~ Jimmy Wales
Psychologists define the ‘dark core of personality’ Science Daily (original). n>2500. Readers?
What if we only worked four days a week? BBC
Top 10 emerging technologies of 2018
Artificial Intelligence in Business Gets Real
Borges on Turning Trauma, Misfortune, and Humiliation into Raw Material for Art
“All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.”
Debunking the most common eye myths
Many medical myths are often described as old wives’ tales. But technological advances in the last 70 years have resulted in a myriad of “new wives’ tales” - especially in the field of sight
Average time to resolve problems three times higher than customers want
This article is of interest for several reasons – human mediated
resolution, customer service and research are increasingly targeted to
be replaced by various forms of electronic, robotic and AI applications.
So the premise of this article, via ZDNet – A recent AI customer experience study shows that, although businesses have invested in AI solutions, customers are not happy, is useful to share with managers and senior leaders.
Businesses seem to be setting the bar for “good” customer service too
low, according to a recent study, which could have significant business
impact as the customer experience becomes even more vital as customers
decide to buy. Boston, Mass.- based identity and access company LogMeIn
recently released a study to analyze the business impact and consumer
attitudes of today’s customers and their journey to a sale. It surveyed
over 5,000 respondents consisting of business leaders and consumers
around the globe. Its 2018 AI Customer Experience study shows that over one-third of consumers were not impressed with their customer journey…”
Who’s in the
room? Access and influence in Australian politics
Grattan Institute, 23 September 2018. Powerful and well-resourced business groups, unions and not-for-profits are influencing policy in Australia to serve their interests, sometimes at the expense of the public interest according to Who’s in the room? Access and influence in Australian politics. Businesses with the most at stake in government decisions lobby harder and get more access to senior ministers. The major parties rely heavily on a handful of big donors to fund their election campaigns: just 5% of donors contributed more than half of the big parties’ declared donations at the 2016 federal election.
Grattan Institute, 23 September 2018. Powerful and well-resourced business groups, unions and not-for-profits are influencing policy in Australia to serve their interests, sometimes at the expense of the public interest according to Who’s in the room? Access and influence in Australian politics. Businesses with the most at stake in government decisions lobby harder and get more access to senior ministers. The major parties rely heavily on a handful of big donors to fund their election campaigns: just 5% of donors contributed more than half of the big parties’ declared donations at the 2016 federal election.
Monetary Policy in the Digital Age
Knowledge@Wharton – Leadership in the Storm: How Four U.S. Presidents Handled Turmoil
Prime Minister and Cabinet doubles consultant spend in one year
"While the number of consultancy contracts rose by 20 per cent, their value increased by more than $3 million." (Canberra Times)
Privatised NSW land titles registry hiked fees by 1900 per cent
"The company operating the lucrative land titles registry surreptitiously raised fees without the government's regulator noticing." (SMH)
China confirms Interpol chief detained
"Meng Hongwei, who had been missing in China, has resigned as president, Interpol says." (BBC)
Social media is revolutionising warfare
"Former National-Security Adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first to exploit the new battlefield that would ultimately help bring him down." (The Atlantic)
“When presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin began working five years ago on her newest book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, she didn’t know how apropos it would be to today’s political climate. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author profiled four presidents — Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson — who led the nation through some of its most difficult times. In the book, Kearns Goodwin chronicled their extraordinary strength and leadership acumen. She shared her insights on the Knowledge@Wharton radio show on SiriusXM.”
Even the optimists are bracing for aged care carnage
One of the harshest verses in the Bible is Isaiah 1:15: “When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.”
GE’s dealmaking and outlay to M&A advisers called into question FT. $6 billion in fees since 2000? Holy moley, that’s real money!
NASA Has Just Released 2,540 Stunning New Photos of Mars. Beauty of Planet Earth (DK).
The
Online Platform Economy in 2018: Drivers, Workers, Sellers, and Lessors
Just a decade ago, the online platform economy comprised a handful of marketplaces connecting independent sellers to buyers of physical goods. Today, many consumers use software platforms to procure almost any kind of good or service from independent suppliers as a routine part of daily life. This report examines if these innovations have created viable new options for making a living?
Just a decade ago, the online platform economy comprised a handful of marketplaces connecting independent sellers to buyers of physical goods. Today, many consumers use software platforms to procure almost any kind of good or service from independent suppliers as a routine part of daily life. This report examines if these innovations have created viable new options for making a living?
Neither rich nor crazy: film noir sheds light on Singapore’s migrant labourers Agence France Presse
30+
federal govt agencies' security in disarray
itnews, 26 September 2018. Almost forty percent of federal government agencies are yet to fully-implement the Australian Signals Directorate’s five-year-old mandatory information security controls. According to the latest compliance report published by the Attorney-General’s Department, barely any improvement has occurred since 2015-16
Tax office computer says yes, Federal Court says no
On what grounds can a machine make a legally-binding decision? The case, which is now under consideration for appeal in the High Court, follows a recent full Federal Court ruling [Pintarich v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2018] FCAFC 79], that a taxpayer was liable for interest charges on a tax debt, even though he received a letter from the deputy commissioner suggesting that he was not.
The Era of Near-Zero Interest Rates Is Over Bloomberg
itnews, 26 September 2018. Almost forty percent of federal government agencies are yet to fully-implement the Australian Signals Directorate’s five-year-old mandatory information security controls. According to the latest compliance report published by the Attorney-General’s Department, barely any improvement has occurred since 2015-16
Tax office computer says yes, Federal Court says no
On what grounds can a machine make a legally-binding decision? The case, which is now under consideration for appeal in the High Court, follows a recent full Federal Court ruling [Pintarich v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2018] FCAFC 79], that a taxpayer was liable for interest charges on a tax debt, even though he received a letter from the deputy commissioner suggesting that he was not.
The Era of Near-Zero Interest Rates Is Over Bloomberg
The New York Times has this article: Jesse Eisinger and Paul Kiel, I.R.S. Tax Fraud Cases Plummet After Budget Cuts (NYT 10/1/18), here. The article is quite good as a general discussion of the tax crimes enforcement problems.
I will first summarize some key points of the article and then include some excerpts related to offshore account enforcement that has been prominent source in postings on this blog.
1. IRS criminal enforcement is way down. As a result, "Provided you’re not a close associate of President Trump, there may never be a better time to be a tax cheat." The statistic given is: "Last year, the I.R.S.’s criminal division brought 795 cases in which tax fraud was the primary crime, a decline of almost a quarter since 2010." I have not gotten behind that statistic. I don't know what 795 cases means. IRS CI does not bring cases. DOJ Tax brings the cases (prosecutions). I infer that the 795 may mean referrals to DOJ Tax. But, I could not even verify that number. The IRS does post its CI statistics here which show that the number of Tax Investigations (as opposed to Other Financial Crimes is way down through FY 2016, but the number of prosecution recommendations in tax investigations does not appear to be material down over the time period presented (from FY 2007 to FY 2016). It is true that the number was higher in the most immediate 5 year period, but was lower most of the years before that. Although not a direct comparison, I offer a statistics spreadsheet, here, which I maintain based on the IRS data book and the statistics link noted above. (For those who review this spreadsheet, please review my note at the end of the spreadsheet that I just present the data plus calculated percentages from the data and do not attempt to reconcile the underlying data in the two Tables; also, I would appreciate any thoughts on how these statistics may be reconciled.)