There is a 4% fall in student proficiency rates in states where teachers’ unions are stronger.
According to a study by Johnathan Lott of the University of Chicago Law School and Lawrence W. Kenny of the University of Florida of 721 U.S. school districts in 42 states shows a 1-standard-deviation rise in teachers’ union dues per teacher is associated with a 4% fall in student proficiency rates.
Continue reading… “In states with stronger teachers’ unions students learn less”
70% of adults in the U.S. reported having broadband access.
Pew Research has released the results of a survey that shows how one of the more advanced countries in the world, the U.S., is still not quite there in leading by example: 20% of U.S. adults are still without broadband or smartphones for internet access. And 3% of people in the country still using dial-up connections.
Continue reading… “30% of U.S. adults still don’t have broadband: Pew Research”
A cicerone carefully expects his beer.
You have probably seen a sommelier when you have been to a fancy restaurant. A sommelier is a wine expert who makes sure you get the best possible match for your meal. But what if you don’t want wine with your dinner? What if you want a nice cold beer?
Continue reading… “While wine has sommeliers, beer now has cicerones”
Daryl Oster, CEO for Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies.
Elon Musk is a brilliant, big-thinking, subtly accented, physicist turned financing pioneer turned engineer, self-made billionaire who has led the design of revolutionary cars and rockets and he needs no introduction. Musk unveiled his idea for a next-generation transportation system on August 12th, and it got the attention of about every news organization between Earth and Mars, where Musk hopes to aim his rockets one day.
Continue reading… “Who needs Hyperloop? ET3 will be ‘global space travel on Earth’”
A new site called JustDelete.me makes vanishing from the web much, much easier.
It’s hard work to delete yourself from the internet. First, you have to decide where exactly you want to disappear — from social media sites to retailer databases — and then you have to figure out how you’re going to do all that.
Continue reading… “JustDelete.me makes deleting yourself from the internet easier”
The Defikopter
Definetz, a German non-profit group, wants to make defibrillators readily available across its country so that any time someone has a heart attack, the life saving devices are within arms reach. Definetz is looking to drones to help it bring its vision to fruition. The group has announced the Defikopter, a concept device it designed with drone-maker Height Tech to fly defibrillators to emergency responders or the public by way of a GPS-enabled smartphone app.
Continue reading… “Drones to deliver defibrillators to heart attack victims”
The long-term unemployed tend to be people who 1) are a little bit older, and 2) got laid off from their last job.
The economic recovery officially began a little over four years ago. But there are still over four million people who are long-term unemployed. That’s four million people who can’t find work even after looking for six months or more — four million people who can’t even get companies to look at their resumes anymore.
Traditional retailers who have retained their national chain of stores and built a web/mobile presence are actually in the best seat.
Shoppers are demanding faster and faster delivery on the items they order online, and organizations like Amazon and eBay have conditioned them to think that’s reasonable.
And you know what? It is.
Continue reading… “Brick and mortar stores are back, same-day delivery service is the reason”
Solar panels on a rooftop in Yiwu, in China’s Zhejiang Province.
From the last quarter of 2010 until the first quarter of 2013, leading Chinese solar companies were able to drop the cost of manufacturing multi-crystalline solar modules by 54 percent.
Continue reading… “How Chinese companies will produce solar for 36 cents per watt”
Waldo Canyon fire
Rick Wilking: Covering natural disasters is a strange thing. You get there all in a huff, as fast as you can after the tragedy, and then try to seek out the major damage. You document all that, often busting hump for very long days, for a week or more depending on how bad it is. (Photos)
Futurist Thomas Frey: A few days ago the people in Deer Trail, Colorado made national news with a proposed ballot initiative to allow hunting licenses to shoot down flying drones.
Uber has committed to invest up to $375 million for a fleet of Google’s GX3200 vehicles.
News from the Future – July 25, 2023: The local transportation and delivery giant, Uber, has announced as part of its second quarter earnings, saying it would buy 2,500 driverless cars from Google. The two companies have agreed to a deal in which Uber will share data from its local transportation services with Google, which will use it to further improve its own autonomous car-routing algorithms.
Continue reading… “Uber to purchase 2,500 driverless cars from Google”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.