Year: 2021

By: Iris An It is quite common in Nashville to see people on scooters everywhere, a lot of whom are Vandy students riding to their classes, parties, or a movie. In front of Stevenson, Kissam, and the Central Library, white BIRD and black LYFT are parked together, waiting for someone’s phone to scan their codes.  In October 29, 2020, a most uncommon yet adorable scene appeared on the Shanghai Stock Exchange listing ceremony: a small delivery robot wobbled to the front of the bell, pulled out a mallet from the storage box, stopped and measured for a few seconds, and…

By: Anton Kozyrev Throughout the 20th century, Mercedes-Benz established itself as a principal leader in the automotive industry -- excelling in various developments and innovations. It began, of course, with Carl Benz’s Patent No. 37435 for a “three-wheeled, self-propelled vehicle with a rear-mounted single-cylinder engine.” This patent from 1886 serves as a “birth certificate” of sorts of the modern-day, gas-powered automobile. Many other innovations followed suit in following years, from the honeycomb radiator in 1901 and the Antilock Braking System (ABS) in 1978. With this brand ethic and work mentality of striving for continual improvement and development, Mercedes-Benz was able…

By: Luci Lyu If any winner emerged out of COVID-19, it would be the rapidly growing digital economy. In 2020, Zoom’s revenue spiked 369% from a year ago, Amazon’s sales grew by 37%, and Netflix’s stock price saw a 64% increase. Digital companies are not the ones affected. The pandemic has changed the way people work, socialize, and shop. As a result, many traditional companies must digitalize to stay competitive. This digitalization trend amongst corporations would likely persist, making the long-debated digital tax an eminent concern.  In 2019, France announced its decision to implement a 3% revenue tax on digital…

By: Justin Holmes As the US passes 124 million coronavirus vaccine shots administered, a return to normality seems just on the horizon. But while empty arenas and outdoor-only-dining may become relics of a socially distanced past, the emergence of telehealth—technologically supported long distance healthcare—is here to stay. Before the pandemic, telehealth had already been steadily growing in popularity. The percentage of hospitals at least partially implementing a computerized telehealth system more than doubled from 35% in 2010 to 76% in 2017. Telehealth was seen as an effective method to overcome geographic, transportation, patient mobility, and funding related barriers.  When state…

By: Iris An Lazada, the online shopping site owned by the Chinese tech company Alibaba, is struggling to maintain its role as the leading ecommerce firm in Southeast Asia.  With a population of 670 million and over 400 million online users, Southeast Asia is one of the world’s fastest growing internet markets. The region enjoys some of the highest rates of internet adoption, the longest hours online per capita, the largest youth group, and an active local social media industry.  Last year, Southeast Asian countries received more than 40 million new Internet users, with the overall online economy hitting $105…