Analysis: Will licensing fix fashion’s exploitation crisis? – Drapers

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As allegations of sweatshop conditions in some Leicester garment factories continue to surface, the fashion industry has called for urgent government action to help stamp out exploitation in the UK supply chain.

Earlier this week, a consortium of powerful players including leading retailers, peers, and MPs penned a letter to home secretary Priti Patel backing the introduction of a statutory licensing system for garment factories in the UK. The letter was co-ordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and signed by retailers including Asos, Boohoo, Asda's George, New Look, Next, River Island and Very Group.

The proposed Fit to Trade licensing system would ensure all UK garment factories are meeting their legal obligations to employees, the group argues, and would stop rogue businesses from undercutting competitors by paying illegal wages. It could also incentivise retailers to invest more in onshore manufacturing, making the UK garment manufacturing industry world-leading, innovative, and ethical.

Concerns about exploitation in UK manufacturing have bubbled under the surface of the fashion industry for many years but have been propelled back into the spotlight following repeated allegations over recent weeks of poor working practices and wages as low as 3.50/hour in some factories in Leicester.

Existing legislation, including the National Minimum Wage and the Modern Slavery Act, should in theory prevent such exploitation from occurring in the UK. However, the dearth of sufficient checks under the existing system has made a licensing system necessary, argues Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the BRC.

Were calling for a statutory licensing system for UK garment factories that would mean factories would need a licence to open, and their business wouldnt be allowed to trade and sell products without a licence, he tells Drapers.They would have to go through various checks to be allowed to operate, and would be checked again periodically.

"It is something weve seen work really well in the food industry. All labour providers to the agriculture and food industries must have a licence [as part of legislation introduced in 2006.] Under the current system, many businesses across the UK, including garment factories, are not being checked. It is the job of various enforcement bodies to follow up where there are issues, but they say they arent being given enough evidence to investigate cases and in some cases, they have the wrong powers and are denied entry to factories.

He adds: The current model is reactive because enforcement agencies have to have information about malpractice, whereas licensing is much more proactive because factories have to be checked before they can operate, preventing issues from arising in the first place. We dont want to put too much burden on responsible factories if they are regularly exceeding whats required, then they will have less and less checks. On the other hand, those that fail the checks will get a lot of attention.

Lisa Cameron, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Textiles and Fashion, and one of the co-signatories of the BRC letter, adds: Under the current legislation, there are too many loopholes, and not enough adherence to the appropriate conditions and employment rights. A licensing system would mean factories have to show they are abiding by those standards. This is something the industry supports and believes is doable and would make a real difference.

The proposed licensing system has garnered widespread support from the retail industry other signatories include Joules, Marks & Spencer, Missguided, Morrisons, Mountain Warehouse and N Brown, as well as the UK Fashion and Textile Association and the Ethical Trading Initiative.

Mick Cheema, general manager of Leicester-based supplier Basic Premier, also supports the licensing system but stresses that it should be part of much wider government action to tackle the issues:A licensing system is a good idea, because it will help us get to grips with whats going on in these factories, but it is only a starting point. It should be part of a bigger instrument. To me, all the current heat and energy around this issue is being wasted by focusing on a few specific retailers and becoming a blame game.

"Retailers can only do so much, although yes, there are things they can do around compliance and teaching buyers about how to spot if something isnt right. But if youre going to blame anyone, blame the government. Authorities have known about these issues for a long time and there are laws in place already that mean the problems shouldnt be happening.

For a business like us, going through a licensing system would be straightforward. If we are going to have a licensing system, it should be focused on helping and assisting those manufacturers that have had problems in the past and helping them to move forward. It should say: 'The past is the past. Here are all the things going forward that you need to do to get a licence.

However, Jenny Holloway, CEO of London-based manufacturer Fashion Enter, raises some concerns:Will the licensing system be a cost just for factories or would retailers help pay for it? For us, it is also a question of how much more we can do, because we already comply with the Fast Forward audit scheme [a supply chain labour standards improvement programme] and have our own internal ethical compliance.

The current problem with factory checks announced or unannounced is that they only provide a snapshot of that moment. What we need is transparency. All the time and the technology that can do that already exists were using it at Fashion Enter. The future of UK garment manufacturing needs to be about working together, relationship and trust moving together as one.

Whether or not a licensing system gets the green light from government, retailers need to be preparing themselves for more legislation around transparency and human rights issues in their supply chains, argues Sam Eastwood, partner at law firm Mayer Brown.

Licensing can certainly help [with issues of human rights] but it is not the whole answer. Businesses can procure a licence fraudulently, for example, or simply ignore the need for a licence if they feel the reward is big enough to risk it.

My advice for businesses in the UK would be raise their eyes and look more broadly at what is happening, because it is very significant. The direction of travel is clear, and the message to companies is to get their skates on before laws are enacted. There is a European Union directive shaping up about mandatory due diligence throughout their supply chains on human rights. Businesses increasingly need to be sensitive about stakeholders expectations: investors are making it clear they want boards to tackle the issue of human rights and banks are worried about financing companies who arent taking action.

What really matters is that companies, the government and civil society have a strategy to address the underlying issues [behind exploitation.] There is no way one company or one organisation can address these issues alone it has to be about collaboration across various stakeholders.

Whether or not a licensing system is given the go-ahead, there is appetite from the fashion industry for more legislation to tackle the issue of exploitation. Action needs to be taken to ensure the UK has a garment manufacturing sector to be proud of.

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Analysis: Will licensing fix fashion's exploitation crisis? - Drapers

Food Brands Are Finally Changing Their Racist MascotsBut Is It Enough? – Delish.com

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On my last trip to the supermarket, I saw a familiar sight: a red carton with an older Black man in a chef's hat and bowtie. He looked joyous, holding a steaming bowl of Cream of Wheat in his right hand, beckoning for me to try it. Behind Rastus's welcoming Black face (that's the name given to the caricature used as Cream of Wheat's mascot), though, is a longstanding stereotype, one that's far from comforting for many Black people. It's rooted in racism, serving as a constant reminder that America loves to portray Black lives as valuable only within the confines of servitude.

Rastus is "under review" now as many other companies examine their products and packaging. Aunt Jemima is changing its name and logo. The Uncle Ben's branding will "evolve" soon.

But the comeuppance the brands are experiencing is long overdue. The usage of Black caricatures like these represents a denial of Black humanity that's always existed. According to the Smithsonian, The Supreme Court ruled in 1857 that people of African descent were not humans, which "permitted the image of African Americans to be reduced to caricatures in popular culture." These stereotypes from slavery not only persisted, they gained new groundespecially the Mammy, a rotund, perpetually jovial caricature who "loved" the white family she served and attended to their every need, never complaining.

It's this stereotype that prompted Chris Rutt to name his new pancake flour after "Old Aunt Jemina," a minstrel song in 1889. But the real Mammies and Aunt Jemimas were a stark contrast from their cartoon-ish counterparts, explains Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson, Department Chair of American Studies at the University of Maryland College: "Nine times out of 10, the Aunt Jemimas were in the kitchen. She was worried about the children who were running around the kitchen while [she was] cooking. She was worried about whether [she would] have dinner on time, and if she had all the ingredients she needed. [She was] worried about getting maimed, hurt, raped, or killed. She wasn't smiling."

Uncle Ben's, Cream of Wheat, and other brands used these tropes, too, liberally exploiting Sambo and Uncle Tom caricatures to sell goods. Food was the place where eugenics, racism, and sexism fusedwhere stereotypes were used to pedal everything from coffee to cupcakes. The invention of these caricatures attempted to rework the narrative of slavery as something benigneven beneficialto Black people. White comfort was paramount, and that meant hiding the very real evils of slavery, its visceral effects acutely felt in Black communities over a century later.

As America moved from slavery to its new form, Jim Crow, these caricatures came to represent the idea of comfort, servitude, and respectability. Through these items, Black people were allowed to occupy white homes and imaginations, but only as one-dimensional characters. "The image of the happy, smiling Black person helps people believe 'Oh, here's my friend. They're going to take care of me,'" Williams-Forson says. "The whole image of comfort given by the smiling Black face is because in American society and throughout the globe, we don't like an angry Black person. That's part of the narrative of the simple Black person. You don't have to deal with our complexity."

Lynn Pitts, a New York-based creative director, notes that these images of happy Black people were a strong factor in appealing to white households. Pitts recalls a piece she read that was particularly salient to her. "I can't remember where I read this, but there was a piece that talked about these brands [that] were designed to appeal to white people who had a really specific idea of what it meant to have a Black face or hands preparing the food, that these were 'trusted Black people,'" she says. "Marketers were trying to appeal to white housewives who wanted to feel confident about the food they were putting on their table. And in some cases, that meant a reminder of the Black people who had prepared food for them at some point in their lives."

While the idea of comfort remained, its iteration changed slightly: Real women like Nancy Green, who was used as the face of the first Aunt Jemima, received little compensation for their likeness. Nancy continued to work as a housekeeper until she was hit by a car and killed in 1923. Aunt Jemima continued to use real women until 1968, until they created a composite with a slimmer face and relaxed hair. The year 1989 saw another makeover: no headscarf, but a new little lace collar and pearl earrings for a "contemporary" look.

Public Domain, Uncle Ben's Co.

Uncle Ben's had to wait a few more decades for a different change: In 2007, he received an abrupt move from the kitchen to the boardroom on a redesigned site, though he kept his original maitre d' uniform. (The website no longer exists, and the Uncle Ben's caricature no longer has a bowtie or jacket.) However, brand names have not changed: While aunt and uncle seem to signal familiarity, they are vestiges of the Jim Crow era, where whites refused to address Black people as Mr. or Ms., even though racial etiquette rules called for Black people to use honorifics or risk putting their lives in danger.

But the changes didn't do much to rectify America's racist past. In response to previous and frequent outcries over racially charged mascots, brands have done little more than adding and taking away clothing. "Very longstanding brands like those can be suddenly reluctant to change aspects of what they consider 'hallmarks' of their brand," Pitts explains. "In Black communities, people have been talking about the problematic images that are in question right now...for a long time, but that talk didn't generate the kind of consequences that are being generated right now."

Brands, relying on warped notions of nostalgia with racism at the foundation, were willing to defend these caricatures for the sake of profit. "What capitalism has figured out is how to use a shorthand toward very complicated conversations because it's easier to rely upon these stereotypes to get across a very simple message, as their whole bottom line is to make money," Williams-Forson notes. And some consumers who don't knowor careabout the history of these stereotypes are excusing brands in defense of happy childhood memories.

From enslaved Africans who were brought into America for their labor to present-day food apartheid, food has always been mired in politics and the subjugation of Black communities.

So are brands truly changing nowdoing more than just adding or subtracting accessories or moving a caricature to a different room? "As long as the Black Lives Matter movement is active and applying pressure, you'll continue to see changes or, at the very least, reactions," Pitts says. "Brands are reacting to what's happening in the marketplace, and there's pressure being applied to their bottom line because of the movement."

Williams-Forson echoes a similar sentiment: "The reason why this particular moment is happening is because of COVID. We're drawn to the media more than ever before, without work or the daily distractions of life. This has been going on for decades, centuries even, but we are literally and globally being forced to stop and watch injustice," she says. "You cannot unsee George Floyd. You're forced to make a decision: Am I going to act, or am I not going to act?"

The current act of choice? Removing mascotsbut it's not a panacea. Quaker Oats (Aunt Jemima's parent company and a subsidiary of PepsiCo) declared they would be spending $400 million dollars over the next five years to "lift up Black communities and increase Black representation at PepsiCo." As plenty of brands clamor to perform solidarity in the wake of Black Lives Matter, the true impact is yet to be seen.

"I'm more interested in how quickly Quaker Oats changes their overall image as a corporation, and I'm not talking about hiring more people in their plants," Williams-Forson says. "I'm talking about a systemic, actual change in the way they do business, from hiring practices to paying people a living wage and providing health insurance, maternity leave, and paternity leave. How are you really going to make those changes across the board?"

Removing these mascots isn't going to magically solve racism; it's a small, reactionary fix to a system ossified centuries ago. And as Dr. Williams-Forson notes, change boils down to the way businesses create long-lasting, equitable policies across entire organizations. The real work that goes beyond reactionary measures like removing mascots, attending protests, or posting black squares to social media is the most uncomfortable. It's in the quiet, ongoing, rigorous, and necessary self-examination and accountability-takingfollowed by actionfor being complicit in the racism that pollutes America.

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Food Brands Are Finally Changing Their Racist MascotsBut Is It Enough? - Delish.com

The Pandemic of Racism in America – City Watch

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They are sick and tired of systemic racism against Black people, of bigotry at the top, crude discrimination, police brutality, a prejudiced criminal justice system, economic disparity, and societys robbing black people of experiencing real freedom and equality. Hypocritically, white people blame the victims of racism for their own plight, claiming that Black people would do better in life if they were only willing to work harder.

We are now reaping the harvest of the seeds of racism and discrimination -- the devaluation of Black life. The whole socio-economic and cultural system is lopsided, as it lacks the fundamentals of justice and equality. The pandemic provided the wakeup call that pointed out the ugly tradition of subjugation of the Black community, which sadly did not stop with the end of slavery, but continued in the wanton indifference to their pain and agony, our uncanny negligence, and our failure to understand what they are really experiencing.

Ingrained racism

The fact that Black people were slaves, and the carefully cultivated myth that slaves were always obedient and happily served their white masters, left an indelible imprint on white people that has lasted generations. They maintain that African Americans were born to servitude and hence they do not qualify for equal treatment, equal opportunity, and equal status.

Films such as D.W. Griffiths immensely influential Birth of a Nation (1915), which helped to reestablish the Ku Klux Klan, also reinforced the racist stereotype that Black men are unintelligent and an inherent danger to the white community -- specifically white women. When on May 25 (the same day George Floyd was killed) a white woman, Amy Cooper, called the cops on a Black man, Christian Cooper, who was birdwatching in Central Park, she was tapping into the long history of that racist trope. To put it plainly, Black lives are simply not valued the way white lives are, as white people consciously or subconsciously view Black man as both sub- and supra-human, threatening, and expendable.

Thus, due to this entrenched prejudice, any activity, however innocent, in which a Black man is engaged in invites suspicion, alarm, and often puts the life of Black men in danger such as 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed by white residents of the suburban Georgia neighborhood he was jogging in. The mayor of Minneapolis bluntly said, Being black in America should not be a death sentence. Racism, to be sure, is so ingrained it flows in the veins of many Americans without notice.

The insidious, learned biases pitting white against Black Americans directly leads to the treating of Black Americans as second-class citizens and suppression by white Americans -- a necessary ingredient that satisfies their ego and elevates their self-worth. Although the majority of white Americans may not be white supremacists, they certainly hold onto their privileges in all walks of life as they view their relation with Black people (and other people of color) as a zero-sum game, as if a Black mans gain invariably chips away at a white mans privileges.

Wanton discrimination

Racial prejudice in America takes a heavy toll on African Americans, which translates to discrimination in all walks of life, including education, job opportunities, professional advancements, and medical treatment, especially maternal health. Black workers receive 22 percent less in salary than whites with the same education and experience; Black women receive even less34.2 percent. According to a University of Chicago/Duke 2016 study, when factoring in all African American and white men (inclusive of those incarcerated or otherwise out of the workforce), the racial wage gap is the same as it was in the 1950s. Even where racial discrimination should not occur, in medical treatment, when Black patients access medical care, doctors regularly prescribe fewer pain medications and believe Black patients feel less pain than white patients, even among veterans seeking care.

Whereas Black men have served in the military and fought and died alongside white soldiers in every war since the Revolutionary War (when 5,000-8,000 Black soldiers fought against the British), they had to face the revulsion of discrimination and segregation while still serving in the military, hardly recognized for acts of bravery. Indeed, until 1948 -- after the end of WWII -- the U.S. military was entirely segregated. While the top brass of the military, who are mostly white, like to claim that military institutions are colorblind, the reality is that racism and discrimination remain extensive problems even in the U.S. military.

Police brutality

Although police brutality against Black men in particular, which instigated the current protests, is a known phenomenon, police killings of Black men continue unabated. It can and has taken different forms historically including harassment and intimidation, assault and battery, torture and murder, and even complicity with the KKK. Often, police officers approach any situation connected to a Black man with apprehension and fear. White police officers see threats where they do not exist; they are too quick to draw and as quick to fire to kill.

Here are just a few glaring examples: a Black man taking a nap in a car in a parking lot was shot dead. Another pulled over in a traffic stop was shot and killed in front of his girlfriend and her daughter. A Black man sitting in his home eating ice cream was shot dead by his neighbor, an off-duty white police officer. A Black woman playing video games with her nephew was shot and killed through her window. A Black woman (and EMT) sleeping in her home was shot eight times when officers entered her apartment executing a no-knock warrant.

It is rare for a prosecutor to decide to charge a police officer, especially because they often know each other and have developed close working relationships. Even Internal Affairs divisions of police departments, which ostensibly exist to investigate and report misconduct among officers, have widely conducted sub-standard investigations and failed to identify problem officers who commit wanton abuse.

This cultural pattern enables police officers like Derek Chauvin, Daniel Pantaleo, and Nathan Woodyard to commit the heinous crime of slowly squeezing the life out of George Floyd (MN), Eric Garner (NY), and Elijah McClain (CO). As troubling is the fact that police officers have been known to give false testimony in court, whether to avoid punishment for their own criminal and/or unconstitutional actions, to ensure a conviction, or for other reasons.

Disproportionate incarceration

Although the U.S. judiciary is considered to be just and impartial, in most court hearings race is present albeit it is not spelled out. It is as though Black men inherently have no equal rights and to this day, 230 years since the constitution was written, injustices still exist in both federal and state courts.

Blacks are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites -- while they are 13 percent of the total U.S. population, they constitute 40 percent of the total male prison population. The mass incarceration of African Americans in this country has created what sociologist Becky Pettit, citing the novelist Ralph Ellison, calls invisible men -- the millions of black men in the American penal system. Prison inmates are not included in most data-collecting national surveys, so these men are effectively invisible to social institutions, lawmakers, and most social science research. It is almost as if they do not exist, they do not count; their reality is ignored, neglected, and brushed aside.

A staggering 75 percent of young Black men will be imprisoned at some point in their lives. These statistics can only begin to convey the enormity of the injustice that is being compounded day after day. Pettits book reveals that penal expansion has generated a class of citizens systematically excluded from accounts of the American populace. This exclusion raises doubt about the validity of even the most basic social facts and questions the utility of the data gathered for the design and evaluation of public policy and the data commonly used in social science research. As a consequence, we have lost sight of the full range of the American experience.

Economic disparity

Economic disparity between white and Black Americans is glaring and reverberates through generations of Black families. Economic exclusion is the source of inequality. It is caused by a confluence of factors, beginning with nearly 250 years of chattel slavery (during which Black families were torn apart, let alone able to accumulate wealth), to sharecropping and unrestrained lynchings, to 90 years of Jim Crow laws, to redlining neighborhoods on demographic lines. All of these factors are manifested today in hiring decisions, property valuation, mortgage applications, interest charges, and even how credit scores are tabulated. The average white familys net worth is more than ten times greater than a Black family. Economic disparity, to be sure, is the mother of all evil in the lives of Black people.

A poor Black man cannot pay for decent housing, cannot pay for health care, and cannot afford to send his kids to higher education, which directly impacts his social standing and professional competency. Thus, he has to settle for menial jobs, low wages, and little or no prospect of ever climbing out of the vicious cycle. The saddest thing of all is that he is blamed for his own dilemma, as if the conditions and lack of opportunities in which he lives has nothing to do with his sorry state of affairs.

The bigotry of the leadership

During the past four years, racism in America has been on the rise and in no small measure Trump, the Racist-in-Chief, has made race a campaign issue from the very start. He began his political campaign by branding Hispanics as rapists; in his presidency he banned Muslims from entering the US, cruelly separated children from their parents at the borders, described white supremacists in Charlottesville as very fine people, and celebrated this 4th of July by defending Confederate statues.

Trumps racism against Blacks in particular is nothing new. It was there in 1973 when Trump Management Inc. was sued by the Department of Justice for housing discrimination against African American renters. We could see it in 1989, when he took out a full-page advertisement in four New York City newspapers calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty over the Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted and sent to prison. Trump refuses to apologize for that, even though, as Innocence Project founder Barry Scheck said, . . .by calling for the reinstitution of the death penalty, it contributed to an atmosphere that deprived these men of a fair trial. He also refused to apologize for his persistent perpetuation of the birther lie that Obama was not born in the U.S.

Trumps Independence Day speech at Mount Rushmore was laden with racially divisive and partisan rhetoric, but that makes no difference to many conservative Republican leaders and his misguided supporters who follow him blindly. They wrap themselves with the flag as a sign of American patriotism, when in fact their patriotism is defined by their racism and intolerance of people of color.

Although some Republican leaders disagree with him on race, they are fearful of his anger to say anything publicly, lest they risk losing their power or position. Sadly, their silence suggests consent, which only reinforces Trumps racism. With Trump, as with much of the country, racism is deeply ingrained, something he refuses to admit.

Although racism did not start when Trump came to power as it is imbued into Americas history and culture and it will not end with his departure from office, his overt racism brought to focus racism in America. The persistent protests reveal the deep sense of frustration with a president who fans the flame of racism, who sees the country as his own enterprise, who does whatever he wants to serve his own interests. He is cruel, cunning, and careless about the pain and suffering of Black America; he cannot count on their political support and hence completely rejects their outcry.

Unlike any other protests in the past against racism, this years protests have had a greater impact in part due to the spread of the coronavirus and its disproportionate impact on Black people, who are being infected and dying at higher rates than whites. That, and in conjunction with a presidential election, provides a rare opportunity to start a process of mitigating racism in earnest. What will be necessary, however, is for the protests to persist through Election Day in the hopes that the Racist-in-Chief will be ousted. Only then we stand a better chance that a new day will dawn and a new administration will commit to relentlessly addressing the plight of Black people for the sake of all Americans, especially because the day when America will have a majority of people of color is fast approaching.

Although there are scores of measures that must be taken and many years and huge financial resources to make a discernible change for the better in the life of Black Americans, we have no choice but to start, regardless of how insurmountable the obstacles and the culture of resistance to change. It will take the collective efforts, determination, and consistency of local, state, and federal authorities to begin this process if we ever want to reach a modicum of equality.

The work to change the culture of innate racism in America will be long and hard, but we must not shy away from it. As a small start, the immediate focus should be on educating students about Black history, changing the police culture and training, investing in housing in Black neighborhoods, offering educational support for young Black boys and girls starting at elementary age, up to providing free education for them to attend college or professional schools, and providing job opportunities and equal pay to give them the chance to climb up the social ladder over time.

The continuing demonstrations throughout the country suggest not only the obvious -- that Black lives matter -- but that racism is consuming America from within, that injustice affects the perpetrators just as much as the victims, that enough is enough.

(Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.) Photo: MF_Orleans / Shutterstock.com. Prepped forCityWatch by Linda Abrams.

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The Pandemic of Racism in America - City Watch

European Countries Lead the World on Ending Extreme Poverty. But That May Change With COVID-19: SDG Report – Global Citizen

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Why Global Citizens Should Care

Theres a few things that countries in Europe areextremely good at: Europeessentially has a monopoly on football; it's the second biggest music market in the world; and when it comes to tackling poverty and its root causes, a new global report says Europe comes out on top.

Much like its position in football and music, this is, at first glance, nothing new. Last year, European states accounted for 13 of the top 15 countries in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Index ranking progress towards ending extreme poverty by 2030, including evaluating factors that contribute to it, like hunger, health care, and gender equality.

The report assesses how countries around the world are doing in terms of progress towards the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (a.k.a. the Global Goals) 17 objectives that work together towards ending extreme poverty and its systemic causes by 2030.

And in the 2020 report, Europe has locked down the entire top 15 in the ranking of 196 countries. Previously, the only non-European inclusions were from Japan and New Zealand. Now, theyve been edged out by Ireland and Switzerland. The only other switch-up has been Iceland falling out, replaced by Belgium.

All rosy in Europe then, right? Well, not entirely. But prior to the deep dive, lets examine the progress of the top three countries in the SDG Index all Nordic states spread around the Baltic Sea.

After finishing second last year, Sweden has made progress on poverty, gender equality, good health, and many other areas to pip Denmark to the top spot in 2020.

However, while the report scores Sweden highly on clean energy since its population has electricity access and renewables play an important part in its energy supply it states that major challenges remain on climate change with its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Its a criticism that persists across every country in the top 15: not a single top ranked state has scored outside of the red zone on climate, in line with the UNs Global Goal 13 on climate action.

Sweden also scores poorly on "responsible consumption and production with its levels of electronic waste and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, a pollutant emitted from burning fossil fuels. But overall, Sweden is an example to follow with low poverty, protected biodiversity, major internet connectivity, and universal health coverage.

Denmark came out on top in 2019 and maintains its high position thanks to its low poverty rates, relatively low income inequality, and lack of malnutrition and stunting in its children.

However, like Sweden, it scores poorly on climate and other emissions including CO2, SO2, and nitrogen. Denmark is also marked down on life below water, as it catches fish by trawling, and was ranked 46th in the world on the Ocean Health Index.

Moreover, much more work still needs to be done on obesity, getting more women into science, and supporting a population overburdened by rent payments. But progress is still happening on academic research and wider gender equality including the gender wage gap and family planning access.

Typically, Finland is a world leader in education: theres no standardised testing until youre 18, teachers must have at least a master's degree, and private schools have been abolished. That success is echoed in the SDG Index with high rates of primary school enrollment, high secondary school completion, and top mathematics, science, and reading ability.

Theres also positive feedback on clean water (like healthy sanitation access), justice (such as incarceration rates and public safety), and labour rights (including low numbers of modern slavery victims).

Despite this, there was dissatisfaction in Finland with public transport, and it was marked poorly for its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA basically, its aid spending). And, like every other country in the top 15, much more needs to be done to make progress on climate.

While the world is on the precipice of immense change, Europe may actually suffer the most dramatic reversal of progress. The SDGs league table in 2020 may very well be an entirely different beast to the ones we see in the coming years.

Thats because of a little thing called COVID-19. You might have noticed that the countries many might have thought would deal best with the pandemic for example, those with the strongest health systems, like Britains National Health Service (NHS) have not quite fulfilled those expectations.

Related Stories July 20, 2020 African Countries Are Leading on Climate Action as Developed Countries Fall Behind: SDG Report 2020

So while Britain remained in 13th position on the SDG Index in both 2019 and 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that the UK has endured the third worst death toll from coronavirus in the world (45,273). Only the US (137,674) and Brazil (77,851) have seen more deaths during the pandemic so far.

Likewise, France (fourth in the SDG Index but with the sixth highest COVID-19 death toll) and Belgium (11th in the Index and 12th on deaths) may see a similar decline. The two European states have had 30,046 and 9,800 deaths respectively as of July 20, which may very well influence how their health systems and education sectors fare in years to come.

And while European progress may stall, there have been rapid lurches forward among eastern and southern Asian countries including South Korea and Japan since the SDGs were first established in 2015. Perhaps even more important is that the report highlights how these countries have responded best to the COVID-19 pandemic too.

So while the economic turmoil sparked by the virus leaves global progress towards achieving the SDGs in danger, these Asian states have given themselves a real head start. In turn, that suggests that, unlike their European counterparts, theyre better placed to deliver the SDGs going into the future.

This is especially true as progress made on the SDGs in Europe since 2015 despite European countries topping the tables on overall indicators has actually been close to the bottom: sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East have all improved at a far superior rate since 2015 compared to all the countries currently in the top 15 of the SDG Index.

All of the top 15 countries are whats known as OECD countries meaning, they are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an agency that helps set the standards of aid spending so it focuses on poverty alleviation. In practical terms, OECD countries are the richest countries with a responsibility to lift up the poorest. So in that respect, perhaps they also have the least room to grow: their poverty levels were already historically low.

Related Stories July 17, 2020 Some African Countries See Progress in Ending Extreme Poverty, But Many Face Massive Challenges Ahead: SDG Report 2020

However, when you compare the countries in the top 15 of the SDG Index to the 15 states with the best early responses to the pandemic, just six European countries stay on top: Estonia, Slovenia, Norway, Denmark, Czech Republic, and Finland. In fact, from March 4 to May 12, the best performing country in controlling the pandemic was South Korea that also just so happens to be on the cusp of the top 15 in the SDG Index too, in 20th place.

So what next? Well, the World Bank says that for the first time in 20 years, the number of people living in extreme poverty could increase by up to 60 million because of the pandemic.

The virus has touched all aspects of our society: school closures will worsen education outcomes for children; health systems creaking under pressure will mean more excess deaths more generally; and sluggish economic recovery will mean mass unemployment, more poverty, and further entrenched inequalities.

Related Stories May 5, 2020 COVID-19: What 2030 Could Look Like If We Dont Control the Pandemic Now

All in all, progress on the SDGs will invariably suffer everywhere. But it could potentially be far more palpable in Europe, where many countries still struggle to shake outbreaks through the summer.

But and this is a colossal but if countries in Europe can focus on aligning their pandemic relief and recovery plans with the SDGs, focusing on things like international cooperation, hunger and malnutrition, social safety nets, and health care, then the COVID-19 crisis could be used as a springboard to facilitate the necessary radical change to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

Heres the top 15 countries all from Europe, and all OECD members on the SDG Index:

1. Sweden (84.72)

2. Denmark (84.56)

3. Finland (83.77)

4. France (81.13)

5. Germany (80.77)

6. Norway (80.76)

7. Austria (80.70)

8. Czech Republic (80.58)

9. Netherlands (80.37)

10. Estonia (80.06)

11. Belgium (79.96)

12. Slovenia (79.96)

13. United Kingdom (79,79)

14. Ireland (79.38)

15. Switzerland (79.35)

This year marks 10 years to go until the 2030 target to end extreme poverty and achieve the targets set out under the SDGs. With the release of the Sustainable Development Report 2020, were taking a deepdive into the successes weve already made and barriers that still exist when it comes to achieving the SDGs and ending extreme poverty by 2030.You can find our Sustainable Development Report 2020 content serieshere.

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European Countries Lead the World on Ending Extreme Poverty. But That May Change With COVID-19: SDG Report - Global Citizen

The Tech Take: Virtual reality the new reality for accountants – Accounting Today

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Remote is the new normal. This will especially be true for accountants because the profession is one that lends itself easily to virtual operations with the help of the right technology. And virtual reality could be one piece of tech that really enhances the remote accounting experience, enabling the most realistic simulacrum of in-person meetings available today.

Indeed virtual reality, or augmented reality, has been experiencing an increase in demand ever since the beginning of stay-at-home mandates nationwide. Businesses are recognizing the application of VR for training, meetings and customer service. For accountants, all three of those areas are applicable. New recruit training, especially for larger firms, is an important step in the career of a young accountant, and can be extensive and detailed. Creating an experience as close to in-person as possible could mitigate much of the anxiety and shortfalls of conducting such programs remotely.

Seeing a bunch of faces on Zoom is not the same as meeting those people in a conference room, said Lyron Bentovim, founder and CEO of The Glimpse Group, a virtual reality platform company that owns nine different VR or AR subsidiaries. Zoom is not the same as meeting for coffee and seeing body language and building rapport. VR has the ability to bridge that gap as much as possible right now."

One of the problems remote workers across the country have been experiencing during the pandemic is first, the relatively small number of options for remote meetings, and second, the insecurity of those platforms. Zoom, with 43 percent market share, is far and away the most popular video conferencing solution right now, but there have been issues surrounding the open nature of its platform. Neer-do-wells (not exactly hackers, but pranksters) have been able to simply try random strings of letters to enter a Zoom call and disrupt it, for example. This can be very disruptive to a group of accountants already trying to get work done in a new and unfamiliar circumstance.

Not all VR technology is created equal, but Bentovim explained that VR platforms can be as secure as you want them to be. Data can be encrypted data on one or both ends, which goes a long way to ensure security. Of course, as with any technology platform, there are all kinds of data breaches that could occur, including through social engineering and phishing. As VR adoption increases, security services surrounding the industry will also grow.

There is also data that suggests that video conferencing can be more taxing and stressful on participants than in-person meetings. Because the video and sound quality is never as good as in person, participants strain more to listen and use more exaggerated body language cues to indicate that they are actively listening. VR could alleviate some of these issues by bringing workers into an environment where they can see a colleagues whole person (which, depending on the platform and firm policy can be an avatar that looks like you or a completely made up avatar) and interact with their environment (a simulated conference room with a whiteboard, for example).

While it may not seem like it, there are already multiple VR platforms specifically for accounting and finance professionals available on the market today. The question of adoption comes down to readiness and budgeting. The platform itself is one cost, but headsets are needed to participate in VR and they can be expensive. The Oculus product line of headsets range in price from $200 to $900, depending on the model and specs. With that in mind, the profession may see larger firms perhaps the Big Four adopt the technology first. And as the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, perhaps trickle down adoption will occur faster and more readily than what weve seen with other newer technologies like cloud, AI or automation so far.

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The Tech Take: Virtual reality the new reality for accountants - Accounting Today

Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market Opportunity, Demand, recent trends, Major Driving Factors and Business Growth Strategies…

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The global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform market 2020 report is a research document that comprises of comprehensive data which boosts and helps the appraisal of every aspect of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform businesses. It deploys an overview of the baseline and structure of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform market, which summarizes its beneficial or prohibitive aspects liable for regional and global evolution. It outlines the ongoing trends and position of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform by thoroughly probing several manufacturers, associations, suppliers, organizations, and industries under the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform market.

Apart from this, the globalAugmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market2020 report provides crucial particulars regarding the categorization, assessed growth trends, distribution network, economical or commercial terms, and many other vital elements related to the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform. Rapidly increasing spendable income and innovative products offered by manufacturers are expected to boost Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform industry over the forecast interval. A vast and growing client base of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform industry creates an opportunity for producers to serve to a significant market and make money.

Synopsis Of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform

This report considers the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform scope (volume and value) by rivals, regions, product categories, and end-users, previous data, and forecast data. The document also examines the international market competition perspective, leading players in the market, and ongoing trends. It even highlights forthcoming opportunities and challenges, ambiguities and import obstructions, sales lines, and vendors. The research document further estimates the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform growth scale as well as forthcoming trends worldwide. Even more, it separates Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform starting from type to purpose and from comprehensive analysis to key market players and predictions.

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Topmost Manufacturers:

Augmented Pixels, HP Autonomy, Blippar, Catchoom, Wikitude, Google, ARToolKit, Realmax, Huawei, Magic Leap, Niantic, SenseTime, Facebook, Unity Technologies, EON Reality, Zappar, Infinity Augmented Reality, NexTech AR Solns, LibreStream Technologies, Artivive, Zugara

Worldwide Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market Split By Type:

AR PlatformVR PlatformHybrid Technology Platform

Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market Split By Application:

Education and TrainingVideo GameOnline ShoppingMediaTourismSocial MediaOthers

Competitive Environment and Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market Fragmentation:

The report focuses on competitors dominating the sector and outlining Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform company profile. The analysis relies on SWOT analysis to reveal the competitive environment of the market throughout the world. Even more, the report includes analysis of current Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform development, market shares, syndicates and grade of investments with other Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform chief companies, financial agreements affecting the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform market.

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Geographically, this document is segmented into different chief territories, containing profits, sales, growth rate and market share (percent) of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform in the areas listed below,

South America & including countriesThe Middle East and AfricaNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific.& included countries.

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How will the report assist your business to grow

1. The document offers statistical data about the value (US doller) and size (units) for the worldwide Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform industry between 2019 to 2028.2. The report also traces the leading market rivals that will create and influence the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform business to a greater extent.3. Extensive understanding of the fundamental trends impacting each sector, although greatest threat, latest technologies, and opportunities that could build the global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform market both supply and offer.4. The report helps the customer to determine the substantial results of major market players or rulers of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform sector.5. The study offers a five-year vital prediction for the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform developments, separated by basic product type, end-use group, and various regions across the world.6. The data analysis present in this report relies on and includes extraction from both elementary and secondary assets.Ultimately, the conclusion section of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform industry report states the opinion of the industry experts.

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Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market Opportunity, Demand, recent trends, Major Driving Factors and Business Growth Strategies...

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market Size, 2025 Overview, Growth Analysis, Competitive Insights and Forecast by Key Players-…

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Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market study delivers an in-depth study of the business space as well as the thorough overview of the number of significant segments. This research study on the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market has been designed through complete primary research as well as secondary research methodologies. Furthermore, a separate analysis of present and future trends in the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market, micro and macro-economic indicators as well as different mandates and regulations is included in the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market report. In addition, this research study also features an inclusive qualitative and quantitative evaluation by studying data gathered from several market players and market predictors across various key factors in this market. By doing so, this market report assesses the attractiveness of every major segment of Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market industry over the estimate period. Similarly, the market covers several key regions with industry status and income details.

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Global Market By Type:

By Type, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform market has been segmented into:AR PlatformVR PlatformHybrid Technology Platform

Global Market By Application:

By Application, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform has been segmented into:Education and TrainingVideo GameOnline ShoppingMediaTourismSocial MediaOthers

Additionally, this research report documents the information associated with Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market share held by each single region with prospective growth forecasts on the basis of regional study. The research estimates the industry growth rate on the basis of each regional segment during the prediction period. Similarly, in the inclusive primary research technique undertaken for this investigation, the primary sources market experts such as innovation & technology directors, vice presidents, CEOs, founders, marketing director, and major executives from numerous major industries as well as administrations in the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Platform Market industry also have been interviewed to achieve and verify major aspects of this research study. The study also helped in the segmentation as per the major industry trends to the bottom-most level, geographic markets, and major expansions from technology and market-based perspectives. Furthermore, the secondary research technique offers substantial data about the industry value chain, applications extents, and prominent service providers.

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Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.

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Global Virtual Reality Game Engines Market 2025 To Expect Maximum Benefit and Growth Potential During this COVID 19 Outbreak : Unity Technologies,…

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This report is well documented to present crucial analytical review affecting the Global Virtual Reality Game Engines market amidst COVID-19 outrage. In the light of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, this mindfully drafted research offering is in complete sync with the current ongoing market developments as well as challenges that together render tangible influence upon the holistic growth trajectory of the Virtual Reality Game Engines market. The aim of the report is to equip relevant players in deciphering essential cues about the various real-time market based developments, also drawing significant references from historical data, to eventually present a highly effective market forecast even amidst an unprecedented scenario such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent implications.

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The following sections of this versatile report on Virtual Reality Game Engines market specifically sheds light on popular industry trends encompassing both market drivers as well as dominant trends that systematically affect the growth trajectory visibly. Each of the market players profiled in the report have been analyzed on the basis of their company and product portfolios, to make logical deductions.

The study encompasses profiles of major companies operating in the Virtual Reality Game Engines Market. Key players profiled in the report includes:Unity TechnologiesUnreal EngineEpic GamesCrytekSonyCorona Labs (Organization)The Game CreatorsValve CorporationSilicon StudiolibGDXAmbieraGarageGames

A thorough analytical review of the pertinent growth trends influencing the Virtual Reality Game Engines market has been demonstrated in the report to affect unbiased and time-efficient business discretion amongst various leading players. The report also sheds substantial light on all major key producers dominant in the Virtual Reality Game Engines market, encompassing versatile details on facets such as production and capacity deductions.

Access Complete Report @ https://www.orbismarketreports.com/global-virtual-reality-game-engines-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025-2

By the product type, the market is primarily split into Type IType II

By the end-users/application, this report covers the following segments MobilephoneVR headsetOther

These details are indicated in the report to allow market players undertake a systematic analytical review of the Virtual Reality Game Engines market to arrive at logical conclusions governing the growth trajectory of the Virtual Reality Game Engines market and their subsequent implications on the growth of the aforementioned market.

Global Virtual Reality Game Engines Geographical Segmentation Includes: North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Central & Eastern Europe, CIS) Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, India, Rest of Asia Pacific) Latin America (Brazil, Rest of L.A.) Middle East and Africa (Turkey, GCC, Rest of Middle East)

Details on product portfolios, user application as well as ongoing technical developments concerning the product line have also been touched upon, to derive accurate understanding about the market prognosis and their subsequent implications upon the Virtual Reality Game Engines market. The report specifically focuses on market drivers, challenges, threats, and the like that closely manifest market revenue cycle to encourage optimum profit generation in the Virtual Reality Game Engines market.

Some Major TOC Points: Chapter 1. Report Overview Chapter 2. Global Growth Trends Chapter 3. Market Share by Key Players Chapter 4. Breakdown Data by Type and Application Chapter 5. Market by End Users/Application Chapter 6. COVID-19 Outbreak: Virtual Reality Game Engines Industry Impact Chapter 7. Opportunity Analysis in Covid-19 Crisis Chapter 9. Market Driving ForceAnd Many More

Research Methodology Includes:

The report systematically upholds the current state of dynamic segmentation of the Virtual Reality Game Engines market, highlighting major and revenue efficient market segments comprising application, type, technology, and the like that together coin lucrative business returns in the Virtual Reality Game Engines market.

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Global Virtual Reality Game Engines Market 2025 To Expect Maximum Benefit and Growth Potential During this COVID 19 Outbreak : Unity Technologies,...

Virtual reality Screen school may be best option – Florida Keys Weekly

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Officials in the White House and Tallahassee are encouraging schools to reopen. But Harvard Universitys fall semester will be online. The school district of West Palm Beach also decided to go virtual in the fall. And, yet, state Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran signed an emergency order requiring all schools to reopen to students in person when the academic year begins next month. Monroe County School Districts Summer Boost program has already been canceled.

In the Keys, uncertainty is building as the students first day of school (Aug. 13) gets closer. The Monroe County School District has laid out a draft plan for in-person classes if community spread is low, a hybrid mix of virtual and in-person classes if community spread is moderate, and a completely virtual school if cases are spiking.

The School Board will look at the COVID-19 data and guidance from countys state Department of Health.

I think Monroe County is experiencing the upper end of moderate spread currently. This is certainly subject to change, said Bob Eadie, the health officer for Monroe County.

In a July 14 Youtube program, Superintendent of Schools Theresa Axford said the district has already cancelled a program for students through third grade on the advice of Eadie.

We want to come back (to face-to-face instruction). Students need school, friends, socialization. But I am not the real boss right now. COVID-19 is the boss, she said.

Axford said the case count has to plateau, or fall for two weeks, before schools can reopen to students and teachers in the same building. If the case count doesnt begin to fall soon, that will mean a hybrid mix of virtual and in-person classes for Keys students.

School board member Sue Woltanski said the draft plan is coming back to the board on July 21. A week later, it will be sent off to Tallahassee for approval. (All public schools, private schools that accept vouchers and charter schools must present a COVID-19 plan to the state.) That gives parents and students about two weeks to make some plans once the state makes a decision. Woltanski said she plans to reach out to the state capitol, as a parent of a senior and freshman, to make another plea: Can we delay the start of school until Labor day. Is there any flexibility?

In all likelihood, education in Monroe County at least some aspect of it, at some point during the school year is likely to be online. The most optimistic take on this scenario is that students and parents have a choice; especially if they are older, self-directed students capable of navigating online classes.

Option 1

Regular virtual school

If Keys schools must close again, as they did this past spring, each school will be offering its own design of virtual instruction. But better. In fact, it will closely resemble option 3.

According to Kristen Condella, Monroe County School Districts virtual education administrator, the districts curriculum is all mapped out for a full-time virtual curriculum if needed a combination of live lessons and independent lessons.

What happened last spring in the emergency virtual setting was amazing. We flipped everything in two weeks. Teachers were trained in four days before we went live, Condella said.

If virtual school is necessary, Condella said, Just like last year, there will be plenty of grace and understanding while still upholding the state standards for opportunity and rigor. We are a high-performing district and we need to make sure students are prepared for the workforce and college.

If virtual school is necessary, because of the spread of COVID-19, Marathon High School students, for example, will be taught online by Marathon High Schools teachers.

Option 2

Florida Virtual School

Florida Virtual School (FLVS) essentially operates as its own district. It is the virtual school that most Keys parents are familiar with, as their children enroll part-time either to accelerate their learning (graduate early) or take classes that may not be offered at their particular school (for example, AP calculus).

There is no deadline to apply for the fall semester and students can transfer any time. Students can take up to three classes (called flex time) per semester. Or, they can enroll full-time. If they enroll full-time they are withdrawing from the Monroe County School District.

The instruction method doesnt vary from option 3, but the interactions between student and teacher does. None of the teachers are in-county and, typically, teachers can have charge of more than 100 students.

Sharon Ward of Key West said her daughter has taken Florida Virtual School classes. Its just like regular school; some great teachers, some not, Ward said. My daughter took AP calc on FLVS and said it was one of her best classes in high school.

Katie Leighs son, a rising seventh grader, is currently involved in a FLVS class. She said her son completes about two lessons per week, does assessments online and also talks to the teacher who reaffirms the student knows the course material.

This (FLVS) has been around for a long time, so they dont have to scramble to get it right. Its not taxing like the Zoom schooling method, she said.

FLVS is, of course, very screen-oriented. Students must be self-directed and able to meet various deadlines. Daniel Samess, a parent of elementary age children in Marathon, said FLVS cant replace face-to-face instruction. Not a fan, my girls maintained but made no real progress. And, for working parents, good luck.

In FLVS school, students can work at their own pace. Condella said shes seen students complete coursework in half the time and other students who needed a few weeks beyond the semester to finish.

Option 3

Monroe Virtual School

This option works like FLVS, but students stay in the county and receive a diploma from the school district. That means the student can also participate in extracurriculars like sports or drama. (That also means that the money allotted to each student will remain in the local district budget.)

In 2019, 313 students took part in Monroe (County) Virtual School (MCVS): some were full-time students, some doing recovery classes, some were taking just one class, and some were homeschooled students. Like FLVS, its self-paced, so kids can finish early or take their time to complete coursework. The deadline to apply for MVS is Sept. 10; the timeline will keep students apace with the other students in Monroe County.

Monroe County, like about half the counties in Florida, contracts with the Northeast Florida Educational Consortium to provide courses for kindergarten through 12th grade. Monroe County Virtual School actually uses four different providers to make up a student schedule, according to Condella. Classes designed by FLVS are recommended for AP classes and other high school curriculum; K-12 classes are best for elementary-age students; Apex Learning are for specialized courses ranging from intensive reading to creative writing; and Edmentum offerings are typically core classes for older students.

Students must comply with all the testing ordered by the state. The schedules are designed by Monroe County School District personnel and it starts with a phone call.

We like to have that conversation with the parent and the student before we enroll them, said Condella. We need to understand if they are just hoping to complete the coursework to graduate, or if they are interested in college classes.

Condella said district staff regularly checks in with students. Students arent just calling a hotline. They are getting me or their teacher or a counselor dedicated to virtual students, she said.

One benefit to MVS over the state model is that students find it easier to transfer back into regular school if they choose. Condella said staff can make sure their work is counted. Another benefit is that the teachers of MVS are employees of the Keys district for the most part, and held accountable. In highly specialized courses, however, where a Monroe student may be the only Keys person registered, the instruction could piggy back with another countys teacher.

Whats for 2020?

Condella said that after the spring semester of virtual classes for district students, she expects interest to rise in the more established versions of FLVS and MVS as well.

Regardless of the COVID-19 situation, I think more families are going to be seeking this out, she said. We are prepared at the district and global level.

Virtual school isnt for everybody, however. In a recent district survey, only 13% of parents believed screen school to be the best choice. For the parents of young children who need to work outside the home, its nigh to impossible.

Virtual school requires students to work independently and understand when work is due, Condella said.For more information about virtual schools, call 305-293-1400, X 53408 or visit keysschools.com and type monroe virtual school in the search box.

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Virtual reality Screen school may be best option - Florida Keys Weekly

Jio Glass faces an uphill ride as virtual/mixed realty products remain niche – Livemint

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NEW DELHI :At its 43rd annual general meeting, Reliance Jio launched Jio Glass to strengthen its presence in virtual reality space and capitalise on remote working culture.

While VR (virtual reality) and MR (mixed reality) technologies have been around for quite some time now, they have remained on the fringes. Googles Daydream View VR headset and Facebooks Oculus Go are some of the big names in the space and that were launched with a lot of fanfare, but over the years, they have struggled to turn an average user into a VR enthusiast.

Disappointed with the poor response, Google went on to discontinue the Daydream View VR in 2019 and in June this year Facebook discontinued the Oculus Go, which was a more advanced VR headset that worked independently and didnt require a smartphone or PC to work with it.

However, despite the lukewarm interest seen by these global tech giants for their VR and MR products, industry experts feel that the timing of the launch, in the current pandemic where work, education and most services have moved online, even if temporarily, may work in Jio's favour.

"The timing is very perfect for products like Glass now considering the circumstance we are in. We need a lot of immersive technologies. If Jio can bring it an affordable price it is going to help education, healthcare and businesses," Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst and founder, techARC.

Made by Tesseract, the start-up Reliance Jio acquired in 2019, the Jio Glass has in-built audio system and it works with any smartphone. The compatibility with all smartphones is a big icebreaker considering that Google DayDream VR and Samsungs VR headset worked with a few smartphones and that too the premium ones. Though Google had a more affordable option in Google Cardboard that cost just 300 and worked with any smartphone its content was limited and user experience was very rudimentary. Also, Googles OEM partners never shared Googles enthusiasm about the product.

Experts feel being tied to a smartphone will limit the usage of Jio Glass to some extent and not every student will have smartphones available all the time. A product that is dependent only on a smartphone will be limiting, but thats fixable in a next version, said Prasanto Roy, tech policy analyst.

Lack of VR content is also a major reason why the adoption of these products has been limited. Unlike smartphones or PCs, VR and MR platforms have a very small ecosystem of apps and games. Jio Glass offers 25 apps.

Im not sure what Jio could do better than Google or Facebook in terms of inspiring consumer demand in a market like India. It could well be a flagship product to position Jio as a tech innovator, without necessarily expecting to sell large numbers," said Roy.

Jio has been quite successful at building the ecosystem and large partners. If they forge tieups with industry and push for adoption the Jio Glass may go places where Google and Facebook couldnt.

techARC's Kawoosa added that products like Jio Glass are steps toward building an ecosystem.

Tying up with hospitals, manufacturers, enterprises and the education sector may drive up the adoption of Jio Glass.

Whether Jio Glass clicks or meets the same fate as Daydream VR and Oculus Go, one thing that works in its favour is the mainstream design. It looks more like regular glasses while Google Daydream VR and Oculus Go looked more like futuristic headsets from a sci-fi movie.

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Jio Glass faces an uphill ride as virtual/mixed realty products remain niche - Livemint

Impact of Covid-19 on Immersive Virtual Reality Market is Expected to Grow at an active CAGR by Forecast to 2026 | Top Players AppSheet, Google Cloud…

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Global Immersive Virtual Reality Market OverviewGlobal Immersive Virtual Reality Market presents insights on the current and future industry trends, enabling the readers to identify the products and services, hence driving the revenue growth and profitability. The research report provides a detailed analysis of all the major factors impacting the market on a global and regional scale, including drivers, constraints, threats, challenges, opportunities, and industry-specific trends. Further, the report cites global certainties and endorsements along with downstream and upstream analysis of leading players.

The novel COVID-19 pandemic has put the world on a standstill, affecting major operations, leading to an industrial catastrophe. This report presented by Garner Insights contains a thorough analysis of the pre and post pandemic market scenarios. This report covers all the recent development and changes recorded during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Understand the influence of COVID-19 on the Immersive Virtual Reality Market Size with our analysts monitoring the situation across the globe.

Access PDF Sample Copy of the Report, With 30 mins free consultation! Click [emailprotected]https://garnerinsights.com/Global-Immersive-Virtual-Reality-Market-Size-Status-and-Forecast-2020-2026#request-sample

This Immersive Virtual Reality market report aims to provide all the participants and the vendors will all the details about growth factors, shortcomings, threats, and the profitable opportunities that the market will present in the near future. The report also features the revenue share, industry size, production volume, and consumption in order to gain insights about the politics to contest for gaining control of a large portion of the market share.

Top Key Players in the Immersive Virtual Reality Market: AppSheet,Google Cloud Platform,GitHub,Zoho Creator,Azure,IntelliJ IDEA,Snappii Custom Mobile Apps,Twilio Platform,Datadog Cloud Monitoring,Axure RP,Joget Workflow,GitLab,Alice,King of App,SAP HANA Cloud Platform,.

Competitive landscapeThe Immersive Virtual Reality Industry is severely competitive and fragmented due to the existence of various established players taking part in different marketing strategies to increase their market share. The vendors operating in the market are profiled based on price, quality, brand, product differentiation, and product portfolio. The vendors are turning their focus increasingly on product customization through customer interaction.Immersive Virtual Reality Market segment by Regions/Countries: United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India, Central & South America.

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Major Types of Immersive Virtual Reality covered are:Non-Immersion,Half-Immersion,Whole-Immersion,

Major end-user applications for Immersive Virtual Reality market:Entertainment,Engineering,Education,Commercial,Other,

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Impact of Covid-19 on Immersive Virtual Reality Market is Expected to Grow at an active CAGR by Forecast to 2026 | Top Players AppSheet, Google Cloud...

Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Market 2020: Analysis By Regional Outlook, Competitive Landscape, Strategies And Forecasts 2026 – 3rd Watch…

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Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Market 2018: Global Industry Insights by Global Players, Regional Segmentation, Growth, Applications, Major Drivers, Value and Foreseen till 2024

The recent published research report sheds light on critical aspects of the global Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare market such as vendor landscape, competitive strategies, market drivers and challenges along with the regional analysis. The report helps the readers to draw a suitable conclusion and clearly understand the current and future scenario and trends of global Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare market. The research study comes out as a compilation of useful guidelines for players to understand and define their strategies more efficiently in order to keep themselves ahead of their competitors. The report profiles leading companies of the global Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare market along with the emerging new ventures who are creating an impact on the global market with their latest innovations and technologies.

Get PDF Sample Copy of this Report to understand the structure of the complete report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) @ https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2701793&source=atm

The recent published study includes information on key segmentation of the global Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare market on the basis of type/product, application and geography (country/region). Each of the segments included in the report is studies in relations to different factors such as market size, market share, value, growth rate and other quantitate information.

The competitive analysis included in the global Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare market study allows their readers to understand the difference between players and how they are operating amounts themselves on global scale. The research study gives a deep insight on the current and future trends of the market along with the opportunities for the new players who are in process of entering global Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare market. Market dynamic analysis such as market drivers, market restraints are explained thoroughly in the most detailed and easiest possible manner. The companies can also find several recommendations improve their business on the global scale.

The readers of the Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Market report can also extract several key insights such as market size of varies products and application along with their market share and growth rate. The report also includes information for next five years as forested data and past five years as historical data and the market share of the several key information.

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segment by Type, the product can be split intoSoftwareHardwareServiceMarket segment by Application, split intoHospitalClinicMedical Research CenterOther

Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaCentral & South America

The study objectives of this report are:To analyze global Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players.To present the Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare development in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Central & South America.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, market and key regions.

In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare are as follows:History Year: 2015-2019Base Year: 2019Estimated Year: 2020Forecast Year 2020 to 2026For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2019 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.

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Some of the Major Highlights of TOC covers in Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Market Report:

Chapter 1: Methodology & Scope of Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Market

Chapter 2: Executive Summary of Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Market

Chapter 3: Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Industry Insights

Chapter 4: Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Market, By Region

Chapter 5: Company Profile

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Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare Market 2020: Analysis By Regional Outlook, Competitive Landscape, Strategies And Forecasts 2026 - 3rd Watch...

7 traits of tech in the new work reality – CIO Dive

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The plans executives designed at the start of the year now look different for the rest of 2020. Next year, too, is uncertain as coronavirus spikes spark questions about when some normalcy will return.

In determining new priorities, tech executives seek alignment with business goals.IT budgets are set to grow for 56% of companies, according to data from Xerox. On executives' shopping lists is the technology that can move operations forward, including cloud-based systems and collaboration tools.

"Digital transformation is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity,"said Nancy Coblenz, CEO at Rebel Role Model, speaking Thursday at a Women in Tech Virtual Summit session.

Technology is the consistent thread uniting the new realities of work, serving as a backbone for contact tracing apps, remote work and the migration of in-person processes to the digital space.

Here are 7 traits of tech in the new work reality:

While some companies have paused hiring amid economic uncertainty, others are in need of talent as they respond to spikes in demand.

Infusing automation into the onboarding processis an important application of the technology, said Liz Beavers, head geek at SolarWinds, in an interview with CIO Dive.

Automation helps leaders "make sure standard business processes are efficient,and you have a way to streamline that for visibility" while employees are unable to access physical locations,Beavers said.

Take away an employee's remote work gear laptop, phone,headset and their ability to perform is likely down to zero. Companies have centered their work processes around technology in years past, but that trend accelerated as the pandemic hit,Beavers said.

"We're using our devices as a medium for everything," she said. "We need the physical assets to connect with our people, and need a channel to connect with users." It challenged companies to rethink how to best serve end users.

The sudden pivot to remote work put pressure on companies' IT, and their ability to outfit teams with the technology neededto operate from home as supply chain disruptions made PCs a hot commodity. As lockdown orders began to ease,supply chains restarted and worldwide PC shipments grew 2.8%in Q2 2020, according to Gartner.

Until the outcomes of the pandemic are better understood, global organizations will need to align their policies to ensure their workforce remains safe and productive.

This will call for a hybrid work scheme that relies on technology to mix in-office presence with work from home, according to Coblenz. For 80% of business leaders, employees working from home at least partially will be acceptable as offices are allowed to reopen, according to Gartner.

Leadership is planning to invest in tech that makes this mixed model possible, with collaboration tools top of mind in the investment priorities ahead. Internal collaboration and communication tools were a priority for 45% of executives according to a Pulse survey.

Tech is also essential for guaranteeing the safety of workers returning to the office where local regulations allow. Software powers applications for managing a phased return to headquarters and companywidecontact tracing programs.

As the hybrid model begins to set in, automation processes will give IT teams visibility into "who is coming in, what do they have and what their schedule will look like," Beavers said.

When remote work is the norm,knowledge hubs software platforms that manage company knowledge can guide a workforce as it adapts to new work protocols.The technology gives workers an effective way to get access to the information needed to do their job.

"We went from having one hub of support to 99 [hubs],"said Beavers."How will a 5 to10 person support staff be able to provide workers with white-glove treatment?"

IT teams are now in charge of keeping companies connected while distributed, with the additional burden of having to troubleshoot incidents with little to no visibility into employee's home networks. Two-thirds of IT decision-makers said they project automation budgets to grow, according to a survey of 503 U.S.-based IT decision-makers published by Inference Solutions.

Tech talent market has been tight in years past, with 90% of hiring managers saying finding tech pros was challenging in 2019. With in-person processes moving to the digital realm, the demand for tech talent will increase, Coblenz said.

"There's now a huge opportunityand demand for you to fill withall of your engineering and technicalskills," Coblenz said, speaking to the remote attendees.

Upskillingprograms are likely to expand as companies seek to leverage existing talent to fill their tech needs. Amazon, Microsoft and Salesforce are among top names in tech that have devoted resources to upskilling programs.

Managing a distributed company brings difficulties. Managers must become a unifying presence for employees whose workplace culture is beginning to erode.

"It's really hard to have a leadership role in a company and to somehow empathizeand lead and guide your team through a camera, on a screen," said Coblenz."There'sgoing to be now an evolutionof leadership roles and characteristics to be able to really connect with your team members."

Augmented and virtual reality can play a role in this dynamic, Coblenz said. As leaders seek a more tightly knit workforce, the technology can help reframe what remote meetings and one-on-ones look like.

Tech workers will focus on output, not hours logged,as the impact of the pandemic plays out.

"Now we're focusingon productivityand valuing the productwork more so than clocked hours that we have staying in front of the screen,"said Coblenz. "This will revolutionize the micro-management type of role that mangers play as well."

At the height of the pandemic, one-third of software developers (31%) admitted to feeling less productive, according to a survey fromInfluxData.

The focus on productivity comes as leaders look to artificial intelligenceto sustain their competitive advantage in the market. By 2022,six in every 10 employers expect AI or advanced automation tools to be part of their company's tech stack.

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7 traits of tech in the new work reality - CIO Dive

Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2020 2025 – Jewish Life News

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COVID-19 Updates We will be covering the overall impact of COVID -19 on the market value, market share & growth of the market and how the major players in the particular market are adapting these changes.

MarketResearchBazaar has added latest research report on Global Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market, this report helps to analyze top manufacturers, regions, revenue, price, and also covers Industry sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.

The global Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality market was valued at $XX million in 2019, and MAResearch analysts predict the global market size will reach $XX million by the end of 2026, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2019 and 2026.

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In this report, the study analysis was given on a worldwide scale, for instance, present and traditional Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Realitygrowth analysis, competitive analysis, and also the growth prospects of the central regions. The report gives an exhaustive investigation of this market at country &, regional levels, and provides an analysis of the industry trends in each of the sub-segments, from sales, revenue and consumption. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the main players in related regions is introduced, from the perspective of sales, revenue and price.

According to Research, the global Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality market was valued at USD xxx million in 2019, and it is expected to reach a value of USD xxx million by 2026, at a CAGR of xx% over the forecast period 2021-2026. Correspondingly, the forecast analysis of Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality industry comprises of Asia, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa, Europe, with the sales and revenue data in each of the sub-segments.

At the upcoming section, this report discusses industrial policy, economic environment, in addition to the fabrication processes and cost structures of the industry. And this report encompasses the fundamental dynamics of the market which include drivers, opportunities, and challenges faced by the industry. Additionally, this report showed a keen market study of the main consumers, raw material manufacturers and distributors, etc.

Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (M USD), market share and growth rate of Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality in these regions, from 2014 to 2026 (forecast), covering

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)

North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

Global Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer, the top players including

CAE

Immersivetouch

Mentice

Mimic Technologies

Simbionix

Surgical Theather

Virtamed

VR Simulators

Zspace

On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into

Hardware

Software and Service

On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality for each application, including

Surgical Application

Rehabilitation

Training &, Medical Education

If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.

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Major Point of TOC:

Chapter One: Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market Overview

Chapter Two: Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market Segment Analysis by Player

Chapter Three: Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market Segment Analysis by Type

Chapter Four: Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market Segment Analysis by Application

Chapter Five: Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market Segment Analysis by Sales Channel

Chapter Six: Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market Segment Analysis by Region

Chapter Seven: Profile of Leading Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Players

Chapter Eight: Upstream and Downstream Analysis of Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality

Chapter Nine: Development Trend of Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality (2020-2029)

Chapter Ten: Appendix

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Healthcare Augmented and Virtual Reality Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2020 2025 - Jewish Life News

How Afrofuturism Can Help the World Mend – WIRED

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The most popular Afrofuturist authors write deftly at this margin, where they are just as future-obsessed as their peers, but with different takes on questions about who gets to play which roles in these futures. For example, Jemisins Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010) is a story about empire and slavery that plays out in a supernatural realm of deities and monsters. Butlers 1979 classic Kindred famously features an African-American writer who travels between modern Los Angeles and a Maryland plantation during the antebellum period.

In music, acts like Sun Ra and Parliament Funkadelic built their looks and sounds on a marriage between Black culture and futuristic iconography. For Afrofuturist artists, technology is an essential part of the sound. Play Parliament's acid-infused take on the Motown sound in "I Bet You" and feel the future course through your veins. These are masters of craft, originators of new sonic (and therefore social) worlds, says Nelson. They all break, deform, and remake standard uses of music technology, genre and even expectations of race, gender, and sexuality.

Afrofuturisms importance also transcends the arts, and insofar as it can be described as a political identity or ideology (Nelson and other scholars leave open this possibility), then it provides a lens through which we can view the present and future.

We could have asked the Afrofuturist of 1985 what they thought about the War on Drugs. We could ask those in 1995 about Sub-Saharan Africas experience with the HIV pandemic, and in 2005 about the War on Terror.

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Why do we care about what the Afrofuturist has to say? And why would we suspect that their answers would differ from that of an average futurist? It is because the Black experience is defined by a historical struggle for existence, the right to live, to be considered a person, to be afforded basic rights, in pursuit of (political, social, economic) equality. Because of this, the Afrofuturist can see the parts of the present and future that reside in the status quos blind spots.

Futurists ask what tomorrows hoverboards and flying cars are made of. Afrofuturists ask who will build them? And does their commercial use fall out of their utility in military or law enforcement?

Futurists labor over questions about the nature of Android consciousness and empathy. Afrofuturists ask how race might be wired into Android consciousness, whether the android world might be as divided as ours is.

These are simple but nontrivial questions. Their answers contain the necessary details for building science fiction worlds that are truly convincing (which is one of the sole charges of good science fiction), or real worlds that science fiction makes us aspire to.

We can ask analogous questions of modern society, speculating what our world will look like after experiencing a triad of world-changing current events: the largest pandemic in a century, a social movement that challenges the institutions of policing and criminal justice, and an upcoming presidential election that almost certainly serves as a referendum on democracy in the United States (and the legitimacy of white nationalism-driven fascism globally).

We should ask Afrofuturism what it thinks of these events. While the specific answers might enlighten, real insights are found in the act of answering, as it forces us to reconsider and augment our predictions with layers that were missing.

The Covid-19 Comet

Covid-19 is the curse that keeps on cursing, already taking more than half a million lives globally and nearly 140,000 in the US. The curves dark bend, however, is not simply in how the virus continues to spread and kill, but in how the pandemic slithers along an insidious path, feeding on misinformation rich in credentialism, charlatanism, pseudoscience, conspiracy, and political propaganda.

The resulting cosmic slop looks more grotesque in July than it was in March. The world is so full of bad messages that make-believe conspiracies go to war with each other on our social media timelines; carpetbaggers storm in with reckless abandon, attacking the publics basic trust in science and information; epidemiologists debate with Silicon Valley technologists, or other scientists, about whether things are getting better or worse; the science of mask-wearing regresses into hapless debates about the definition of freedom. Amid the torrent, fact-makers and science-defenders struggle to climb from the rubble and stay motivated and engaged.

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How Afrofuturism Can Help the World Mend - WIRED

Here’s a new reason to invest in Europe – WICZ

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By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business

Investors eyeing Europe for opportunities as it continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic have another reason to pump money in the region.

What's happening: European Union leaders have agreed on a blockbuster stimulus deal following almost five days of fractious discussions in Brussels, described as some of the most divisive in years. The 750 billion ($858 billion) recovery plan includes 390 billion ($446 billion) in grants to struggling countries in the bloc, with the rest of the money made available as loans.

That's lower than the 500 billion ($573 billion) in grants initially proposed by the European Commission. The headline figure was reduced to appease a group of fiscally conservative northern European nations Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark known as the "Frugal Four."

But the agreement is still a huge show of unity and a big step toward the kind of strong fiscal coordination investors have long clamored for.

"With the biggest-ever effort of cross-border solidarity, the EU is sending a strong signal of internal cohesion," Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, told clients Tuesday. "Near-term, the confidence effect can matter even more than the money itself."

It bodes well that Germany and France the two largest economies in the bloc worked closely together on the initial proposal, Bert Colijn and Carsten Brzeski of ING added.

Investor insight: Though a deal had been anticipated by markets, assets in the region moved higher on the news. Benchmark stock indexes in Spain and Italy, which have been hit hard by the pandemic, both gained 2% in early trading, while the euro ticked up 0.1% to nearly $1.15. The currency has hit its highest level since early 2019 this week.

Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes thinks some investors may take profits on the euro in the near term. But he believes there could be a "more meaningful rally" starting in September in light of the agreement.

European stocks which many investors have said are undervalued compared to their US peers could get a boost, too.

Remember: Analysts have noted that while high-frequency data suggests the recovery has stalled in the United States, activity is still improving in Europe, which entered lockdown sooner. That means corporate earnings could be due for a faster recovery, especially with lots of stimulus cash now available.

Demand for European equity funds picked up for the week ending July 15, according to Goldman Sachs. The investment bank described the deal as "welcome, supporting our view that the European economy is well placed to recover from the Covid shock."

"Given effective virus control, a strong rebound in the data and a favorable macro policy backdrop, we expect a steeper and smoother rebound in the Euro area than elsewhere, including the United States," economists Alain Durr and Sven Jari Stehn told clients Tuesday.

All things considered, second quarter earnings season isn't going as badly as expected. Should the trend hold, it could lend support to the spectacular rally in US stocks, even as cases shoot up across much of the country and investors give European assets a second look.

See here: Just 9% of S&P 500 companies had reported earnings as of last Friday. But 73% beat Wall Street's expectations of profit, according to FactSet analyst John Butters.

It's early, but data shows that second quarter earnings season is outperforming the five-year average "in terms of companies beating on the top and bottom line," said Nicholas Colas, cofounder of DataTrek Research.

Colas notes that margins in the tech sector are looking particularly robust, largely holding up despite the onset of a health and economic crisis.

Tech is the single most profitable US sector excluding real estate "by a long shot," he said. This could support those investors who have bet the huge run-up in tech stocks can continue, driving the Nasdaq up 56% from its March low. The index rose 2.5% on Monday.

"While one can question the tech sector's valuation, there is no argument that this group's profitability is in a league of its own," Colas said.

One example: IBM shares are up more than 5% in premarket trading after the company reported results Monday.

Earnings per share plunged 31% from the same period in the last year but that's not as bad as analysts had forecast. Cloud computing revenue was a bright spot, jumping 30% compared to last year.

Coming up: Microsoft and Intel are the other big tech names to post earnings this week. Amazon, Apple and Alphabet are due to report next week.

One of the tech industry's most highly anticipated IPOs is coming to China.

The latest: Jack Ma's Ant Group announced Monday that its public offering will take place in Hong Kong and on Shanghai's Star Market, China's answer to the Nasdaq, my CNN Business colleague Sherisse Pham reports.

The decision to shun Wall Street comes as Chinese companies are facing heightened scrutiny because of rising geopolitical tensions. And it's a vote of confidence in Hong Kong, whose status as Asia's premier financial hub is in doubt after Beijing imposed a controversial national security law.

A big deal: Ant owns Alipay, one of the most popular payment apps in China, and also offers online financial services such as loans, investments and credit scoring systems. The Hangzhou-based company is worth some $150 billion, according to CB Insights.

Ant is affiliated with e-commerce giant Alibaba, which raised a record $25 billion when it debuted on Wall Street in 2014 still the world's second largest IPO to date. The combined offering from Ant could also be one of the largest ever, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Watch this space: Ant's announcement coincided with news that the Hang Seng will get a new index to track the 30 largest tech firms that trade in Hong Kong. The company would very likely be included.

Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, Novartis and Philip Morris report results before US markets open. Snap and Texas Instruments follow after the close.

Coming tomorrow: Earnings from United Airlines, Chipotle, Microsoft and Tesla.

Continued here:

Here's a new reason to invest in Europe - WICZ

What is Pa.s favorite snack food? The answer from this study shouldnt surprise you – pennlive.com

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Zinnia.com, a website for job seekers, recently analyzed Google Trends to determine each states favorite snack food.

It found that Oreos are the favorite in five states, sunflower seeds are popular in the Midwest and most of us prefer sweet over salty snacks.

In Pennsylvania, Zinnia determined that our favorite snack food is Hersheys.

We like that answer. Not only because it is local but also because there are a gazillion kinds of candy under Hersheys.

There, of course, are the obvious milk chocolate, dark chocolate, Hershey Kisses.

But the brand also includes miniatures, snack mixes, nuggets, syrups, Kit Kat, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar, Hugs, Reeses Pieces, Twizzlers, Mounds, Almond Joy, York Peppermint Patties and the variations of some of those big peanut butter cups, little peanut butter cups, white chocolate peanut butter cups, Kisses with almonds, Cookies and Cream Kisses, Caramel Kisses and so on.

The study also found that Pringles, Fritos, Doritos, Cheez Its and Cheetos were popular along with Alaskas granola bars (really Alaska?).

Illinois likes Skinny Pop, Kansas likes Nutter Butter cookies and Michigan snackers are reaching for South Patch Kids.

Zinnia said it compiled the results after looking at 45 different favorite snack foods in Google Trends.

We, being sane reasonable humans, excluded gum and sodas from out pretend vending machine snack roulette. Hopefully, you dont swallow gum. Plus, liquid isnt a snack its a liquid. We then selected a range of popular chips, cookies, candies and a few other vending machine favorites.

I am moving to Montana their favorite is Rice Krispy Treats. Or Kentucky, I like Fritos, too.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Halloween candy. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)

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What is Pa.s favorite snack food? The answer from this study shouldnt surprise you - pennlive.com

Live casino: Replicating the land-based experience is no longer enough – Casino Beats

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Live casino remains an important bridge for offline to online play, writes Pragmatic Plays Lana Bleichyk (pictured), but replicating the same experience is no longer enough as the verticals big selling point should instead be how it differentiates from traditional games rooted in the land-based environment.

Live casino was already a vital element of the online gaming offering, with innovative games joining classic land-based staples to offer a unique experience. Gradually, due to advances in technology, live casino titles have been able to not only bring the land-based experience to players devices, but also add enhanced capabilities such as diverse camera angles, bet functionalities and sped-up gameplay. The role of live casino is not to replicate the land-based environment, but to offer a different, more immersive experience.

However, with the disruption of the land-based industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, live casino has become an even more critical product to operators. With its role straddling the gap between land-based and online gameplay, live casino has filled a hole for players who couldnt access their favourite casinos, thereby offering an interesting cross-sell opportunity for suppliers.

Among the staple of live games are those that are rooted in land-based casinos globally. Similar to brick and mortar operators, roulette, baccarat and blackjack are a requirement for any live casino supplier. However, the verticals selling point revolves around how it can differentiate these products from traditional games.

With mobile devices being more powerful than ever, players can now play hands of blackjack on the go, with features far exceeding those of the land-based experience. 4K cameras give players angles and clarity adding a whole new level of immersion to a live table, while professionally trained dealers allow for smooth, uninterrupted experiences.

From fast-paced variants of classic titles, such as Speed Roulette and Speed Baccarat, to localised content which gives international players a homely feel to their betting experience, players desire more. Replicating the land-based experience is no longer enough. They want innovative games and quick-fire experiences that together offer something truly different.

Live casino titles stimulate a players appetite through quality content and a batch of convenient features. From fun, quick-win games to more complex, skill-based casino titles, familiarity with verticals allows players to venture into a wider spread of products.

At Pragmatic Play, we are dedicated to creating live casino titles that encompass all tastes, from the traditional player who enjoys all the elation of land-based casinos to the mobile-first player who likes to play on the go. While tastes and preferences vary, Pragmatic Play aims to cater for all. This has seen the expansion of our live offering with innovative titles, such as our most recent release Mega Sic Bo, alongside our classic games.

With appetites for new content ever-growing, it is our job as suppliers to offer the products that operators want for their players. Our Mega Sic Bo title is a modern variant of the traditional Chinese table game, played with three dice.

With 52 betting positions, the game already offers plenty of enjoyment, but we have taken it to the next level with Mega Multipliers. By adding this thrilling element, players can now win up to 1,000x their stake, leading to Mega Wins.

By taking a title that already has fans across the globe, and adding an element of our slot titles, we have brought a whole new facet to table games.

Live casino has a significant opportunity for growth as we enter a period of the new normal. For those who want to enjoy casino classics from the comfort of their own home or fancy a game of oulette on their mobile device, to those looking to try out exciting new products without having to leave their house, live casino has everything to offer.

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Live casino: Replicating the land-based experience is no longer enough - Casino Beats

Zidane, Ronaldinho, Juninho Five iconic footballers and their signature moves – The Football Faithful

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The history of the beautiful game is packed full of legendary figures who have defined occasions and eras, but perhaps the greatest testament to any players legacy is being forever remembered for their signature skill.

Creative ingenuity is all the more admired in the confines of a team sport, and this selection of iconic players were never afraid to express themselves with extraordinary pieces of individualism.

These players may not have necessarily invented these superb skills but there is no doubt they mastered them at the very highest level, and it is difficult to see any player repeat these moves without evoking memories of the stars most synonymous with each moment of magic.

Here are five iconic footballers and their unforgettable signature moves:

Amongst the most commonly used skills in the modern game, there is no player who perfected the step-over quite like Ronaldo Nazario.

The original carnation of what would become a famous footballing name is regarded by many as the greatest number nine to have graced the game, an implausibly complete footballer whose bullish strength and balletic balance captivated like few others when in full flight.

From the moment a teenage Ronaldo set foot in Europe defenders were at his mercy, with backline after backline failing in their attempts to stop the exhilarating Brazilian and his unique whirlwind of speed and skill.

Ronaldo had all manner of tricks in his extensive repertoire, but none would remain as synonymous as the step-over. The image of the striker feigning one way before flashing by the other is amongst the most defining of nineties football, the flawless execution of the technique leaving many a defender and notably a goalkeeper utterly perplexed.

Ronaldo 10 of the best quotes about the Brazilian legend

The finest footballer of a generation and a man whose touch and technique were unrivalled throughout a storied career of skill and success.

The roulette, also known as the pirouette and Marseille turn amongst other names, has been executed by several leading names including the likes of Garrincha and Diego Maradona, but perhaps never quite with the artistic grace of Zinedine Zidane.

Figurehead of a golden generation for French football, the images of Zidane spinning away from challenges is a microcosm of the players magic, a playmaker for whom time looked to stand still whenever he received possession.

The protagonist for club and country and a player whose artistry is yet to be repeated, Zidane wasthestar amongst stars for both France and Real Madrid, creating moment after moment of majestic magic including his fabled signature spin.

Zinedine Zidane 15 of the best Quotes about the French Legend

No player took free-kicks like Juninho Pernambucano.

That might seem an outlandish statement, but its one thats difficult to argue given the Samba stars list of set-piece stunners.

The knuckle-ball may now be a common technique with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Didier Drogba amongst the names to have fired free-kicks with deadly and deceiving dip, but Juninho was the innovative master of the modern phenomenon.

Juninhos best years came in the colours of Lyon, winning seven successive Ligue 1 titles with the French side and delighting crowds with his excellence from a dead-ball. The Brazilians brilliance was almost witchcraft, striking a ball that failed to spin making it swerve and shake to leave opposition goalkeepers grasping at nothing but thin air.

Juninho says his technique was tweaked from past greats of Brazilian football, a strike of a football that seemed defy both gravity and science and one the playmaker firmly made his own.

Ranking the five players with the most free-kicks in football history

Expressive and exciting, brilliant and bamboozling, Ronaldinhos brief reign as footballs finest player saw the Brazilian embarrass defenders in signature style and all with a smile upon his face.

Ronaldinhos fun-loving style was visibly apparent whenever he stepped out onto the pitch, a player who relished his role as an on-field entertainer, his showboating style endearing him to the masses the world over.

Under-the-wall free-kicks and no-look passes are amongst the skills the former Ballon dOr winner helped bring to public consciousness, but it is the elastico for which he will forever be most synonymous with.

Dribbling at speed with spellbinding skill, Ronaldinho would flip the ball one way with the outside of his foot, before bringing it back in one movement with the inside of the same foot to leave opposition players twisted and turned.

A gifted genius whose fun and flair inspired a generation.

Ronaldinho 10 of the best quotes about the magical Brazilian

Johan Cruyffs influence on football is likely to be everlasting, one of the sports all-time greats and a pioneer of Total Football a starring influence on the history of both Dutch football and Barcelona.

The three-time Ballon dOr winner is also the inventor of arguably footballs most famously named skill, his Cruyff turn shooting to prominence during a World Cup fixture between the Netherlands and Sweden in 1974.

The move came with Cruyff facing towards his own goal and tightly marked, before feigning a pass and dragging the ball behind his standing leg to spin 180 degrees and leave the defender completely bewildered.

So simplistic yet almost impossible to stop, the Cruyff turn is another indelible mark left on football by one of the greatest to have ever played the game.

Read Remembering the last five players to win the Ballon dOr before the Messi and Ronaldo duopoly began

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Zidane, Ronaldinho, Juninho Five iconic footballers and their signature moves - The Football Faithful

Dont Hold Your Breath: Live Poker Not A Top Priority In Reopened PA Casinos Yet – Penn Bets

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With the reopening of Rivers Casino Philadelphia last Friday, all 12 casinos in Pennsylvania are now back in business following temporary shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zero of the 12, however, are dealing live peer-vs.-peer poker.

One site in the state, PokerStars, is operational for online poker, and assorted poker-based player-vs.-house table games and video poker games are available at either brick-and-mortar or online casinos. But real live games of Texas holdem, Omaha, seven-card stud, etc., arent happening at any regulated property.

When the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board shared its casino reopening protocols on May 19, the language about poker was direct:

Poker rooms are not authorized to operate due to players handling cards and chips, the PGCB document spelled out. Poker room operations will be re-examined based upon changing CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and PA DOH (Department of Health) guidance.

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Two months out from that statement and six weeks after Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh became the first in the state to again welcome customers, are we any closer to the return of live poker in Pennsylvania?

One factor possibly working in the favor of poker rooms reopening sooner rather than later is that experts understanding of the spread of the virus has evolved, and the players handling cards and chips element, as specified in the PGCB protocols, is now widely accepted to be less dangerous than was initially believed to be the case.

Fears of surface spread have diminished, as it has been observed that COVID-19 is mostly transmitted through airborne particles at close distances, particularly over extended periods of time and/or if masks covering the nose and mouth are not worn. So while its helpful to frequently sanitize hands, cards, and chips, and for poker players to avoid touching their faces, the primary concern is players breathing on one another and on the dealer.

At table games such as blackjack, this risk has been mitigated by the combination of mask requirements and plexiglass dividers.

It would seem something similar could be attempted at poker tables and has been in some other states:

This is among the possibilities that PGCB Communications Director Doug Harbach says the board is looking into.

There [have been] conversations with casinos and health experts, and this matter is continually re-examined by the PGCB, Harbach told Penn Bets. Introducing appropriate shielding, disinfecting, table coverings, player limits, and social distancing are certainly discussion points on providing a safe poker environment, but that must be balanced against a game in which full tables are important to its success and financial viability.

Harbach brings up a key consideration for casinos. Poker rooms are not huge money generators even under ideal circumstances. For the 10 Pennsylvania properties with poker rooms, rake in 2019 added up to $53.9 million, a mere 1.7% of the nearly $3.2 billion in total gaming revenue for those casinos.

The primary function of the poker room from a casinos perspective is often to help drive business for other parts of the property. Maybe poker gets them in the door, and they take a detour to the table games on their way out or they bring along a significant other who will play the slots. Poker rooms are not, in and of themselves, huge profit drivers.

And the numbers become that much less attractive if the usual nine-seated tables, featuring plexiglass dividers, are capped at five or six players.

Wind Creek Bethlehem has not had any recent conversations with the PGCB about reopening its poker room, Executive Director of Brand Marketing Julia Corwin said, and even though the casino boasts one of the biggest and most popular poker rooms in the state, its not a top priority at this time.

While we enjoy offering live poker at Wind Creek Bethlehem, Corwin said, our first priority is keeping our guests safe. Until guidelines are released that provide how we can keep our guests safe playing poker, the poker room will remain closed.

Corwin added that Wind Creek has not begun internal discussions on the viability of offering poker if there is a cap on the number of players allowed per table.

What this strongly suggests is that the timeline for the return of casino poker rooms is not an especially short one. The ball has barely begun rolling.

The focus for the casinos is on keeping customers safe and avoiding another shutdown.

Overall, we believe Wind Creek Bethlehems reopening has been well received by our team members and our guests, Corwin said. We have worked with various health officials to create The Wind Creek Standard, which is being followed at all of Wind Creek Hospitalitys properties, and the feedback weve received has been very positive.

Harbach echoed the same general sentiment, valuing a patient, cautious approach over a blind all-in shove.

[The Pennsylvania casinos] are still pretty early in the re-opening stage, and they are not only continuing to adjust their safety protocols for patrons and employees surrounding the play of slots and table games, but have also been asked to adjust operating with mandatory patron masking, without smoking or beverage/alcohol, and with very limited food service, Harbach noted. Thus, while we and the casinos are hopeful that openings of poker rooms can occur in the not-too-distant future, it is still not possible to affix a timetable on that right now.

If theres no timetable yet, the smart money is on a second online poker site launching in the state before any live poker room welcomes back local rounders.

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Dont Hold Your Breath: Live Poker Not A Top Priority In Reopened PA Casinos Yet - Penn Bets