text:
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When You Wish Upon a Star, Watch Out! The Fall of Star Fund Managers?
Consistent performance and better value top consumer expectations of the investment industry. Innovation ties with better value as the second highest expectation as consumers seek innovative investment opportunities and new tools to easily access their accounts.
The implosion of stock picker Neil Woodford's fund empire dominated the financial media in 2019 and has since raised significant questions for the UK's fund management industry. But what does it tell us about the future for star fund managers and the global investment industry overall? Over the years, many starry-eyed DIY investors have ploughed money into the funds of so-called star managers, with little to no thought about the actual investment strategies or underlying assets. They assumed that a flawless track record would ensure success and bring them fortune.
This is perhaps no truer than in the case of Neil Woodford, who over the past two decades built up an unrivalled reputation as one of the best-known fund managers in the UK. In the process, he became one of a select group of "superstar" managers and earned himself a CBE — the highest-ranking Order of the British Empire — for services to the economy. Whilst at Invesco Perpetual, where he controlled over £15 billion ($18.5 billion) in assets, Woodford was renowned for his contrarian approach, which famously allowed him to avoid the worst of both the 1990s dot-com bubble and 2008 financial crisis. In the eyes of many, he was simply untouchable and without peer.
So, it was of little surprise that when he departed Invesco to set up his own shop (Woodford Investment Management LLP) in 2014, investors voted with their feet — and wallets — and blindly followed him in droves. But this year his fortunes turned. Following a series of poor stock choices and concern over a period of sustained below-par returns, Woodford made the unprecedented decision to block investors from making withdrawals from his flagship equity income fund — a move meant to prevent a fire sale and buy him time to divest from illiquid holdings.
This would be an alarming move in any circumstance. But what caused the most concern is the fact that Woodford's fund has been widely marketed, if not recommended, as a best buy, to retail investors through well-known fund platforms or supermarkets. Until recently, it received nearly unanimous praise from UK consumer and industry media. Many of these retail investors would more than likely have expected to be able to buy and sell as they please, without perhaps knowing that withdrawals were not quite as straightforward as other UCITs funds, and certainly not instant.
In Woodford's case, his exposure to unlisted, illiquid assets meant that he simply couldn't match the rush of investors seeking to redeem their investments. And so, he closed the barn door to prevent more horses from bolting.
But what received perhaps the most widespread criticism — and prompted the UK's financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to step in — was Woodford's refusal to waive his management after he suspended withdrawals, netting him a daily income of c. £65,000. One suspects that Woodford's agreement not to take any income or dividends during the suspension
meant little to the investors who had their money trapped in an underperforming fund.
To complicate matters further, one of Woodford's biggest backers, retail platform Hargreaves Lansdown, continued to promote the fund on its best buy list right up until the day it was suspended — which affected roughly 300,000 customers. The regulator is now also investigating the investment platform's role in the crisis, examining why the fund continued to be one of Hargreaves Lansdown's top picks despite a torrid performance run. This doesn't just shine a spotlight on the UK's leading fund platform. It also prompts intense scrutiny over the wider manager and broker relationship and the validity of industry best-buy recommendations — all trusted sources for UK investors. So how does this saga end? After months of trying to reposition the holdings in the portfolio to more liquid stocks, attempts have not been sufficient to allow reasonable certainty, and the fund's administrator, Link Asset Solutions announced in October 2019 that the frozen equity fund would be down as soon as it is practically possible, and Woodford was consequently fired as fund manager, signaling the end of his career as a top flight fund manager and his cult status. Such a seismic move will without doubt shake the fund management industry — and it's so called stars — to the core.
The sell-off will begin in January, and it will most likely be months before the assets are sold and proceeds returned to investors. The equity income fund has now become the worst performing fund in the city, with investors suffering close to a 27% loss in the last 12 months, and c. 17% since the fund's launch. Woodford aside, let's look at the wider issue. Any market battling the effects of a low interest rate environment will see retail investors turn to less traditional assets and funds in search of greater returns. The contradiction here, however, is that some investors still expect instant access and the ability to sell and withdraw funds whenever they wish. This trade-off between liquidity and long-term returns needs to be better understood by mainstream investors and
better communicated by managers and advisors. Clearly, communications and marketing professionals have a role to play in ensuring that funds are marketed responsibly, and in reinforcing the importance of a long-term investment mindset.
Many now point to the Woodford debacle as further proof that retail investors should ditch active managers entirely and concentrate on passive ETF funds to deliver value, especially pronounced given that new research for the Financial Times suggests platforms' best-buy active funds overwhelmingly underperform cheaper tracker funds.
For those harbouring doubts over the true value of more costly active funds, could this be the nail in the coffin? Indeed, FleishmanHIllard's own Authenticity Gap research reveals that better value is the most important expectation consumers have when evaluating companies in the investment industry — making up almost one quarter of industry expectations.
This could potentially open the door further to low cost new entrants and fintech players who offer an accessible alternative investment approach to established firms. And there may well be a fresh opportunity for these disruptors to capture new investors and steal a march on the competition through bold marketing, engaging content and authentic communications.
This is not a UK-centric issue. The same scenario will no doubt play out across other markets. What remains to be seen is if/how some active managers can stage a comeback, or whether recent episodes have made a lasting dent in the faith we place in advisors and platforms' recommendations. But it's undeniable that investors around the globe will no doubt place even more scrutiny on the investment platforms and managers they choose — opening the door for disruptors who may be more attuned to the next generation's investing mantra.
Liz Willder and Ludo Baynham-Herd, Corporate Communications & Financial Services
For more on the challenges facing the Financial Services industry download our latest report 'We Are All Invested'. The report offers financial services companies a look ahead to the challenges and opportunities that exist for the sector in 2020. Grounded in the expertise of FleishmanHillard Financial Services and Reputation Management counselors from all over the world.
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John-Williams yet to decide on re-election
Joel Bailey (T&T Newsday)
Previous Aritcle Sports journalist Dave Lamy is dead
Next Aritcle "A very dangerous election!" Shabazz on TTFA elections, DJW, OJT coaches and the problem with 'transparency'
After four years at the helm of the TTFA…
AFTER four years at the helm, president of the TT Football Association (TTFA) David John-Williams is yet to make an official announcement regarding the impending TTFA elections, which is scheduled for November 24.
Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) president William Wallace is leading the United TTFA slate and Terminix La Horquetta Rangers owner Richard Ferguson have both declared their intentions to unseat John-Williams as president.
John-Williams, the former president and owner of local football club W Connection, replaced Raymond Tim Kee as TTFA boss on November 2015.
Asked yesterday if he's looking for another four-year term as president, John-Williams responded, "I'm sure that announcement will come in due course."
When will that announcement be made, the TTFA head replied, "That's the best kept secret."
According to the TTFA constitution, the local governing body have up to ten days before its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections to confirm the proposed candidates.
John-Williams' reign, thus far, as TTFA head has been dominated by three major issues – the Home of Football project, the performances of the national teams and debts the local governing body has been unable to deal with.
HOME OF FOOTBALL
The US$2.5 million Home of Football, at Balmain, Couva, is located next to four local sporting facilities – Ato Boldon Stadium, National Cricket Centre, National Cycling Velodrome and National Aquatic Centre.
The project comprises of training fields, a sports and entertainment centre and a 72-room hotel.
On September 13, during an interview on the TV6 Morning Edition, John-Williams said, "We expect to open it on the first week of next month for business."
He continued, "We were planning to open it in April of this year. We got a garnishee from the Futsal Association freezing our bank accounts. FIFA withheld our funding (but) people say this is timed for our opening.
"We have an income generation process with an entertainment centre, which is separate from the hotel. We can develop a national academy. We have six training fields, three already completed. We have a facility where all our kids can train regularly. We don't have to worry about where we're going to eat and where we're going to sleep."
The 72-room hotel was used by the four participating teams (TT, Cuba, Suriname and Grenada) during the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-14 Girls Challenge Series.
Asked yesterday about the official opening date for the Home of Football, at Balmain, Couva, John-Williams responded, "The announcement will come in due course. We're testing the facility right now."
Another test the facility is dealing with is a court matter, as United TTFA member Keith Look Loy, who is also the president of the TT Super League, took legal action over the Association's reluctance to disclose documents relating to the construction of the facility.
In March 2019, Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh ordered the TTFA to hand over documents on the construction of the Home of Football to Look Loy. However, Look Loy admitted noticing a number of discrepancies in the general ledger, including payments he knew ought to have been made not being included.
Look Loy claims the TTFA was unable to provide documents for the majority of the money spent on the project, while some of the unaccounted funds might have been used in cash payments, without formal contracts.
PERFORMANCES OF THE NATIONAL TEAMS
While many will say the coaches and the administrators do not play the game they are ultimately held accountable for the performances of the teams – especially at the national level.
Sadly, none of the T&T teams have made any improvement during John-Williams' tenure as TTFA president.
The most notable is the men's team, coached by Dennis Lawrence, who are currently on a 14-game win-less streak, the worst in T&T's football history.
Barely 1,500 supporters turned up at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on October 10 to watch a meek T&T team lose 2-0 to Honduras in the Concacaf Nations League. In addition, winger Levi Garcia and wing-back Mekeil Williams were sent off during a heated encounter.
T&T subsequently lost 2-0 to Venezuela on October 14 and, as much as he's heavily defended by the TTFA boss, it seems a mystery as to how Lawrence can survive so long without a victory, at the international level, since September 2018.
The women's team, with Shawn Cooper as coach, had a miserable campaign at the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers in the US last year, while the 2019 crop, coached by Stephen De Four, were unable to progress to the Concacaf Olympic qualifiers.
The men's Under-15, Under-17 and Under-20 teams and also the women's Under-17 and Under-20 teams fared no better in their respective Concacaf World Cup qualifiers.
And, on Tuesday, the T&T Under-14 women's team finished as runners-up, to Cuba, at the CFU Challenge Series.
During an interview at the Home of Football on April 5, John-Williams spoke on the financial issues that the TTFA has faced since he took office, including lawsuits from the previous administration.
"Since I took up office, from day one, it was a blow," John-Williams said then. "We had a players' strike within five days. We had to pay (former T&T Under-17 women's coach) Even Pellerud or else face elimination from World Cup qualifying. We've had a series of stuff, a series of court judgements. There were players (and) coaches with outstanding salaries. A lot of things are going to come out in the public domain."
He continued, "Under my tenure as president, it has seemed very controversial (but) I beg to differ. But the old people say when they're criticising you is when you're doing something good. At the end of the day, you'll see who's telling the truth. "People tend to be critical but they're not seeing the positive things. It's just that this president doesn't talk because it's not my business to beat my chest. I'm doing my job to the best of my ability."
John-Williams was speaking in relation to the appeal filed by the TTFA in the High Court, over the matter involving the national Futsal team. On December 13, 2018, in a High Court ruling, the Futsal team was awarded $475,743 plus interest at three per cent per annum, along with legal costs, after suing the TTFA for unpaid salaries, stipends and match fees for their participation at the 2016 Concacaf Futsal Championship in Costa Rica;.
AGM	David John-Williams	Home of Football	National Training Centre

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
using System.Linq;

namespace System.Threading.Tasks
{
    public static class TaskExtensions
    {
        public static Task Then(this Task task, Action next, TaskScheduler scheduler = null)
        {
            if (task == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("task");
            if (next == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("next");
            scheduler = scheduler ?? TaskScheduler.Default;

            var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<object>();
            task.ContinueWith(delegate
                              {
                if (task.IsFaulted) tcs.TrySetException(task.Exception.InnerExceptions);
                else if (task.IsCanceled) tcs.TrySetCanceled();
                else
                {
                    try
                    {
                        next();
                        tcs.TrySetResult(null);
                    }
                    catch (Exception exc) { tcs.TrySetException(exc); }
                }
            }, scheduler);
            return tcs.Task;
        }

        public static Task<TResult> Then<TResult>(this Task task, Func<TResult> next, TaskScheduler scheduler = null)
        {
            if (task == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("task");
            if (next == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("next");
            scheduler = scheduler ?? TaskScheduler.Default;

            var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<TResult>();
            task.ContinueWith(delegate
                              {
                if (task.IsFaulted) tcs.TrySetException(task.Exception.InnerExceptions);
                else if (task.IsCanceled) tcs.TrySetCanceled();
                else
                {
                    try
                    {
                        var result = next();
                        tcs.TrySetResult(result);
                    }
                    catch (Exception exc) { tcs.TrySetException(exc); }
                }
            }, scheduler);
            return tcs.Task;
        }

        public static Task Then<TResult>(this Task<TResult> task, Action<TResult> next, TaskScheduler scheduler = null)
        {
            if (task == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("task");
            if (next == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("next");
            scheduler = scheduler ?? TaskScheduler.Default;

            var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<object>();
            task.ContinueWith(delegate
                              {
                if (task.IsFaulted) tcs.TrySetException(task.Exception.InnerExceptions);
                else if (task.IsCanceled) tcs.TrySetCanceled();
                else
                {
                    try
                    {
                        next(task.Result);
                        tcs.TrySetResult(null);
                    }
                    catch (Exception exc) { tcs.TrySetException(exc); }
                }
            }, scheduler);
            return tcs.Task;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a network connected through WiFi or another radio frequency.
Network Interface Controller (NIC) teaming is a form of link aggregation that allows multiple connections for redundancy.
The agent is the software on the devices in need of monitoring on a network, that uses Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to send a notification to the administrator.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is used to have a secure connection over a public network.
Netstat shows incoming and outgoing connections, routing tables, and other network statistics.
6) The end-to-end security scheme Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) resides at which layer of the OSI model?
Honeypot is a part of the infrastructure heavily monitored to attract hackers and learn about the exploits used on the network.
8) Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a telecommunication protocol that provides what kind of resolution?
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) will translate the IP address into a Media Access Control (MAC) address.
9) Which of the following solutions hides the internal IP addresses by modifying IP address information in IP packet headers while in transit across a traffic routing device?
Network Address Translation (NAT) hides the internal IP, but also is used to conserve IPv4 addresses, by using one IP address for the entire private network.
10) Multi-link Point-to-Point Protocol (MLPPP) provides a method for combining two or more physical communication links into one logical interface to improve speed and redundancy.
11) Which option could be used when describing Thinnet or Thinnwire?
12) What command would you use to display a MAC address if the administrator is using a Linux machine?
ifconfig can be used to display or modify all network interfances on Linux. Ipconfig is used for Windows systems.
13) In which type of network topology do the main network cables become a single point of failure?
14) What type of filtering allows for controlling specific types of network traffic (such as web traffic, mail, file transfer)?
Blocking certain ports can restrict specific types of network traffic, for example blocking port 80 would restrict the HTTP protocol. It is important to know however that this only blocks the default HTTP port and another could be used to bypass this measure.
The Chain of custody is a paper trail that shows who has possession of the object being tracked.
16) Which of the following devices resides at the data link layer of the Open Systems Interconnections (OSI) model?
Ethernet switch is in layer 2 (data link) of the OSI model, while repeater/hub are in layer 1 (physical), and router is layer 3 (network).
Worm is a self replicating malicious code. Trojan requires a trigger to execute, while spam is typically just a nuisance and spyware records your information.
In the Internet Protocol (IP) Time To Live (TTL) is the lifetime of the data being passed over the network before the information is dropped. This is to prevent an infinite loop. Is is defined as the number of hops a packet can go before being discarded. Each time an OSI layer 3 (routing) device handles a packet it deducts the TTL value of the packet by one. If a layer 3 device encounters a TTL of 0 the packet will be discarded. For IPv6 the TTL field has been renamed to hop limit.
19) What would the administrator adjust in the WAP configuration settings so a user could not access the wireless signal from the parking lot?
The administrator would adjust the power level controls, so the signal does not extend into the parking lot.
20) A cloud computing infrastructure type where applications are hosted over a network (typically Internet) eliminating the need to install and run the software on the customer's own computers is known as Software as a Service (SaaS).
These are applications hosted over the internet so the user does not have to download them. An example is Google Apps, where you can access something similar to Microsoft Word or Excel, without having to download anything.


text:
ThisihT
A little bit of coffee with your morning meds.
I'd call this a spoiler if shit wasn't already damaged beyond repair
erinire 071011 manifesto, TV, worst week ever
GREY'S ANATOMY.
Holy bleeding christ, where to start.
Last winter.
Last winter, when my grandparents were dying left and right and i was in the middle of a job transition, I got the Fever Plague from Hell and spent four days at home on the couch. I was too sick to read, too sick to drink (EVEN SCREWDRIVERS, which is insane), and all i could do was watch TV. I spent one day watching Angels in America, and the rest of my sick time watching as much Grey's Anatomy as I could stuff past my eyelids.
I loved the show instantly – it reminded me of the best of what I once thought working could be: camaraderie, debauchery, constant drama and intellectual stimulation. I identified with all of the characters (although I found Meredith whiny and unpleasant to look at – like a full-grown gollum with hair) and, blame it on my fever, I thought that Christina Yang was the smarter asian twin I never had. The last episode of season two had me sobbing – SOBBING – on the living room floor, wrapped in a blanket with a glass of merlot in my hand. Those three days watching Grey's on repeat might have been the highlight of the whole winter, as far as I'm concerned.
I spent a long ten months waiting for season three on DVD, and on September 11, the day of its release, I happened to be home sick again. By some stroke of luck, Blockbuster had one disc left on the shelf, and that disc was disc one. I went home, curled up, and hit "play all".
The first disc was fine. the third disc slid downhill a touch. by the fifth disc, i had doubts about the future of the series, and by disc seven i had surrendered my faith in humankind.
Are we all familiar with the phrase "jump the shark"? It represents a point in a TV series when the plot becomes so ridiculous that it can never recover. It was coined during an episode of Happy Days where whats-his-name with the car donned water skis and literally JUMPED A SHARK. Dumb. Stupid. Over-the-top. Kind of like season 3 episode 2, where a a patient was rushed into the OR with a tree through his chest. The title? "I Am A Tree". Or, better yet, episode 15, featuring an endless, poorly-constructed CG shot of a ferryboat in flames. The only thing worse than the CG are the drawn-out "Dramatic Reaction Shots" aped by the cast we've come to know and love. Episode 17 is essentially one long, lame dream sequence, and by the end of it I was like, jesus, just kill the girl off already. She's ugly. It's time. But the true shark-jumping moment came in the opening shots of episode 22: Addison Shepherd in a little red cabrio en route to LA. "Painful" doesn't BEGIN to describe the experience of watching a show with such promise tank so completely.
Remember "Saved By The Bell: The College Years"? No? BECAUSE NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS AFTER GRADUATION. I mean, seriously, by the time "college years" aired, they were all at least 27 and had been in high school for about 12 seasons. It's not about reality, it's about staying with your theme. I'll watch Grey's season 4, but now that they're not interns, and now that there's a mini-meredith, and now that addison is moving and george is all married and moody, seriously. Fuck that. I've got better things to do with my time. Like basketweaving.
Previous you think you're so cute, don't you, with your holiday-themed board.
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Published by erinire
I like things and stuff.	View all posts by erinire
That Jake
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text:
Franchisees of Dunkin' plans to hire about 25,000 workers!
The announcement made by Dunkin', a unit of Dunkin' Brands Group Inc stated on Monday about franchisees planning to hire up to 25,000 workers as they prepare for higher demand, as the US states initiate reopening after months-long lockdowns. According to the announcement, new jobs include front-of-counter and managerial roles at restaurants. The company also announced that it was committed to diversity and inclusion.
Cloud to hire 5,000 staff worldwide this financial year: Alibaba
According to the latest development, Alibaba Group revealed that its cloud unit aims to hire 5,000 workers globally from the present day until the end of this financial year. The announcement revealed the areas where the company would be hiring and the areas included network, database, servers, chips, and artificial intelligence. Jeff Zhang, president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, said, "The digital transformation journey for businesses in China, which was previously expected to take three to five years, is now likely to be accelerated to be completed within one year."
BP to slash 10,000 jobs globally amid drop in oil demand!
In a recent development related to the global pandemic, BP announced that it would be cutting about 10,000 jobs globally by the end of the year. The company's chief executive officer Bernard Looney informed employees about the importance of job cuts including the fact that it would enable the company to cope with the global drop in the oil demand due to coronavirus pandemic.
Emirates, Etihad to continue with salary cuts till September!
As the aviation industry is trying to stay afloat with a reduced workforce and slashed salaries, the Gulf Carriers Emirates and Etihad announced that they would be extending the period of reduced pay for the workforce until September. The move is meant to preserve cash during the global coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has hit the aviation industry hard, as the travel is canceled and flights were grounded in March. The decision came in the wake of after the airlines took a stock of their cash.
Reddit Co-Founder resigns to make way for a Black candidate!
In a direct response to the protests over George Floyd's death and in the face of criticism the US companies have been facing, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from the company's board on Friday. The move that was meant to make way for a black candidate and refuting the fact that the companies across the US are just making empty statements about Black Lives Matter. Reddit's board that currently comprised of all white people – three men and a woman. Ohanian also pledged his future gains on his Reddit stock to the black community.
Professionals not happy with workplace 'contact tracing'!
According to a survey by Fishbowl – a workplace communications network – it was found most professionals were against the implementation of contact tracing at the workplace. Contact tracing is an attempt to contain the spread of the pandemic by keeping a track of employees' contact with each other at the workplace. The survey in which about 17,000 professionals contributed found about 75% of employees responded with a negation saying that they would not allow their employers to trace their activity.
Bentley to slash 1,000 jobs in the UK amid coronavirus outbreak!
In the latest development in the automation industry, the luxury carmaker Bentley would be slashing about 1,000 jobs in the United Kingdome amid the ongoing deadly pandemic. The news as reported by BBC late on Thursday also stated the cuts at the Volkswagen-owned brand that were expected to be announced on 5 June 2020. The statement also stated about carmaker's likely offer to the workers a chance to take voluntary redundancy.
CDC: Modify office spaces before employees return from remote work!
The latest guidelines shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had clear instructions for the employers to revamp the office workstations and improve the ventilation in the offices before reopening the workplaces for the employees. The guidelines that were released on 27 May 2020 also talked about the changes employers should make on the premises so that there is a distance of six feet between each employee. The guidelines also offered a solution where social distancing was not a viable solution.
Starbucks reopens with limited hours post lockdown!
According to a letter sent to the partners of Starbucks, it was revealed Starbucks has offered its employees an extended unpaid COVID-19 paid leave through 30 September 2020. The letter dated 26 May 2020, also said the employees could accumulate up to 20 hours per week toward benefits eligibility. The letter further stated partners on leave would keep their existing benefits and Starbucks would continue to pay healthcare premiums in full for staff enrolled in a company plan.
Small businesses upbeat despite lost revenue and workforce reductions!
The recent survey carried out by the firm TriNet – the Harris Poll and HR services revealed majority – about 60% – of more than 500 small and midsize business leaders revealed about the reduction in their workforce. The businesses have reduced their workforce in some or other capacity during the pandemic in the guise of layoffs, furloughs, and shorter working hours for employees. Amid all the workforce reductions and shorter working hours, the businesses are optimistic about their businesses emerging out stronger than before or in a similar position.
Subsidized backup day care for all US employees until October!
In an internal announcement made by Amazon, the online retail giant would offer backup daycare to all its US employees. The announcement was made on Tuesday after numerous employees had pushed CEO Jeff Bezos to offer child-care assistance. The backup daycare would be till 2 October 2020 and would include the daycare for the child and adults in the family. The plan would include Amazon's all 650,000 full-and part-time employees.
Skills deficit tops employees' concerns post COVID-19 era!
According to the recent Prudential Financial survey, it was found a lack of skills tops the concerns of employees returning back to work post the lockdown. The survey revealed about more than a quarter of respondents worry about their lack of skills that would be most in demand when the economy 'starts back up.' The results were revealed on 27 May 2020. About half of the 2,050 respondents revealed the pandemic had increased their use of online learning programs and the figures have increased amid remote workers. Individuals have acquired new skills through online learning programs to stay updated and trained during the changing times post COVID-19 era.
Ex-Google CFO becomes the new chairperson of Twitter!
In a recent development, Twitter – the social network platform – witnessed some major shuffles in the top management, as Twitter Inc announced Patrick Pichette – the former chief financial officer at Google, as the new chairman. The move marks the first time in the history of the organization where an outsider would be presiding over the group. Pichette had been with the organization since 2018 serving as a lead independent director. He would replace Omid Kordestani in leading the directors in the role of a chairman.
Newly unemployed workers hit by skill deficit!
According to the latest survey by LiveCareer dated 28 May 2020, it was found the newly unemployed individuals were clueless about what skills to acquire so as to come back into the jobs' market. The survey result revealed that unemployed workers were struggling to understand or articulate the skills that would help them to secure a new job. About 58% of the respondents revealed that they lacked confidence in finding new jobs where they could apply their current skills.
Facebook employees stage a virtual walkout!
In an act of rebellion over Mark Zuckerberg's refusal to act against US President Donald Trump, Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout to express their dissatisfaction with Zuckerberg on social media. The move was a rare public display of dissent. It was reported disagreement came from all the levels of the company including some senior staff members. The criticism came from all levels of the employees in the company was targeted at the decision of Mark Zuckerberg for inaction against Trump's post.
Twitter to build a diverse talent pipeline amid COVID-19!
The recent blog post by Dalana Brand, the vice president of people experience and head of inclusion and diversity of Twitter, revealed the company's plans to continue its focus on building a diverse talent pipeline during the coronavirus crisis. The blog post that was published on 27 May 2020 also stated Twitter would be 'even more deliberate about hiring, development, and promotions.' According to Brand, Twitter would aim for women to represent half of its workforce by 2025.
Delta Airlines chalk out plans to avoid furloughs of pilots!
The recent development at Delta Air Lines Inc, it was found the airlines and its pilots' union is working on a plan in order to avoid furloughs of about 2.300 pilots. The move was followed by a reshuffling process to match the staffing numbers for 2021 summer flying. Delta had revealed in May that it had more pilots than required considering that it has reduced its network and fleet due to a sudden drop in demand post-COVID-19 pandemic. However, the airline is working out a plan to avoid involuntary furloughs.
More than half of Professionals ready to opt for work from home!
According to the survey results from Fishbowl – a workplace social network – it was revealed about more than half of HR professionals wanted work from home as a permanent experience. The survey had about 17,650 respondents from various industries contribute to it. About 55% of the professionals said they would want to continue to work remotely. The survey was carried out industry-wise and the results displayed that about 68% of tech workers showed the greatest interest in permanently working from home as compared to the teaching staff who would not choose work from home as a permanent solution.
Employers 'out of touch' with increased stress levels of employees!
The recent survey results published 21 May 2020, by Peakon revealed a disturbing trend amid employees. About a fifth of employees in the survey informed that employers don't understand employees' productivity and workload. Employees revealed that while their physical health and safety have been taken under consideration, there has been no provision for mental health and stress that is on the rise due to coronavirus. Employees revealed that employers are 'out of touch' regarding the stress employees feel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amazon plans to offer permanent roles to 70% of the new hires!
In a recent development at the retail giant Amazon.com Inc, the company has announced its plans to offer permanent jobs to nearly 70% of the US workforce is hired temporarily. The employees who were hired to meet the increasing consumer demand during the global pandemic would be offered permanent roles in the company. The company would start informing its 125,000 warehouse employees in June about the permanency of their roles. The other 50,000 workers that were brought on board later, would stay with the organization on seasonal contracts that last up to 11 months.


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CCI Team Awarded $399K Sloan Grant to Study Early Career Researchers
View all the posts from December 8, 2020
As COVID-19 continues to affect the way people live, work, and learn around the world, researchers are beginning to gather data on how the pandemic is affecting society. One such research team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is based in two units within the College of Communication and Information—the Center for Information and Communication Studies (CICS) and the School of Information Sciences—in collaboration with the independent research group CIBER Research Ltd. in the United Kingdom.
Early Career Researchers and the Pandemic
Carol Tenopir
SIS Interim Director and Chancellor's Professor Carol Tenopir is the principal investigator for the project, with CCI Associate Dean for Research and Chancellor's Professor Suzie Allard serving as co-PI along with David Nicholas, head of CIBER. The study will delve into the lives of early career researchers around the world to better understand how the pandemic is affecting their work and role in the academic community. The two-year project, funded by a $399,098 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant, will include three interviews each with more than 160 international participants as well as two international surveys.
Tenopir said the uncertainty created by the pandemic has resulted in universities instituting hiring freezes and faculty layoffs and switching to virtual schooling. The project aims to see if early career researchers in the social sciences and sciences are disproportionality affected by these stressors, and whether gender, field of study, and geographical location cause variations in their impact.
"There is some evidence that the burden has been disproportionate for early career researchers who have seen their research disrupted while they spend more time on adjusting teaching modes and, in particular, for women faculty members who bear a disproportionate amount of care for young children or other family obligations. This project will provide a detailed look at the impact of the stresses from the pandemic on early career researchers throughout the world," Tenopir said.
Leah Cannon
Other team members from CCI are doctoral alumnus David Sims and SIS alumna Leah Cannon. The international team is led by Nicholas, who has collaborated with CCI on other research projects.
The project builds on CIBER's four-year Harbingers project, funded by the Publishing Researcher Consortium, which studied early career researchers, how they may be harbingers of change in the academic world, and how they approach scholarly publishing. Participants from that study will be revisited for this project, which will provide a longitudinal study of researchers from 2015 to the present. Nicholas said he and Tenopir came up with the idea for the new project and were excited to again collaborate, especially on such a timely topic.
"We thought, 'Why don't we see what happens to these early career researchers in regards to COVID-19?' Maybe they'll be the last generation of this whole generation of young researchers because there's no money, they can't meet, they can't go to conferences, they can't collaborate," Nicholas said.
Nicholas and CIBER researchers will oversee the international team and interviews of non-US study participants, while Tenopir and her team will oversee interviews in the United States and play an important role in the international surveys. Both teams will conduct data analysis. They expect results to be published to a fairly wide audience since the outcome may affect many different fields of study and academia as a whole.
A Changing Landscape
Before the pandemic, scholars suspected that early career researchers might be causing a shift in the academic reward system—a system Tenopir and Nicholas said has remained fairly stable for decades. For example, researchers in the US seeking tenured positions are expected to publish in a narrow list of high-quality recognized peer-reviewed journals, and they are not rewarded for publishing in other venues. This approach doesn't always line up with advances in technology and with how information is now delivered, accessed, and consumed, Allard said. It has been posited that younger researchers will push for a transition that would reward researchers for publishing in other venues, such as having a highly trafficked blog, or for research that is determined to be widely read and influential using measures other than how often it is cited.
"They're in a tricky position because they're new to the system and it's hard to make changes, and some have suggested the pandemic may hurt their chances of making changes because of fewer jobs and opportunities," Nicholas said.
Allard said the reason information sciences scholars are leading the project is because their expertise lies within the nexus of people, information, and technology—in this case, how people's behaviors are affected in their information creation, the information's behavior as it goes through the scholarly communication ecosystem, and how technology in the time of COVID-19 is changing the ways people work.
"This is a distinguishing project for information science as we look at the role of information, both in its creation and consumption and how it is changing. We also look to explore the different types of information resources and how that may be changing scholarly publishing," Tenopir said.
Suzie Allard
This particular project is especially important to Allard, Tenopir, and Nicholas, who are all seasoned information scientists who have dedicated their research to studying scholarly communications.
"The three of us leading it all have very mature careers, and to be able to look back through the lens of an early career researcher is especially exciting—and it's an opportunity to shed light on some of these things and share it with the academic community and the scholarly publication community. It's an incredible opportunity to give back what has given us so much for our careers," Allard said.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic not-for-profit grantmaking institution based in New York City. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-president and chief executive officer of General Motors, the foundation makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economic performance. For more information about the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, visit sloan.org.
Hillary Tune (htune1@utk.edu, 865-974-7760)
Center for Information and Communication Studies
College of Communication and Information
School of Information Sciences


SHREWSBURY, NJ - An energetic exhibit of Guild Exhibiting and Associate members' artwork in various media: acrylic, casein, charcoal, collage, etching, fiber, fine craft, graphite, mixed media, oil, pastel, photography, sculpture, wood and watercolor, showcasing a rich variety of subject matter to please even the most diverse audience. The public is always invited to meet our painters, sculptors and photographers at our monthly receptions, and welcome to visit the Guild of Creative Art to enjoy our exciting, eclectic exhibits of affordable original art by emerging and established artists.
Guild Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8am-4:30 pm, Thursday 8 am – 7pm and Saturday from 10am – 3:00 pm. Please call before coming, as Holiday hours may vary. Admission free; on-site parking free.


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A quick post on two slightly-related topics: indometacin and inflammation in prion disease.
Manueldis 1998, who I've mentioned previously in the dapsone post, also tested indometacin, another anti-inflammatory drug. Manueldis found a very small (probably about 5%, judging by Fig 1) delay in symptom onset in rats treated with indometacin, but no significant delay in death.
As far as I can tell, Manueldis was the only one to test indometacin in an animal model, but Veerhuis 2002 tested it in a cell culture model. Microglia are activated in prion disease, and secrete "neurotoxic agents" and IL-1 and IL-6 in response to contact with neurotoxic fragments of PrP. This study examined how microglia respond to PrP synthetic fragments (release of TNF-Alpha, IL-1, PGE(2)) and whether indometacin would inhibit microglial activation and reduce toxicity. It didn't.
What we consider remarkable and constitutes our main finding is the key role that neuroinflammation plays in the specific case of prion disease, connecting different functional modules and constituting a switch that allows the network to reach a self-maintained disease state, once triggering factors (protein deposition and the formation of amyloid plaques) initiate the process.
I'm not sufficiently well-read on the inflammation-and-prions literature to have a very strong opinion on this, but I feel that the conclusion is worded a bit more strongly than the evidence merits. Inflammation is certainly a feature of prion disease, and it could well be one contributor to disease pathology. Still, the conclusion that inflammation leads to a "self-maintained disease state" seems to go a bit far. I'm open to being proven wrong – the authors state they plan to test their hypothesis by looking at whether mice with one of these core genes knocked out have a different reaction to prion infection. But considering the evidence we have now, the role of inflammation seems much more marginal and/or downstream. There is better evidence for the possibility of anti-inflammatories as Alzheimer's therapeutics, and that has inspired a number of studies of anti-inflammatory drugs in scrapie mice–ibuprofen, dapsone and indometacin– none of which have been extremely successful. Statin fanatics like Dr. Agus will point out that statins also reduce inflammation in the long term. Arguably this could be another possible explanation for the consistent finding of a small but significant delay in prion disease onset in mice treated with statins. But remember that statin treatment didn't reduce PrPSc accumulation, it just allowed the mice to tolerate greater neurological insult before succumbing to symptoms and death. Overall, I could be more easily convinced that inflammation has some role in the presentation of symptoms and less easily convinced that it lies at the core of the disease process.


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Renewed calls to reject the phrase 'commit suicide'
The media are today being reminded to watch the language they use when reporting on suicide.
A letter has been put together by mental health campaigners Bryony Gordon and Luciana Berger MP with the world marking suicide prevention day on September 10.
The letter, which has been backed by cross party MPs - as well as Samaritans and Mental Health Today - calls for an end to the use of the phrase 'commit suicide', which implies suicide is a crime or a sin.
There are a number of alternatives, including 'died by suicide', that are recommended.
The more that people think of suicidal thoughts as sinful, the less likely they are to seek help.
Broad support
Campaigners have also renewed calls for an end to detailed descriptions of suicide, which can be copied by others.
When specific methods of suicide are reported, there is a rise in this type of suicide, especially among young people.
Broadcaster Zoe Ball, whose former partner died by suicide last year, is among those to have signed the letter to editors.
Mental health media charter founder Natasha Devon and charity CEO Victor Adebowale feature among the other 130+ names.
People can show their support for changing the language about suicide and find out more about responsible reporting by visiting www.talkingsuicide.co.uk.
Support if you need urgent help is available here.


Early in 2019, India and Pakistan, both possessing nuclear weapons, came close to war before international pressure and internal realism produced a deescalation. Containing between them a population of 1.5 billion, the countries have fought four wars since 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided into India and Pakistan. In his lecture, Professor Gandhi, a research professor at UIUC and a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, will address the fragility and global importance of their current truce.
Historian, biographer, journalist and peacemaker, Rajmohan Gandhi divides his time between India and the United States, where he currently serves as Research Professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Rajmohan has been associated from 1997 with the University of Illinois.
Rajmohan's latest book, published in December 2018, is Modern South India: A History from the 17th Century to Our Times. Other books by him include Understanding the Muslim Mind (1987); Gandhi: The Man, his People and the Empire (2008); Two Revolts: the American Civil War & India's 1857 Rebellion (2009); and Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten(2013).
In the 1990s, Rajmohan, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Indian Senate.


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