― As You Like It
Four Corners whistleblower sued by Murdoch University after raising concerns about international students - ABC News
U.S. Attorney: Professor Spent $190,000 Of Research Grant Funds At Strip Clubs:
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Drexel University to Pay $189,062 to Resolve Potential False Claims Liability:
United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Drexel University has agreed to pay the United States $189,062 to resolve potential liability under the False Claims Act for a former professor’s use of grant funds towards “gentlemen’s clubs” and other improper purchases.
For ten years, the head of Drexel’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dr.Chikaodinaka D. Nwankpa [Google Scholar]), submitted improper charges against federal grants. The majority of the charges were made to gentlemen’s clubs and sports bars in the Philadelphia area.
New York Times op-ed: The Rich Really Do Pay Lower Taxes Than You, by David Leonhardt:
Almost a decade ago, Warren Buffett made a claim that would become famous. He said that he paid a lower tax rate than his secretary, thanks to the many loopholes and deductions that benefit the wealthy.
Airbnb
has warned its hosts the Australian Taxation Office will seize the
personal financial data of hundreds of thousands of sharing-economy
accommodation providers as part of a crackdown on tax avoidance in the
“largely unregulated” industry
Airbnb sent urgent warning of massive tax crackdown from ATO
ATO demands data from Airbnb hosts, 190,000 Australians
Martha Minow On Forgiveness In The Criminal Justice System
Berkman Klein Center – Harvard University – ““When
Brandt Jean hugged the white police officer who had just been convicted of
murdering his unarmed brother while he was in his own home, the act sparked a
wider conversation about forgiveness, the law, and race in America. And while
some saw officer Amber Guyger’s 10-year prison sentence as a fair outcome,
others said it was too light a punishment, and pointed to many ways in which
the American criminal justice system has systematically incarcerated people of
color at high rates and with long sentences. In her new book, When Should Law Forgive?, Harvard
Law School professor Martha Minow examines a range of areas where the legal
system offers opportunities for absolution, and asks where they might be used
more, and where they should not.”
Stephen Hill tells of role in real life hostage ordeal The Atlantic – Schools have been on a mission to reinvent campus libraries—even though students just want the basics – “So far, the internet has not killed libraries either. But the percentage of higher-education budgets dedicated to libraries has been dwindling since the 1980s, and at many institutions there’s been a corresponding drop in reported spending on print materials while that on electronic resources has grown. Likely in the hopes of proving that they have more to offer than a simple internet connection does, many college libraries are pouring resources into interior-design updates and building renovations, or into “glitzy technology,” such as 3-D printers and green screens, that is often housed in “media centers” or “makerspaces.” The Claremont Colleges’ shared library now has a “digital tool shed”—“a technology-rich active-learning center,” according to a 2016 press release previewing the resource, where people are able to “try out innovative pedagogy” such as a data-visualization wall and cutting-edge video- and audio-recording software. Minnesota’s Macalester College library has an “Idea Lab,” which it describes as “a co-working space resembling that of many big tech companies,” where students can needle-felt miniature animals and wear virtual-reality helmets. The goal is, ultimately, to stay relevant and increase appeal. (See: the “Mad Librarian Escape Room” at Goodwin College’s library, which tasks teams of students with salvaging a rare book—a “precious volume!”—via clues they gather in a scavenger hunt.)
Yet much of the glitz may be just that—glitz. Survey data and experts suggest that students generally appreciate libraries most for their simple, traditional offerings: a quiet place to study or collaborate on a group project, the ability to print research papers, and access to books. Notably, many students say they like relying on librarians to help them track down hard-to-find texts or navigate scholarly journal databases. “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers,” as the writer Neil Gaiman once said. “A librarian can bring you back the right one.”
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The New York Times Opinion: “Algorithms make many important decisions for us, like our creditworthiness, best romantic prospects and whether we are qualified for a job. Employers are increasingly using them during the hiring process out of the belief they’re both more convenient and less biased than humans. However, as I describe in a new paper, this is misguided. In the past, a job applicant could walk into a clothing store, fill out an application and even hand it straight to the hiring manager. Nowadays, her application must make it through an obstacle course of online hiring algorithms before it might be considered. This is especially true for low-wage and hourly workers. The situation applies to white-collar jobs too. People applying to be summer interns and first-year analysts at Goldman Sachs have their résumés digitally scanned for keywords that can predict success at the company. And the company has now embraced automated interviewing.
The problem is that automated hiring can create a closed-loop system. Advertisements created by algorithms encourage certain people to send in their résumés. After the résumés have undergone automated culling, a lucky few are hired and then subjected to automated evaluation, the results of which are looped back to establish criteria for future job advertisements and selections. This system operates with no transparency or accountability built in to check that the criteria are fair to all job applicants…”