pebody, High-threat Pathogen Team Lead at WHO/Europe. Cases might be on the rise again this year. And even if we are lucky, and this doesnt happen, mpox could pick up again the following year. We simply cannot be complacent. WHO/Europes latest mpox policy brief offers a roadmap to countries on how to control and ultimately eliminate the disease in our region in the long run.

Im concerned that mpox could come back, you know, the sequel, but Im hopeful weve learned a lot and we have shown that we can come together as a community and really protect ourselves, said Martin Joseph, a United Kingdom-based broadcaster and host of a podcast about mpox. As someone who went through mpox, it was one of the most testing and life-changing experiences from a mental health point of view, and it really impacted me and Ive had to do a lot of work since then to look at my life and look at everything that led to that point.

It is important that the most affected groups predominantly gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men as well as health authorities and health providers remain on high alert, concluded Dr Kluge. As we celebrate diversity and inclusion on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, as well as Pride just around the corner, lets also remind ourselves that we still have a long way to go to stamp out shame and stigma related to sexual health. Its critical that we normalize talking about seemingly sensitive or uncomfortable topics in the interest of our health and well-being. Lets not allow our success in controlling mpox over the past year to be overshadowed by another wave of infections this spring and summer. Be informed; protect yourself and others; and if you can, get vaccinated.

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An mpox resurgence in the European Region this spring and ... - World Health Organization