Ranks of watching TV, taking a hot shower/bath, dimming the lights and reading a good book on the list of bedtime rituals that hotelgoers say are most important to their sleep routine, according to a study conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in the U.S., Great Britain, Russia and China: 1 (tie), 3, 4
In China and Russia, rank of taking a hot shower or bath on the list of top bedtime rituals: 1
In the United States, rank of watching TV on the list: 1
In Great Britain, rank of reading a good book on the list: 1
Source: Ipsos Global.
Percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds who would rather live the life they want now -- having nice things and traveling -- than worry about saving for retirement, according to a survey conducted for TheStree: 40
Percentage of 35- to 49-year-olds who feel the same: 28
Percentage of 50- to 64-year-olds who feel the same: 26
Source: TheStreet Inc.
Percentage of Americans who think that Shakespeare is one of the greatest playwrights of all time, according to a YouGov Omnibus survey: 53
Percentage of Americans who have studied a play by William Shakespeare at school or college: 47
Percentage who have seen the live performance of a play: 27
Source: YouGov.
Percentage of men who are likely to use their mobile device to send and receive suggestive content, compared to 48 percent of women, according to a McAfee survey: 61
Percentage of U.S. adults who say they stored the intimate content that they have received: 45
Percentage who have stored risque photos, videos or messages they have sent: 40
Source: McAfee Inc.
Percentage of Americans who favor the death penalty for persons convicted of murder, down from 78 percent in 1996, according to a Pew Research survey: 55
Number of states that have legally banned the practice in recent years: 18 (plus the District of Columbia).
Source: Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends.
Percentage of people around the world who say their preferred payment method for daily spending is plastic (credit card: 29 percent; debit card: 23 percent; prepaid card: 2 percent), according to a Nielsen's Global survey: 54
Percentage who preferred using cash: 39
Ranks of North America (71 percent), Asia-Pacific (58 percent), Latin America (47 percent), Europe (45 percent) and the Middle East/Africa (35 percent) on the list of areas where the cashless mentality is strongest: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Source: Nielsen Analytics.
Percentage of Americans who worked for an employer with 1,000 or more workers who participated in an employment-based retirement plan, according to research by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute: 54.8
Percentage of respondents who worked for an employer with 10 or fewer employees who participated in an employment-based retirement plan: 13.5
Source: EBRI.
Percentage of organizations that reported that the ability to make a difference in the job function leads the list of effective ways to retain critical talent and ensure transparency so that critical performers understand their status, according to Mercer survey: 59
Ranks of career progression, healthy living/wellness and recognition on the list of other non-cash rewards: 2, 3, 4
Source: Mercer.
Despite a successful IPO (initial public offering), percentage of brands that reported that "measuring ROI (return on investment) and results" is their greatest challenge when using Twitter for marketing, according to a study by Social Media Marketing University: 45
Percentage of brands that agree Twitter is an effective marketing tool, while 30.6 percent remain undecided: 65
Percentage of brands using Twitter as a marketing tool that report having challenges using the platform to achieve specific goals: 96
Source: Social Media Marketing University.
Idle Thought
"The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order." -- Alfred North Whitehead, mathematician and philosopher
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)