Search

Purpose: This conceptual paper draws together an interdisciplinary approach to robo-advisors (RAs) as an example of an early and successful example of automated, programmed professional services. Design/methodology/approach: Little is known about the forces driving this change in the delivery of professional service. This work explores the drivers of RAs, the degree of disruption incurred by the introduction of RAs, and how, as RAs advance, trust in algorithmic authority aids in legitimating RAs as smart information. Findings: From the firms' perspective, the drivers include rebranding occasioned by the financial crisis (2008), the widening of the client base and the “on-trend” nature of algorithmic authority guided by artificial intelligence (AI) embedded in RAs. This examination of the drivers of RAs indicates that professional service automation is aligned with information society trends and is likely to expand. Practical implications: Examining RAs as an indicator of the future introduction of programmed professional services suggests that success increases when the algorithmic authority in the programmed serves are minimally disruptive, trustworthy and expand the client base while keeping the knowledge domain of the profession under control of the industry. Originality/value: Treating RAs as an early instance of successfully embedding knowledge in AI and algorithmically based platforms adds to the early stages of theory and practice in the monetization and automation of professional knowledge-based services.

This article explores the psychosocial significance of conspiracy theories and explanations from a dramaturgical perspective. Using a modification of Burke's dramaturgical pentad—(a) plot line, (b) directorial assumption, (c) social context, (d) dramatic genre, and (e) dramatic resolution—two variants of conspiracy are presented. Each is available to make sense of group tensions. The dramaturgy of conspiracy theories as a paranoid's story depicts group tensions as a function of the obsessive suspiciousness of a group, which finds a favorable hearing in a quick-fix culture. In this drama, the rationality of the objective and dispassionate analyst is seen as the antidote. The dramaturgy of conspiracy explanations as a viable sense-making heuristic depicts group tensions as a result of the turn to postmodernism. In this drama, rational expertise and the official version of the facts is the source, rather than the solution, of problems.

Presents information on the forested slopes of a West Maui, Hawaii mountain called Pu'u Kukui. Randy Bartlett's role as field general for the Maui Land and Pineapple Company; Comments from Bartlett; Problems Bartlett faces with exotic plants and feral pigs that have infested parts of the region; Number of plants in Pu'u Kukui; Information on the pure water which is available in the mountains.

Features Stephen V. Lee Jr., a fourth-generation cranberry farmer living in the heart of New Jersey's Pine Barrens region. Number of families that grow the berries in the Pine Barrens, a 2,000-square-mile oasis of forests, wetlands and wildlife th at in 1979 was designated a federal preserve; History of cranberry farming; Background on Lee's family farm.

Reviews a volume of letters from World War II reprinted in the book called `Voices: Letters From World War II,' compiled by Ken Scharnberg for The American Legion.

Features photographs from the location set of Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy `Heaven and Earth.' Selection of Thailand as the major location; Story of Le Ly Hayslip's journey from peasant girl to Vietcong guerrilla to war bride to American housewife; Tommy Lee Jones as Sergeant Steve Butler; Simulation of a battle zone; Women prostitutes.

Examines the pros and cons of long-term health care insurance in the United States. Reasons why a growing number of American consumers are buying long-term care insurance policies; Percentage of Americans that require medical care in their homes and in nursing homes or similar facilities.

Suggests environmentally-conscious activities. Avoidance of excessive wrapping; Discovering which types of plastics as recycled locally; Using 18-watt compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs); Purchasing products containing little hazardous substances.

Profiles American oceanographer Sylvia Earle. Earle's involvement in the Sustainable Seas Expeditions project; Earle's major awards and accomplishments; Early works in oceanography; Educational attainment.

Gives advice to small business owners on basic legal issues. Business planning; Importance of written agreements; Selection of the appropriate form of business organization; Use of correct entity procedures.

Gives information on the benefits of having universal design incorporated into homes. Description of a model house in Mechanicsville, Virginia; Efforts of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in constructing the house; Universal-design features of the house; Statements made by Leon Harper, an AARP consumer-affairs specialists. INSET: Tools for the good life.

Features the film `Heaven and Earth'. Direction by Oliver Stone; Comments by lead actress Hiep Thi Le; Film as the true life story of Vietnamese Le Ly Hayslip.

Focuses on the preferred food of birds in North America. Use of feeding habits to attract birds; Styles of seed feeders; Context of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service study on birds; Information on the food preferences of native species.

Presents Web sites which provides shopping information. Features of the site of Consumer World; Kelley Blue Book; Buyer's Index; Catalog Mart.

Offers a look at gifts which can be given during the Christmas season which are environmentally friendly or can benefit living creatures. Sponsorship of a hearing dog for the deaf; Planting of Redwood trees; Protect the manatee by assisting in the protection of an endangered species. Contact information available.

Presents information on a federal Internet program called the Pension Search Directory. Comments from former Labor Department Secretary Robert B. Reich; Internet address of the program.

Profiles John Tregembo. Collection of pennies as a down payment on a pick up truck; Organization of pennies collected by year and mint mark.

Focuses on free parking meters in Beaumont, Texas. City manager Ray Riley's comments on the effectiveness of the concept of free parking for a limited time; Problems encountered.

Profiles Ashrita Furman, holder of the most records in the `Guinness Book of Records.' Examples of record-breaking feats.

Focuses on how psychologist, David Nathanson treated his patient Katie Phillips suffering from paraplegia and severe emotional withdrawal. Reason for using the Dolphin Human Therapy; Success of treatment with Philips; Comments from Nathanson; How the program works.

Profiles 72-year old weightlifter Audrey Nobbe. Victories in weightlifting contests; Comments on her physical capability.

Presents the love story of truck driver Stan Domurat and toll-collector Anne Rafferty who celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary in early 1995.

Reports on the scientific information collection of self-proclaimed doctor Cyrus Teed and astronomy buff Seabury Doane Brewer entitled `Archive of Useless Research' housed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. Ownership of MIT of several boxes of theoretical papers of the authors; Sending of crank mail to MIT scientists.

Reports on the free distribution of poetry books by Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky and other members of the American Poetry and Literary Project (APL) to hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, libraries and hotels. Reader reception to poetry.

Focuses on the Institute of Totally Useless Skills in Temple, New Hampshire. Entertainer Rick Davis as director; Yodeling as Davis' favorite useless skill; Contact information.

Describes the United States Board on Geographic Names. Functions; Naming of Bluebird Creek in Iowa; Executive secretary Roger Payne; History; Public attitude toward geographic names.

Announces the event called, Project America, on October 15, 1994. Commitment of the project to show the power of community service and the benefits of working together; Support of the project from different organizations including the American Association of Retired Persons; Contact information.

Features New Hampshire farmer Bert Southwick. Delivery of eggs by horse and wagon to about a hundred customers for 56 years.

Features the Wood Recycling Inc. (WRI), a Woburn, Massachusetts-based firm which turns used lumber into hydromulch. Collection of thousands of tons a day of urban waste wood; Potential of hydromulching products.

Announces the availability of the book `Our Flag,' the official US Congress booklet on patriotic celebration. Discussion of proper flag etiquette; Inclusion of the history of Old Glory and illustrations of early American pennants; Contact information.

Looks at a cow named Tullando Royalty Maxima, a prodigious milk producer. Owners' inability to explain her production; Attempts to breed heifer calves from her.

Looks at the practice of yawning. Lack of explanation for the behavior; Link of yawning frequency with boredom; Reason for contagion.

Introduces the guide `U.S. Pollen Calendar,' from the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology. Information on common grasses, weeds and trees showing peak pollen periods; Pollen as a cause of seasonal allergies; Contact information.

Features Odyssey of the Mind, an annual problem-solving competition for kindergarten through college students that culminates in a world championship tournament. Sam and Carole Micklus as the founders; University of Maryland in College Park as the venue for the 1993 competition; Sponsors; Corporate donors.

Features a Boston study on people's sleeping problem. Internal biological clock; Pinhead-size clump of nerve cells; Location in the brain; Effects of circadian pacemaker in the human sleep patterns; Body's timekeeper; Effects of speeding up of circadian clocks on women; Reduction of early morning awakenings.

Features Robert Kearns, inventor of the windshield-wiper system. Mechanics of blinking; Legal battles with automakers over the validity of Kearn's patents; Federal jury's decision; Ford Motor Company; Chrysler Corporation; Lawsuits awaiting decisions; Mercedes Benz's wiper control system; Kearns' other project.

Profiles the first curator of the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum, Paul Edward Garber, who has done more than any other American to preserve the record of the United States' remarkable adventures in flight. Accomplishments; Current activities; His comments.