He found that IQs increased among children aged between five and 10 over the 28-year-period, at the rate of up to half a point a year.

Thorsten Polleit, an economist atBarclays Capital in Frankfurt, estimates that trend growth has beendeclining steadily for decades and is now only around 1.5%.

For years, corporations have trained employees as initial responders for in-house emergencies, and the trend is growing to ensure that business travelers also have basic skills.