Monthly Archives: June 2017

How do ongoing advances in technology affect business management? Thats the question the prolific writing duo of Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee pose in their new book, Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing our Digital Future, being published on June 27 by W.W. Norton. Brynjolfsson, the Schussel Family Professor of Management Science at the MIT Sloan School of Management and director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, and McAfee, co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy and a principal research scientist at MIT Sloan, also collaborated in 2014 on The Second Machine Age, another exploration of the changes digital innovation is bringing to the workplace. McAfee recently talked to MIT News about Machine, Platform, Crowd.

Q: What is your new book about?

A: Machine, Platform, Crowd is the answer to a question: How should I think differently about running my organization in this era of crazy technological progress? We need to rethink the balance between the work that we ask human minds to do in organizations, and the work we give to machines. We need to rethink whether you have a product orientation or a platform orientation. And we need to rethink the core of an organization, if there are literally these hundreds of millions of strangers out there across the internet who you can tap into.

Q: Whats different now compared to past moments of technological change?

A: Within the past five years, 10 years easily, at least two really fundamental things have happened. First of all, artifical intelligence started meeting its expectations and even exceeding them. We werent expecting that, and its pretty remarkable. The machines are much more capable. The second thing is, in the era of the smartphone, we have gone from a globe that was pretty disconnected, to having that same human population for the first time deeply interconnected through powerful devices, which are each about as powerful as all the computers collectively on campus when I was an undergraduate at MIT in the 80s. Those are both legitimately new things.

Q: I know youve mentioned the rise of machines that can win at the game of Go as one instance of these advances. What are some of your favorite examples of machines, platforms, and crowds at work now?

A: Go is my favorite example of the power of machines, because it was so unanticipated that we would have a digital Go champion in 2016 or 2017. The insiders thought if that ever happened it would happen much, much farther out in the future.

In our section on products and platforms, we talk about companies like ClassPass, which is trying to build a purely digital platform; they dont own any assets, but theyre trying to provide a virtual, very broad gym membership, or exercise membership [by offering rates for an array of memberships]. So theyre putting a platform over the industry of spinning, yoga, pilates, kickboxing, things like that. And if you had asked me just a little while ago for an industry that would not be greatly affected by the digital transformation, I might have said group exercise: You get in the gym with other people and sweat and have a workout. But after working on the book, I think that the exercise industry is going to be changed a lot by platforms.

Finally, we came across a very interesting company called Quantopia that is trying to be essentially a crowdsourced quantitative trading hedge fund. That may sound ludicrous, except, as the founder of the company has said, it is extremely unlikely that all the worlds top algorithmic traders are employed by the [relative] handful of companies that have dominated this industry. So to test that theory, theyve been holding contests for algorithmic trading. It turns out, lo and behold, most of the people who win those contests are not insiders in the finance industry and have never even worked in finance. It tells me that if you can tap into the crowd and find the right brains, all over the world, and get them involved in what youre doing, the results are potentially tremendous.

Q: Whats the reaction to these ideas when you give talks about them?

A: The reception to these ideas is all over the map. It goes from outright skepticism to something a little more subtle, which is, This is great and interesting, but it doesnt apply to me. Ive come across a lot of that.

Q: Do you get pushback about your interpretation of the pace of innovation itself?

A: Yeah, its super-interesting. Inside the academic community and among economists there is a huge debate about how much innovation were actually seeing. The skeptics say, Where is the productivity growth, if theres so much innovation going on? Or they say, We had amazing periods of innovation in the past. Are we sure this one measures up? And those are important debates to have. But in every other community I try to be part of, and that includes investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and executives in mainstream incumbent companies, I dont hear any of that debate, or very little. What I hear instead is: Theres a lot coming at us, and we need to get on top of it and make it work for us.

When people say theres nothing new under the sun, I find that really valuable, because if all you do is talk to technologists, you just get caught up in the hype. Its almost inevitable. So I really value those discussions. But when I talk to almost anybody else, its something close to a foregone conclusion that were living in this remarkable era, and I happen to believe that as well. Not only can we sequence the genome, we can edit it with precision. If thats not a big deal, then I dont [know what is]. We only mention CRISPR briefly in the book, but the period that were in is one to me of monumental progress and innovation.

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Q&A: Running a company in an era of crazy technological progress - MIT News

I feel different, Montero said. I have more confidence in my pitching. It worked well today.

But the win came with drawbacks for the Mets. Michael Conforto, the teams best hitter this season, left the game in the sixth inning with a bruised left hand after he had been hit by a pitch. The Mets announced that Confortos X-ray showed no break.

Conforto, batting in the fifth inning, was hit on the hand by a high 92-mile-per-hour fastball from Giants starter Matt Moore and fell to the ground, grabbing his hand. Collins and the Mets head athletic trainer, Ray Ramirez, checked on Conforto, who stayed in the game but kept flexing his hand. He was back out in left field in the bottom half of the fifth but was replaced by Brandon Nimmo in the next inning.

I want to be back in there as soon as possible, Conforto said. But well see. Its pretty stiff right now.

Even without Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes, who was given the day off the Mets found enough firepower to overwhelm the Giants dreadful pitching.

Rene Rivera, the backup catcher, smashed two home runs in a game for the first time. First baseman Lucas Duda padded the Mets margin with a run-scoring double in the fifth inning.

Right fielder Jay Bruce put the game all but out of reach with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. It was the 20th of the season for Bruce, who reached that number for the ninth time in his 10 major league seasons.

An inning after Bruces home run, Curtis Granderson hit his third homer in the past five games. That gave the Mets 46 home runs in June a team record for any calendar month.

Montero, by then, was watching from the dugout as his teammates closed out his successful start.

Earlier in the day, Wheeler, who was put on the disabled list late last week with tendinitis in his right biceps, threw a full bullpen session. The Mets hoped Wheeler would miss only one start, but if he is not ready, Collins said, it will be good to have an improved Montero.

I hope this is what were going to see from now on, he said, adding later, Hopefully, this is a huge wake-up call that he can pitch in this league.

A version of this article appears in print on June 26, 2017, on Page D2 of the New York edition with the headline: The Mets Find Progress, And Hope for Montero, In a Sweep of the Giants.

Read the rest here:

Progress in a Sweep for the Mets, and in a Win for a Shaky Pitcher - New York Times

Interventions for struggling students in the Portage Community School District were effective in 2016-17 and will see some changes in the coming school year, specialists reported to the School Board.

Kellie Kilde and Jolene Routson, intervention specialists at Rusch Elementary and John Muir Elementary, respectively, identified for the Board several trends theyve seen over the past school year, particularly in Tier 3 interventions, which are for students who test below the 10th percentile.

Students in Tier 3 interventions receive one-on-one help for identified skill deficiencies, but they still get classroom time with their peers. Students in Tier 2, meanwhile, are those testing below the 25th percentile, and while they might also receive some targeted interventions, it is to a lesser extent than for those in Tier 3, Routson said. Tier 1 is the basic instruction all students receive every day.

Interventions were held in grades K-6. In the spring, 10 percent of all students in K-6 were in Tier 3 interventions.

Interventions focus primarily on improving literacy, Kilde explained. We see the number of students in Tier 3 interventions increase at the end of kindergarten and throughout first grade, Kilde said, a trend that was expected, since, as we see kids get further into reading, (were) noticing where their errors are and how we can help them, to intervene early.

We also know that by intervening early with our younger learners, Kilde added, we decrease the need for long-term interventions, which aligns with our district goal (of) ensuring that all students are (performing) at grade level by third grade.

Interventions, as they are employed today, are relatively new in Portage, Routson said this week. Beginning four years ago, interventions have targeted foundational skills that are lacking, using state benchmarks, teacher input and other data to make decisions. I would say its just a more intentional process to catch students early, she said.

Every student is accounted and literacy plans are created.

Such work in recent years is paying off, Routson added. Were seeing more students graduating out of Tier 2 (than in the past). So were intervening early and with consistency and being intentional, closing the gap early so that they dont need Tier 3.

Interventionists are also seeing the number of students needing Tier 3 interventions drop in the higher grade levels, she said, which is exactly what they want to see, Routson said.

Interventions usually dont begin until the end of kindergarten, and in 2016-17 they didnt go beyond sixth grade. But last school year was the first time interventions were implemented at Bartels Middle School, and in 2017-18 they will also include the seventh grade.

Interventions in the middle school went well, Kilde told the board. As the year went on, everybody (at Bartels Middle School) was so invested and really looked forward to working with the data. The number of sixth-graders who needed Tier 3 interventions went down as the school year progressed, with those students transitioned into a monitoring approach.

Next year, Kilde added, the middle school will implement Tier 2 interventions, too, as staff there continues to be trained.

Students are tracked as they move through the interventions, sometimes qualifying for special education. Interventions, of course, depend on the student and grade level, Kilde said. In third grade students are moving out of phonics and into phonemic awareness developing their fluency and comprehension at which point the number of students needing interventions go up.

You see our numbers start (to go up), Kilde said, but we get them through intervention, and by end of the year (the numbers show) that we get them out of intervention by fifth grade.

Our numbers in fifth grade are quite low, Routson said, and we expect to see that with a successful intervention program.

Another change ahead includes some tweaking to interventions that involve math, though interventions will continue to focus mainly on literacy.

School Board President Steve Pate asked how often students who graduate out of interventions need to be brought back into them, to which Director of Student Services Barb Wolfe replied, very rarely.

Less than a handful over the past several years, Wolfe added.

Routson noted that some students who graduate out of interventions are put on watch.

We try to do a good job not dismissing them until were sure, she said, but there may be a student who slips a little and so we keep them on watch.

In 2016-17 the school district had eight interventionists across grades K-6. Next year, one of those eight positions will be split between Rusch and John Muir as half-time behavioral interventionists, along with dean responsibilities, positions that the district will be interviewing for in July, Kilde said.

Kilde in 2017-18 will be the elementary intervention specialist, supporting the interventionists in all five elementary buildings.

Routson is set to become the new principal of West Side Elementary in Mauston in July.

Follow Noah Vernau on Twitter @NoahVernau

See the article here:

Portage School interventions see progress, find 'consistency,' leaders report - WiscNews

Jun 26, 2017 at 10:26 pm | Print View

CEDAR RAPIDS When you lose over 40 percent of your lineup to promotions all at once, you cant expect things to run silky smooth.

To be specific, the Cedar Rapids Kernels had 44.444 percent of their most-days regulars sent up to high-Class A Fort Myers last weekend. Wow, thats taking a hit.

The bottom line is itll take some time for the new Kernels to hopefully be the new and improved Kernels eventually.

Once you get changes like that, I think it takes awhile for guys to jell, Manager Tommy Watkins said, after his club fell to Burlington, 6-2, Monday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Weve got opportunities now for guys to step up and play. Theyve got to act like they want it, its not going to be given to them. Well keep working and try to put a lineup out there that we can compete with.

In case you missed it, shortstop Jermaine Palacios, outfielder Jaylin Davis, infielder Brandon Lopez and catcher Mitchell Kranson got moved up after last Thursdays game at Quad Cities. Thats two guys who played in last weeks Midwest League All-Star Game (Palacios and Kranson), C.R.s leading hitter (Palacios), its leading power hitter (Davis) and three guys (Palacios, Davis and Lopez) who spent time considerable time here last season.

In their place, the Kernels received switch-hitting first baseman Amaurys Minier, shortstop Gorge Munoz, outfielder Lean Marrero and utility guy Joe Cronin from extended spring training. Munoz, Marrero and Cronin all played last season in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, considered two steps below the Midwest League.

Minier signed with the parent Minnesota Twins in 2012 out of the Dominican Republic for $1.4 million, though his four-year career has been spotty to this point.

Cronin, I love his approach at the plate. He grinds at-bats out. Hes a pro, hes a baseball player. I like the way he goes about his business, Watkins said. Minier has got some pop, had a really good game the other day at Quad Cities. He gets himself in trouble sometimes just swinging in offensive counts instead of seeing the ball.

Munoz is a little guy, been pulling the ball and hitting it in the air a lot so far. Thats not his game. Hes got to be more of a line-drive, contact guy. Same thing with Marrero, though he had a much better night tonight.

Cronin didnt play Monday, with Minier, Munoz and Marrero combining to go 1-for-8 with three walks. Tyler Wells (4-2) has been the Kernels' best starting pitcher this season but was off from the first pitch, charged with seven hits and five runs (three earned) in four innings.

To make matters worse, Watkins said he had some shoulder soreness, an issue that put him on the disabled list earlier this season.

Burlington (32-42) won for the first time in five second-half games. Cedar Rapids is 41-34, 2-3.

The teams play again Tuesday night at 6:35.

Pretty ugly tonight, right from the start, Watkins said. Guys moping. Not good.

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