Tag: lower

Did Elizabeth Holmes Intentionally Lower Her Voice? What’s Behind The Obsession
MONEY, VIDEO REELS

Did Elizabeth Holmes Intentionally Lower Her Voice? What’s Behind The Obsession

There is a scene in Hulu’s new series, “The Dropout,” where Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, wearing a white blouse, stands in front of a mirror and practices saying, “This is an inspiring step forward.” With each iteration, her voice deepens. As the world has learned about Theranos’ web of deception – whether through John Carreyrou’s bestselling book, “Bad Blood,” Apple’s podcast series “The Dropout” or Hulu’s streaming series of the same name – Holmes’ supposed attempt to alter her voice is a detail that captivates audiences. The behavior might strike some people as bizarre, even sociopathic. But because of my training in vocology, the study of vocalization, and my interest in speech biases, I’m intrigued by why Holmes may have felt compelled to change her voice in the first place. I...
Labor Unions Help Lower The Risk Of Poverty – Research Shows
LIFESTYLE

Labor Unions Help Lower The Risk Of Poverty – Research Shows

Tom VanHeuvelen, University of Minnesota and David Brady, University of California, Riverside The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Belonging to a union or living in a U.S. state where organized labor is relatively strong helps lower the likelihood that you will fall into poverty, according to our new research. In a peer-reviewed study, we examined how unionization is correlated with poverty. So we analyzed data on poverty and unionization rates from 1975 through 2015 using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which is widely considered to be the gold standard for tracking individuals over time. We used a variety of poverty measures in our analysis. We found that households in which there was at least one union member had an average poverty rate...
School Suspensions Lead To Lower Grades And ‘Black Flight’ Don’t Just Unfairly Penalize Black Students
EDUCATION

School Suspensions Lead To Lower Grades And ‘Black Flight’ Don’t Just Unfairly Penalize Black Students

School suspensions are intended to deter violence and punish students who demonstrate problematic behavior. Yet, when I interviewed 30 Black high school students in southeast Michigan who had been suspended from school and 30 of their parents, I learned that many students were suspended because school officials misinterpreted their behaviors. Additionally, the suspensions led to students’ grades dropping significantly and to some parents withdrawing their children from their school districts. I published my findings in the Children and Youth Services Review and Urban Education journals as part of my ongoing research on how Black students and parents view school punishment and its impact on their daily lives. You might assume that these punitive disciplinary practices have stopped since ...
Kids are bigger coronavirus spreaders than many doctors realized – here’s how schools can lower the risk
COVID-19

Kids are bigger coronavirus spreaders than many doctors realized – here’s how schools can lower the risk

The first U.S. schools have reopened with in-person classes, and they are already setting off alarm bells about how quickly the coronavirus can spread. Georgia’s Cherokee County School District, north of Atlanta, had over 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases by the end of its second week of classes, and more than 1,600 students and staff had been sent home after being exposed to them. By the third week, three of the district’s high schools had temporarily reverted to all-online learning. Schools in Mississippi, Tennessee, Nebraska and other states also reported multiple cases, quarantines and temporary school closures. Deciding whether to open schools for in-person classes during a pandemic is a complex decision. Children often learn better in school, where they have direct contact with expert t...
The road to electric vehicles with lower sticker prices than gas cars – battery costs explained
TECHNOLOGY

The road to electric vehicles with lower sticker prices than gas cars – battery costs explained

Electric vehicle sales have grown exponentially in recent years, accompanied by dropping prices. However, adoption of EVs remains limited by their higher sticker price relative to comparable gas vehicles, even though overall cost of ownership for EVs is lower. EVs and internal combustion engine vehicles are likely to reach sticker price parity sometime in the next decade. The timing hinges on one crucial factor: battery cost. An EV’s battery pack accounts for about a quarter of total vehicle cost, making it the most important factor in the sales price. Battery pack prices have been falling fast. A typical EV battery pack stores 10-100 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity. For example, the Mitsubishi i-MIEV has a battery capacity of 16 kWh and a range of 62 miles, and the Tesla model S has...