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Magazine The Last Word
The Last Word

When is a niche a niche and when is a niche not a niche?

Written by Dr Robert McCaffrey, Managing Editor, Global Gypsum Magazine
16 January 2014

I remember going to a business development meeting where some sage person opined that 'You need to find a niche small enough so that you can expand to fill it, but not so small that there is no business in it.' A niche, for the uninitiated, is a small space, sometimes cave-like, sometimes occupied by a religious icon, also any small cavity-like physical space or specialised subject area or concept. I wonder if we might usefully think of the building materials industry as a series of niches? Let me explain.

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When the facts don’t fit the theory, it’s time to change your theory

Written by Dr Robert McCaffrey, Managing Editor, Global Gypsum Magazine
05 November 2013

The publication of the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a landmark moment. The report states that the UN-backed body of international scientists is 95% certain that half of the global warming seen in the years covered by the report is man-made. The other 50% of the warming effect is presumably perfectly natural and is therefore acceptable. This natural warming is to be borne with gritted teeth and a sigh of weary acceptance. If sea level does eventually rise by a metre, then I shall curse the man-made half of the rise, but I will try to enjoy the other half of the sea level rise, like I might enjoy a lovely natural organic hummus wholemeal baguette.

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Recruitment conundrums in our sexy, troubled, thirsty world...

Written by Dr Robert McCaffrey, Managing Editor, Global Gypsum Magazine
10 September 2013

We have recently advertised for an editorial assistant to help us here at Global Gypsum Magazine. We had 10 graduates apply for the job, including two PhDs. One candidate whom I had invited for interview, subsequently called up and told me that she wouldn't be coming after all, since "Gypsum just isn't sexy enough." Are you kidding? It's a multi-billion dollar industry with major international companies innovating as fast as they can, with law suits, mergers and acquisitions and even some espionage now and then. The people are friendly, the product is just about as 'eco' as it gets and there's enough international travel in the job as you could wish for. Needless to say, she didn't get the job.

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Are those bubbles that I can see in my Chinese pork soup?

Written by Dr Robert McCaffrey, Managing Editor, Global Gypsum Magazine
02 July 2013

While I was out for a walk recently, I met two Asiatic ladies also taking in the fresh air - one was from Singapore and one from Malaysia. We soon found ourselves talking about the air pollution that is drifting from forest fires in Indonesia and is creating a choking haze in Singapore. They mentioned the terrible air pollution in Beijing and the fact that 6000 dead pigs had been found floating down the Huang Po, the river that flows through Shanghai. One of the ladies then told me the following joke: "Two Chinese, one from Beijing and one from Shanghai, are discussing the relative merits of their glorious cities. The Beijing resident, boasting, said "We are so lucky in Beijing; we can open the window and get free cigarette smoke!" The resident from Shanghai just snorts and says, "That's nothing. In Shanghai we turn on the taps and out comes pork soup."

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Those of a nervous disposition may wish to look away now...

Written by Dr Robert McCaffrey, Managing Editor, Global Gypsum Magazine
02 May 2013
I've recently been reading a very scary document called 'Perfect Storm - energy, finance and the end of growth'1 by Dr Tim Morgan, Global Head of Research at Tullett Prebon, an inter-dealer broker. In this alarming but well-argued and persuasive publication, Dr Morgan suggests that 'the economy as we know it is facing a lethal confluence of four critical factors: the fall-out of the biggest debt bubble in history; a disastrous experiment with globalisation; the massaging of data to the point where economic trends are obscured' and - critically - the end of cheap energy and the resultant collapse of civilisation as we know it. He makes some pretty good points and I'll try and summarise them here.

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