Monday, August 10, 2020

Don't call them "student athletes"; Are you on the right path of the K-shaped recovery?; Kids making sizzle reels for street vendors

1. "Donor to President Trump and Roy Moore revealed as secret funder of right-wing Federalist"

2. First Minister of Scotland "promises urgent review of 124,000 downgraded exam results":
The controversy blew up last week after the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) downgraded 124,000 recommended awards – nearly a quarter of the total – after using computer models to decide results following the cancellation of all exams during the coronavirus lockdown.

Critics pointed out the SQA had downgraded awards recommended by teachers for pupils from the poorest 20% of areas by more than 15 points, while recommendations for the best-off pupils were downgraded by just under 10 points.

...

Sturgeon had vigorously defended the process last week....She said on Monday she had reconsidered that, and now believed her government had put too much trust in an algorithm
3. University of North Carolina student newspaper will no longer use the term "student athlete":
The term student athlete was an invention. It's been well documented that the origins of the phrase trace directly back to Walter Byers, the first executive director of the National Collegiate Athletics Associate. It was a nifty trick, promoting athletes above the rank of simple students to explain why they should be judged by a lower academic standard while simultaneously keeping them below the status of employees.
4. "GOP Chair Who Called Mail Voting 'Fraught With Danger' Voted by Mail 22 Straight Times"

5. Ranjan Roy:
the more we turn to algorithmic feeds built by companies drowning in advertising profits to help us shape our understanding of reality, the more those feeds become our reality. The more the porn-like outliers become real. We get Trump and rainbow bagels.
Ben White:
Wall Street just assumes a stimulus deal will eventually get done so markets don’t react at all to lack of one, which in turn makes a deal less likely. That’s the loop we’re in.
Meanwhile:
"I call it the K-shaped recovery because for some it’s been a sharp rebound for others it’s been a continuing decline," Peter Atwater, an adjunct lecturer in the economics department at William & Mary, who is credited for coining the "K-shape" theory, told ABC News.

In many ways, a K-shaped recovery highlights the divergent experiences of individuals with coronavirus, where white-collar workers are able to work from home in many cases, to continue seamlessly with their jobs and potentially avoiding exposure to the virus and essential workers, many of who do not have benefits and cash safety nets, have to report to a physical location, Atwater said.











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