Tag: designed

It All Depends On How The Program Is Designed, But Free College Programs Can Enable More Students To Go To College
IN OTHER NEWS

It All Depends On How The Program Is Designed, But Free College Programs Can Enable More Students To Go To College

The big idea Free college programs are emerging across the United States as potential mechanisms to improve college enrollment and affordability. Our research examines how the design of these programs influences their effectiveness. We argue that effectiveness depends on the answers to two questions. First, does it help more students attend and complete college? Second, how do the outcomes of the program compare with the resources invested? Free college programs are sponsored by states, private donors and individual colleges. Some programs offer free tuition to attend a choice of colleges and universities, while others provide free tuition to attend a particular school. Programs may be available to students in a particular state, as is the case with the Oregon Promise, or a specific commu...
It’s Designed To Encourage But The Patent System Often Stifles Innovation
BUSINESS

It’s Designed To Encourage But The Patent System Often Stifles Innovation

Over his career Thomas Edison garnered more U.S. patents than anyone in his time. Edison profited from his patents, but he was also exposed to the dark side of the patent system. He had to contend with lawsuits by other patentees who sought – and sometimes won – a piece of his success. While the patent system is designed to spur innovation like Edison’s, it also hampers it. Easy copying and imitation discourage innovation, because why make the effort if someone else will profit from it? The patent system works by enabling inventors to block unauthorized use of patented technology. Most technologies are developed by many inventors over many years, a process called “cumulative” innovation. Too often, however, early inventors get a patent on a small and perhaps insignificant piece of the te...
Journalism

The First Guaranteed Basic Income Program Designed for Single Black Moms

The Magnolia Mother’s Trust asks participants what they need to not only pay the bills but also to fight generational poverty. Ebony, a single mother of three, works two jobs to make ends meet and takes in around $11,000 a year. In addition to a part-time job at a beauty supply chain, she works as a communication specialist at a Jackson, Mississippi, nonprofit, a temporary position that could end in December. She’s hoping her employers will keep her on, and she’s doing all she can to inspire them, including showing up for work an hour early. “I want to make a good impression,” she says about showing up to work early. “It would be great if [the employers] tell me, ‘You worked so hard, how about you go ahead and stay with us?’” Staying on could mean that Ebony’s annual income...