despite

26May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

Despite Some Economists’ Best Attempts – The Cost Of Climate Change Can’t Be Boiled Down To One Right Number, Here’s Why

A group of economists has issued a new estimate of the future cost of climate change that is grabbing headlines. The consultancy Deloitte estimates that unchecked climate change could cost the global economy US$178 trillion over the next 50 years. While climate change does harm economies, there are a lot of problems with long-term estimates like this. New technologies arrive and evolve. Human behaviors shift. For example, who would have thought before the COVID-19 pandemic that a large percentage of the population would stop driving to the office and work from home instead? I am a microeconomist who investigates the causes and consequences of climate change. When I think about the climate change challenge in 2040 and beyond, I anticipate many “known unknowns” about our future. Thus, I a...

Instagram Is Bad For Teens Despite Claiming Otherwise – Facebook Has Known This For A Year And A Half – Here Are The Harms Researchers Have Been Documenting For Years

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Instagram Is Bad For Teens Despite Claiming Otherwise – Facebook Has Known This For A Year And A Half – Here Are The Harms Researchers Have Been Documenting For Years

Christia Spears Brown, University of Kentucky Facebook officials had internal research in March 2020 showing that Instagram – the social media platform most used by adolescents – is harmful to teen girls’ body image and well-being but swept those findings under the rug to continue conducting business as usual, according to a Sept. 14, 2021, Wall Street Journal report. Facebook’s policy of pursuing profits regardless of documented harm has sparked comparisons to Big Tobacco, which knew in the 1950s that its products were carcinogenic but publicly denied it into the 21st century. Those of us who study social media use in teens didn’t need a suppressed internal research study to know that Instagram can harm teens. Plenty of peer-reviewed research papers show the same thing. Understanding t...

Despite Calls For A Moratorium – Feds Are Increasing Use Of Facial Recognition Systems

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Despite Calls For A Moratorium – Feds Are Increasing Use Of Facial Recognition Systems

TECHNOLOGY James Hendler, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Despite growing opposition, the U.S. government is on track to increase its use of controversial facial recognition technology. The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report on Aug. 24, 2021, detailing current and planned use of facial recognition technology by federal agencies. The GAO surveyed 24 departments and agencies – from the Department of Defense to the Small Business Administration – and found that 18 reported using the technology and 10 reported plans to expand their use of it. The report comes more than a year after the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, called for an immediate halt to virtually ...

Despite Trillions In Coronavirus Aid Americans Still Need A Lifeline

19Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

Despite Trillions In Coronavirus Aid Americans Still Need A Lifeline

As Congress prepares another injection of COVID-19 aid for businesses and individuals, there’s been debate about whether it’s necessary on top of the US$3.5 trillion spent so far. President Joe Biden had initially hoped to get bipartisan support for his $1.9 trillion proposal, but the only counteroffer from Republicans was a $600 billion bill, with many in the GOP suggesting more money wasn’t needed. And some economists have expressed concern that giving Americans too much right now could overheat the economy. We are public opinion scholars at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In cooperation with our partners at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Public Radio, we conducted a survey in July and August of last year to try to understand how the first round of aid h...

Despite Tide In Public Support For Paying Athletes Having Turned – NCAA Amateurism Appears Immune To COVID-19

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, SPORTS

Despite Tide In Public Support For Paying Athletes Having Turned – NCAA Amateurism Appears Immune To COVID-19

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, college sports have mostly chugged along – albeit with cancellations, postponements and pauses in play. While many college athletes are grateful for the opportunity to compete, the pandemic has laid bare just how few basic rights they possess. College athletes are navigating this strange sports season with increased health risks, but with little leverage or say about the conditions under which they’ll play. In contrast, their professional counterparts in leagues such as the NBA, WNBA, MLB and NFL, thanks to their respective unions, actively negotiated special accommodations, health measures, truncated seasons and the ability to opt out of playing. They also continually negotiate their economic rights, such as how their sport’s revenue is split up and the...

Despite The Coronavirus Job Losses Immigrants Are Still Sending Lots Of Money Home – For Now

23Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

Despite The Coronavirus Job Losses Immigrants Are Still Sending Lots Of Money Home – For Now

Banks and aid agencies have been warning of a pandemic-related plunge in the amount of money sent by migrants to family back home who rely on the income. In a typical year, more than 270 million migrants living and working abroad send these cash transfers, known as remittances, to their home countries. Yet so far, despite the lockdowns that have devastated wealthier economies and caused massive unemployment, remittances have generally held up this year. In some cases they’ve even been higher than usual, based on our review of the latest available data and press releases for top remittance recipient countries. Remittances to Mexico, for example, surged 9.4% in the first eight months of the year. Pakistan is also experiencing a record increase, while cash transfers to such countries as Viet...

Despite Trade Wars And COVID-19 Most US Farmers Remain Loyal To Trump

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, POLITICS

Despite Trade Wars And COVID-19 Most US Farmers Remain Loyal To Trump

U.S. farmers have suffered a lot in the past few years: The trade war with China, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic have all resulted in substantial losses for many producers. Farmers overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in 2016 and remain critical to his reelection in many swing states such as Iowa and Minnesota. But given the impact of all that’s happened, will they stick with the president in the November elections? We’ve conducted extensive research on American farmers in recent years through surveys and one-on-one interviews. We’ve also examined the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. While the economic costs have been steep, Trump has found a way to make it up to them: record subsidies. And that’s why we believe most U.S. farmers will stay loyal to Trump. Falling export...

Disaster work is often carried out by prisoners – who get paid as little as 14 cents an hour despite dangers

16Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Disaster work is often carried out by prisoners – who get paid as little as 14 cents an hour despite dangers

Efforts to beat back wildfires ravaging Western states in the U.S. have been hampered this year by depleted numbers of “orange angels” – incarcerated workers deployed as firefighters. Their lower numbers coincide with the early release for eligible prisoners and the quarantining of others to combat the spread of COVID-19. The potential impact that having fewer prisoners to draw upon highlights the crucial role that incarcerated workers play in disaster response. While many people are aware that prisoners work to help contain wildfires in California and elsewhere, less well known is the role incarcerated workers play as a labor source across a variety of disasters throughout the country. As a social scientist, I study the impact of disasters on incarcerated populations. I recently co-aut...