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The definition of “cool” would seem to be an ephemeral thing. (We’re not talking temperature here. We’re talking James Dean, Serena Williams, and Arthur Fonzarelli cool.) What inspires one to admire another would ostensibly vary from person to person. That didn’t stop a global group of scientists from looking into what it means to be cool, though. And what they found was “cool” is a lot more universal than you might expect. Everyone wants to be cool, or at least avoid the stigma of being uncool, and society needs cool people because they challenge norms, inspire change, and advance culture, said co-lead researcher Todd Pezzuti, PhD, an associate professor of marketing at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáez in Chile, in a statement. The peer-reviewed study, which was published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Experimental Psychology, included experiments with roughly 6,000 participants from around the world between 2018 and 2022. Participants were asked to think of someone who they thought was cool, not cool, good, or not good, and then rate the personality and values of those people. Cool is universal in more ways than you might expect. For example, the study found that even in countries with languages based on non-Latin alphabets, such as South Korea and Turkey, “people use the word cool, often pronouncing it similarly to how it is pronounced in English.” Cool people are likable but not always good Not surprisingly, there was some crossover between who participants thought of as a good person and a cool person. But despite the overlap in some traits, the two aren’t the same, researchers found. To be seen as cool, someone usually needs to be somewhat likable or admirable, which makes them similar to good people, said co-lead researcher Caleb Warren, PhD, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Arizona. However, cool people often have other traits that arent necessarily considered good in a moral sense. That could explain why antiheroes, especially in films and TV shows, are so often seen as cool. There is a risk of homogenization of coolness, though, as music, movies, and fashion become global products. When Taylor Swift and the Avengers become properties that dominate conversations and pop culturenot only in the United States, but in virtually every other countrypreexisting definitions of what it means to be cool can also become more fixed. Indeed, the perception of coolness, the researchers wrote, “is [now] stable across countries, which suggests that the meaning of cool has crystallized on a similar set of values and traits around the globe.” That said, being cool hasn’t lost its coolness. It has simply progressed. Coolness has definitely evolved over time, but I dont think it has lost its edge. Its just become more functional, Pezzuti said. The concept of coolness started in small, rebellious subcultures, including among Black jazz musicians in the 1940s and the beatniks in the 1950s. As society moves faster and puts more value on creativity and change, cool people are more essential than ever. What makes someone cool? The study found that being cool largely comes down to six traits. Perhaps most obviously, cool people are more extraverted than uncool people. They’re also powerful, hedonistic, adventurous, open, and autonomous. There are limits, of course. Take musicians, a group that produces plenty of cool people, as an example. “A rock band seemed more cool when it displayed moderate levels of autonomy (e.g., not trying to write songs that everyone likes) than extreme autonomy (e.g., not caring at all what others think about their music),” the study noted. “The same likely applies to the other cool attributes. For example, a hedonistic person who parties all night, abuses drugs, and has reckless sex will likely strike most people as being irresponsible rather than cool.” Good people, the study found, have many of those same qualities, but other personality traits were ranked more highly by the subjects. “Being calm, conscientious, universalistic, agreeable, warm, secure, traditional, and conforming are more associated with good than with cool people,” according to the study. “Being capable is both cool and good, but not distinctly either.”
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E-Commerce
Qantas said on Wednesday it is contacting customers after a cyberattack targeted a third-party customer service platform that stored the personal data of 6 million customers. Here’s what you need to know. What happened? On Monday June 30, Australia’s largest airline detected “unusual activity” on a third-party platform. It took “immediate steps and contained the system,” according to a statement. “We are continuing to investigate the proportion of the data that has been stolen, though we expect it will be significant,” Qantas said in that statement. “An initial review has confirmed the data includes some customers names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and frequent-flier numbers.” The database did not contain credit card, personal financial information, or passport details. In addition, Qantas said that no frequent-flier accounts, passwords, personal identification numbers, or login details were accessed. The Australian airline giant said it is putting additional security measures in place to further restrict access and strengthen monitoring and detection as it investigates whether the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider is responsible for the attack, according to the Financial Times. The attack comes days after the FBI warned that the group had started to target global airlines. The warning followed recent cyberattacks on Hawaiian Airlines and Canadas WestJet, the Financial Times reported. Scattered Spider is thought to have conducted a number of high-profile data breaches, including an attack on U.K. retailer Marks and Spencer. Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the airline was working closely with the federal government’s national cybersecurity coordinator, the Australian Cyber Security Centre, and independent specialized cybersecurity experts. What should I do if I am a Qantas customer? The airline said it was contacting all customers affected by the data breach. Customers can contact Qantas’s dedicated support line at +61 2 8028 0534 with any questions. Qantas by the numbers Shares of Qantas (ASX: QAN) fell 2.2% on Wednesday after the Australian airline confirmed the cyberattack. The airline, which trades on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), has a market capitalization of AU$15.91 billion (US$10.47 billion). In February, it reported its half-year earnings results for the period ending December 31, 2024, with an increase in underlying pretax profits, up 11% to AU$1.39 billion (US$914 million), and earnings per share (EPS) of AU$0.63 (US$0.41), up 21%.
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E-Commerce
Microsoft is making a new round of deep cuts to its workforce, eliminating 9,000 jobs company-wide. The company began notifying employees of the layoffs, which will shrink the company by 4%, on Wednesday morning. While not limited to its gaming divisions, Microsofts latest cuts will impact its Xbox business. In a message to his staff, Xbox lead Phil Spencer announced that the company would end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and that the layoffs were designed to position the gaming division for future success. In Spencers memo, reported by The Verge, the head of Xbox said that his department would follow Microsofts lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Microsoft-owned King, the Stockholm-based mobile game studio behind Candy Crush, will also lose 200 jobs amounting to 10% of its staff, Bloomberg reports. In June, Bloomberg reported that major layoffs to Microsofts sales teams and gaming departments were looming as the fiscal year wrapped up. The cuts keep coming Microsofts new job losses follow layoffs in May and June that together culled 6,000 positions. According to Washington employment filings, software engineers bore the brunt of the May cuts, accounting for more than 40% of 2,000 jobs eliminated in the state. In June, Microsofts cuts focused on software engineers, product management and product marketing, technical program managers, and legal staff. When Microsoft last reported its numbers last year, the company had 228,000 employees. In its April quarterly earnings call, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said that the company planned to refocus on agile teams by reducing layers with fewer managers. In spite of that goal, in a round of layoffs the following month, only 17% of roles eliminated were classified as management. Microsofts spending spree continues Microsofts flurry of layoffs is terrible news for employees, but a glance at its share price makes it clear that the company itself is feeling fine. With its stock soaring, AI projects booming, and executive compensation spiking to eye-watering new heights, Microsoft is looking to further supercharge its business, not to course correct. Through aggressive layoffs, the company aims to balance out its splashy recent spending, including new plans to invest $80 billion into AI-powered data centers in the 2025 fiscal year. Beyond its big AI bets, Microsofts gaming business is still under pressure to cut costs related to the companys $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard, which closed two years ago. Between spending big on AI and leveraging the technology in its operations, its no secret that artificial intelligence is already taking a bite out of Microsofts human workforce. Earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that as much as 30% of the companys code is now written by AI rather than humans. Cloud and AI are the essential inputs for every business to expand output, reduce costs, and accelerate growth, Nadella said in the companys April earnings report. The new round of layoffs is Microsofts deepest single cut to its workforce since 2023, when it eliminated 10,000 jobs. Microsofts 2025 layoffs together have eclipsed that number, with 15,000 employees losing their jobs this year so far.
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E-Commerce
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