The Future of Smart Systems
Experts think tech-enhanced homes, appliances, and utilities will spread. But those systems are complex and so far there is low public demand, so they advise: Don’t expect to see the “Home of the Future” by 2020.
Overview For decades survey research has provided trusted data about political attitudes and voting behavior, the economy, health, education, demography and many other topics. But political and media surveys are facing significant challenges as a consequence of societal and technological changes. It has become increasingly difficult to contact potential respondents and to persuade them to […]
Respondents’ thoughts One major sign of the sanctification of Big Data as a topic of interest with vast potential emerged in March this year when the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health joined forces “to develop new methods to derive knowledge from data; construct new infrastructure to manage, curate and serve data to […]
Respondents’ thoughts About half of survey respondents selected the more upbeat scenario positing that a significant number of the features of the Home of the Future might finally arrive by 2020. The respondents who said the scenario will not unfold by 2020 said it is still too soon for smart systems to become deeply rooted […]
Many state prisons make extensive use of volunteers from houses of worship or other religious organizations to help meet the spiritual needs of inmates. A majority of chaplains say that more volunteers are needed, particularly for inmates who belong to minority faiths such as Islam, Wicca and Native American spirituality. About a third of the […]
The gender gap in presidential politics is not new. Democratic candidates have gotten more support from women than men for more than 30 years. Even so, Barack Obama’s advantages among women voters over his GOP rivals are striking. In the Pew Research Center’s most recent national survey, conducted March 7-11, Obama led Mitt Romney by […]
Religion and religious people have always been a presence in American prisons. Indeed, some of the country’s first prisons were established at the urging of and with help from people of faith, who hoped that inmates could be reformed during their confinement.1 Today, religious people still play an important role in the U.S. criminal justice […]
Respondents’ thoughts Descriptions of future economic stress and economic divides were prevalent in responses to this survey question on higher education. While some who chose the first scenario said educational institutions are too static and will not move forward quickly to implement new digitally assisted approaches, others who chose that scenario said such change is […]
Respondents’ thoughts In this survey about the likely future of the Internet, a majority of technology experts and stakeholders expressed confidence that by 2020 most people will have embraced and fully adopted the use of smart-device swiping for purchases they make, nearly eliminating the need for cash or credit cards. These experts feel that the […]