Daily Archives: October 20, 2020

CHICAGO, Oct. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) announced today they have ranked #16 on the 2020 IDC FinTech Rankings, placing the global information and insights company as the top credit reporting agency on the list.

The Fortune 500-style ranking categorizes and evaluates the top global providers of financial technology based on calendar year revenues from financial institutions for hardware, software and service providers and represents the leading enterprise organizations to the financial services industry from around the world. Last year, TransUnion ranked #31 on the prestigious list.

A FinTech industry leader, TransUnion is at the forefront of lending innovation, providing solutions that help FinTech lenders find and make tailored offers to more consumers. TransUnions unique integration of trended credit and alternative data, in addition to traditional credit data, offers FinTechs deeper consumer insights and provides greater certainty. The information helps FinTechs incubate, diversify and accelerate growth by turning data into action.

Since the early days of the FinTech industry, TransUnion has played a vital role as a partner that helps foster innovation, said Jason Laky, executive vice president of financial services at TransUnion. At the heart of TransUnions FinTech leadership are our unique trended credit and alternative credit data assets, augmented by our Innovation Lab, Startup Credit Kit and Prama suite of solutions. Our team has worked with many of the leading FinTechs through various phases of growth, positioning TransUnion at the center of the FinTech lending ecosystem.

IDC Financial Insights publishes a comprehensive report about the years findings that is available to view or download here.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.

A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.

http://www.transunion.com/business

Go here to read the rest:

TransUnion Ranks 16th in the Latest IDC FinTech Rankings - GlobeNewswire

Kay Switzer explained the importance of STI testing and how it relates to sexual health and empowerment.

This weeks Feminist Friday, presented by Kay Switzer, discussed the importance of sexual health and how to feel sexually empowered.

During her presentation, Switzer, an outreach coordinator for the Family Planning Council of Iowa (FPCI) and a sexual health activist, focused on the Title X program and how it is crucial to stay educated on and informed about your personal sexual and reproductive health.

I think conversations like this sometimes are hard to have because we want to feel accepted, and its hard to be vulnerable when talking about such sensitive topics, Switzer said.

According to Swtizer, the Title X program, a federally funded grant program that provides free or low-cost reproductive health care to people based on income, is important to Iowans because you are able to have access to family planning and health services and sexual education.

Switzer then noted there are two organizations in Iowa that receive Title X funding, the FPCI and the Iowa Department of Public Health. These organizations then spread the funds between clinics throughout Iowa in hopes to provide as many people as possible with reproductive health care.

Family planning isnt just about pregnancy anymore," Switzer said. " It encompasses all sexual health.

For example, while Title X funded clinics that provide pregnancy testing and many birth control options, they also provide services such as STI testing and treatment, pap smears, wellness exams and vaccinations.

Once people become aware of this program and how it works, you can have access to these services, Switzer said.

Switzer then gave a brief overview of the FPCI, which was established in 1980. According to Swtizer, FPCIs mission is to provide quality reproductive health care and family planning services to all people in Iowa who desire such services. They accomplish this goal by providing STI testing and treatment services, continuing nursing education credits, encouraging conversations between caregivers and children about sexual health and, of course, providing Title X services.

Switzer then shifted the conversation to the importance of being educated on sexual health and feeling sexually empowered.

Growing up is hard enough, and wanting answers to those awkward, sexual questions we had as teenagers, that was important, Switzer said.

She noted that many children today are receiving misguided and false information about sexual health from friends and the internet. She also added that sex education classes dont give enough information, and many family members are too embarrassed to discuss the topic of sexual health with their children.

Those children become young adults, and many of them go off to college or the workforce believing all the myths that they were once told to be true, Switzer said.

Switzer urges young people to educate themselves on sexual health and to confront what they were told as children. According to Switzer, it is up to you to learn and grow as you age; this includes taking power over your sexual health and identity.

Feeling strong in your commitment to stay healthy in your sexuality is the first step to feeling empowered, Switzer said. You can be an advocate, a supportive partner and be a sexually liberated person while being mindful of your sexual health.

She then provided seven tips to becoming sexually empowered. These tips include:

Embracing safer sex It is important to be knowledgable on the possibilityof becoming pregnant and contracting STIs.

Understanding your rights You have the right to consent to each sexual activity you have and you do not owe anything to your partner.

Recognizing the power of choice You dont need to be sexually active in order to feel empowered.

Recognizing gender role stereotypes It is important to challenge how society believes men and women should speak and act.

Owning your gender identity and sexual orientation Fight back against gender stereotypes and be proud of who you are.

Forming your own beliefs on empowerment Take time to consider what you find empowering, not what others think or say is empowering.

Always respecting yourself and remembering youre worthy of other peoples respect.

Switzer concluded her presentation by reiterating the importance of Title X and its effect on sexual empowerment.

I hope today that you recognize that sexual empowerment comes from healthy sexual practice; it doesnt matter what the orientation is, Switzer said. We get to be in charge of what our sexual health looks like.

More here:

Feminist Friday on the importance of sexual health and empowerment - Iowa State Daily

NASSCOM interacted with the industry during an online policy roundtable organized by NASSCOM on 16 October 2020, to discuss NITI Aayogs draft discussion paper on Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA). The roundtable saw participation from companies who are both actual (for instance, existing Account Aggregator licensees) and potential stakeholders in the DEPA framework. For background on DEPA, please read here. The program for the roundtable was as follows: Overview of DEPA, by NASSCOM team Learning from the Account Aggregator Experience (Speakers: Krishna Prasad, CEO, Onemoney and Prashant Paliwal, CEO, Yodlee Finbit) Learning from an Information Provider/User: Improving the DEPA (Speaker: Ashish Singhal, Head of Credit Business, Experian) Discussion on Areas of Concern The discussion during the roundtable, raised several points with respect to the implementation roadmap for DEPA mission and the foreseeable challenges in the operationalization of DEPA. In particular, the following issues were highlighted by participants: Operationalising DEPA There is a need to ensure timely onboarding of stakeholders, especially, information providers to get the DEPA operational as soon as possible; There is a need for alignment of incentives amongst various stakeholders (data principal, consent manager, information provider and information user) in order to ensure that the quality of service is maintained across the ecosystem, and data sharing happens effectively; There is a need to ensure both high-quality and high-variety data sharing, in order to develop some of the solutions envisaged under the draft discussion paper. Currently the DEPA stops at enabling the availability of data, without considering ways of enabling higher-variety and quality of data; While the discussion paper highlights that the consent manager would be a separate entity engaged only in the business of consent management and it will also be data blind, there is need for detailing in the paper to ensure implementation Simplifying the architecture for asking for granular consent without making it too burdensome on the data principal; Institutional Coordination for DEPA There is a need to highlight the role of sectoral regulators in implementing the DEPA and the need for creation of a dedicated channel of communication between the regulator and stakeholders for continuous improvement, given the evolutionary nature of DEPA; Sectoral regulators should enable participation of more entities as an information provider/user (for example, credit bureaus), and providing an enabling legislative framework for leveraging the consent-based data sharing framework in the most valuable way; There is a need to establish data security standards that need to be followed by stakeholders, and the need for an authority to monitor the implementation of these standards (possibly the Data Protection Authority (DPA) proposed to be established under the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019); and There is a need for greater awareness among data principals about their rights and consequences of sharing or not sharing data, the availability of consent management services etc. The issues mentioned above, and additional issues are being examined by NASSCOM, as we work to formulate a comprehensive response to the DEPA draft discussion paper. We appreciate the inputs that have already been sent to us in this regard and request Members who havent sent their inputs yet, to share their inputs latest by 6 November 2020 to garima@nasscom.in.

The post Online Policy Roundtable on Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture appeared first on NASSCOM Community |The Official Community of Indian IT Industry.

Read more:

Online Policy Roundtable on Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture - Web Hosting | Cloud Computing | Datacenter | Domain News - Daily Host News

BROCKTON "Art is our protest" is their motto.

"Unity through art" is their mission.

Brockton is their home.

And their latest project is a collaboration with a company owned by Tom Brady.

Power of Art, a new collective of Brockton creatives, kicked off a series of public projects this June with a mural showing seven fists of different colors raised in unison, painted onto the exterior wall of Champion Ice Cream on Legion Parkway.

Lindsay Loza, a painter and portrait artist, said the group formed less than a month earlier with the goal of creating opportunities for Brockton artists to respond to widespread protests over racism in law enforcement.

"Our job is to reflect the times," Loza said.

The upcoming collaboration with TB12, Brady's sportswear and nutrition brand, offers the collective its broadest platform yet to help Brockton artists share work centered on social justice in the city. TB12 advertises internationally and maintains nearly 400,000 followers on Instagram, using Bradys unparalleled achievements as a quarterback in the National Football League to sell athletic gear, prepared meals and nutritional supplements.

In what company executives called "a chance to take a stand on social justice," TB12 plans to manufacture and sell the Brockton-made designs through its online store, donating the proceeds to nonprofits in the city.

In September, Power of Art and TB12 announced an open call for design submissions. Several local fashion brands have been contacted to participate as well.

"Bigger than just apparel and inspired by Brockton imagery, the contest promotes social justice, determination, empowerment and community pride," Power of Art said in a written statement.

"In an effort to stand against racial injustices afflicting communities of color, Brockton residents are challenged to submit t-shirt designs that embody these values."

A panel of Brockton artists and TB12 executives plans to choose as many as three winning designs in November. Ollie Spears, a former city council candidate whose personal ties to Bradys company made the competition possible, will have a say in the choice as well.

Once the designs from Brockton are screenprinted, the shirts themselves could direct attention from TB12 customers toward a city that was once famous in its own right for manufacturing athletic gear.

Growing up in Brockton, Loza said she rarely saw artists work together on public projects.

Were trying to create a new culture here, she said.

The collaboration breaks new ground for TB12 as well, marking the first time the company has crowdsourced designs from local artists.

This is completely new for us, very much unlike anything weve ever done before, said TB12 marketing specialist Drew Bradley. It really feels like the right time to take this kind of action.

Power of Art has six members, including Loza, the groups founder. Barbatt Jocelyn and Tricia Seda, who run Massive Media, a Brockton brand consultancy, are members. Salena McAlarney, a tattoo artist and illustrator, joined at the outset, as did Jamaal Bonette, a painter, and Roland Gilbert, Lozas boyfriend.

The collective has several public art projects on the horizon, including a mural for Empower Nutrition, a Black-owned smoothie business on Brocktons Crescent Street.

The artists share their work on personal Instagram pages and a separate account for Power of Arts group projects.

For more information on the t-shirt contest, visit tb12sports.com/blog/art-brockton.

More:

Bigger than just apparel Brockton artists team up with Tom Brady for social justice T-shirt design competition - SouthCoastToday.com

With the Covid-19 crisis into its second wave, and little certainty on when the pandemic can be curbed entirely, organisations and their people are increasingly facing Covid-19 fatigue. Dustin Seale, Managing Partner of Heidrick Consulting in Europe, shares his thought on how leaders can overcome this fatigue, by embracing purpose and empowerment.

In a crisis, our human instincts kick in and we do one of two things: Every Man for Themself or Unify and Fight. The coronavirus pandemic ignited the latter and more positive instinct for the majority of people and organisations. Most leaders who adopted these actions were able to power through the pandemics initial phase.

As we now face the second phase, leaders will need to find creative ways to re energise their organisations and replace fatigue and weariness with a reimagined zealous perseverance. The fact that there is no clear end in sight is something that leaders must take into consideration and navigate accordingly.

The drive and energy that the initial shock gave organisations has been somewhat short-lived, however. Our mutual challenge was fighting the virus, now the challenge is this: the organisations that were once hubs of virus-fighting energy and enthusiasm are now reporting Covid-19 fatigue and lethargy. This shouldnt really come as a surprise. Most of us are good in a sprint, but as they say this is a marathon, not a sprint.

There are things we naturally do to restore our lost physical energy on an individual level. We regain our strength by eating right, drinking less, regularly exercising, sleeping more, taking rest days and other practices such as mindfulness.

When it comes to organisations, solutions lie in employee wellness programmes, recognition for wins and contributions, encouraging mindfulness and reflection and ensuring members of the organisation experience valuable family time and holidays. There are two significant strategies organisations can implement in order to retrieve phase one enthusiasm and reignite their workforces energy:

The energy at the beginning of the crisis can indeed be described as purpose-driven. However, that was purpose with a small p. This version of purpose may work to fight the immediate enemy but it is not sustainable. If we look to history we will see countless examples of leaders, teams, companies and even dictators who have used this purpose to unite and initiate short bursts of energy and achievement. Real Purpose is different.

In 2009, Heidrick Consulting helped a firm that was hit hard by the financial crisis to reevaluate and reinvigorate its leadership approach. Like with the current crisis, this firm mobilised an initial energised response but this was shortly followed by a loss of energy and belief.

The leadership team then doubled down to all the organisations employees to the purpose. The business was led with this purpose as the guiding principle. The result was a re-energised organisation and one that won more work and grew faster than any other time in its history. While the market was still not favourable, there was a belief in the organisation that defied the market trend and grew even whilst others were shrinking.

We focused on defining the Purpose of the organisation. This definition comes from analysing the companys positive contribution to the world. Once this is recognised, everyone should be helped to connect personally to this Purpose. A standard communications programme is not enough. The Purpose must be embedded through experiences be they workshops, conversations, meetings, etc. and must generate positive associative feelings reaching the part of the brain responsible for choice and behavioural change.

The individual must feel connected to the work they do and see its importance within the larger organisation while fulfilling their personal purpose. This is no new idea. Aristotle spoke about it, as did Frankl and others. When we are connected to Purpose, we traverse obstacles differently and the work we do creates energy rather than consumes it.

The second strategy is to empower the workforce and make change. The pandemic has seen leaders simply working harder and longer. A few months in and they are worn out. Re-energising involves implementing an approach to work that enables people to see things from new angles and in new lights while taking back the control needed to achieve results. It is equally important to do this in teams. We need other people as catalysts for inspiration and for helping to generate energy and meaning. The current lack of teams and sense of connection drains energy.

Purpose and Empowerment provide organisations and their people a dynamic with which they can reenergise, reignite and persevere.

When we work with organisations we engage our team-based Acceleration Lab to encourage this empowerment strategy. We recently worked with a real-estate company and got them to try out our Lab dynamic. With this methodology, employees are faced with hypothetical scenarios that mirror their real-life work problems. In solving these, participants found a new wave of energy that was echoed in the resultant upward trajectory of the company.

At the start of this process we stared directly in the mirror and saw ourselves doing things the way we normally do, and realised it would not work. This approach unlocked our thinking and has set a new tone and direction for the firm, the CEO of the company said. Insights born out of team environments generate change and reignite a collective energy for organisations.

Do all of the above in ways that connect people with people. We are social animals and part of the fatigue being felt today is based on the loss of real connection. Underpinning connection to purpose and growing empowerment, is putting in the mechanisms for both formal and informal interactions that accelerate both of the above.

Recent studies show that the Oxytocin levels, generated in our posterior lobe, rise in us when in authentic interactions with other people. Oxytocin is critical in the feelings of well-being and optimism and thus reduces fatigue significantly. If youre not connecting people in authentic and productive interactions, they are spending, not gaining energy.

When we combine these two strategies of Purpose and Empowerment we are creating a link between the present moment and the challenges the future may bring. We are providing organisations with a dynamic with which to reenergise, reignite and persevere. With such strategies we are looking beyond the short-term challenge of the virus and establishing a long-term business strategy, underpinned by sustained behaviour changes.

There is a way out of this period of fatigue. Taking care of employees and prioritising these ideals will establish the mechanism to power you through this period of weariness and beyond this era of pandemic.

Continue reading here:

Purpose and Empowerment key to overcoming Covid-19 fatigue - Consultancy.uk

Over the years, Amber Rose has established herself as an advocate of womens rights and sexual freedom. Her SlutWalk event promotes empowerment and opposes slut-shaming and rape culture, and shes often spoken about how shes raising her sons to be feminists.

Rose appeared on Red Table Talk with hosts Jada Pinkett-Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris to discuss sexual consent and what shes teaching her kids about women. The episode, taped pre-COVID-19, aired on Facebook Watch on Oct. 20.

In a candid discussion about gray zone sex and consent, all the women talked about uncomfortable situations theyve been in with partners. Both Willis and Rose spoke on feeling compelled to go along with a sexual encounter even if they didnt want to, and how men may interpret the meaning of no.

It was a sensitive conversation where multiple points of view were considered, and Rose opened up about her personal experiences and having agency over her body.

Rose, who has two sonsSebastian, 7 and Slash, 1was asked about what shes teaching Sebastian about boundaries and consent.

RELATED: Amber Rose Opens Up About Getting Plastic Surgery After Giving Birth

Rose shared that her eldest son is aware of the world. She told Smith, He knows everything. Im not hiding nothing from my son. My son knows what a period is. She said he comes and sits in the bathroom with her to talk and will ask, Mommy, do you have your period?

Rose answers him honestly. Im like no, not right now, but I will. And hes like do you need a tampon? Do you need a pad? I say that to say my son is seven, and I dont feel like its too soon. Because once he hits 13 and the girls in his classroom are getting their period, and the boys are like thats disgusting shes bleeding, hell be like, Thats nothing.

Rose added that shes also had to explain inappropriate touching and shared an example about Sebastian playfully shaking her bottom. She reiterated to him its not ok to touch her or any girls he comes across.

At first, Smiths mom reacted with a shocked look about Roses period revelation, but she commended the mom of two for teaching him early.

In a 2018 interview with Teen Vogue, Rose mentioned that parents often make the body out to be a taboo subject. She told the outlet its not like that in her household and shes frank about more than womens periods.

I teach my son that a womans body is not a sexual object. Its human anatomy, she said.

I have feminine paintings all over the walls [and] pictures of naked women. My son is so used to seeing it, so its not weird to him. She added that when adults to do that, it makes things seem like a bigger deal than they are. Rose would rather normalize the female form.

See more here:

'Red Table Talk': Amber Rose is Teaching Her 7-Year-Old Son About Women's Periods Now - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

HBOs The Vow is the latest docuseries to sweep the nation so much so that it was just renewed for another season. It tells the story of Keith Raniere and the sex cult tied to NXIVM, his multi-level marketing company that recruited thousands of people over two decades. Among some of the familiar faces involved are Smallville actress Allison Mack and Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg, as well as Oxenbergs daughter India.

Over the course of nine episodes, The Vow dives in to the systematic brainwashing and gaslighting that its members faced. At the core of NXIVM is its Executive Success Programs, or ESP. Members follow the professional development tracks for each level of ESP, having to shell out lots of money for the different requisite courses at each level.

The more sinister side of NXIVM is DOS, or Dominus Obsequious Sororium a Latin phrase that translates to Master over slave woman. DOS is exactly what it sounds like: many women were groomed and recruited from NXIVMs female empowerment program Jness to join DOS, and agree to be a submissive who obeys everything their master says.

RELATED: The Vow: Catherine Oxenberg Talks Confronting Her Daughter About NXIVMs DOS and Being Branded

One of the stars of The Vow is Catherine Oxenberg, the real-life royalty who was on Dynasty back in the day. She introduced her daughter India to NXIVM in 2011, but soon realized the manipulative ways that Raniere and the higher-up members of NXIVM worked.

India broke her silence in an interview with Good Morning America her first TV appearance since leaving the cult. She said that they tried to break the bond between her and her mother right from the start.

What I thought I was learning was self-help and personal growth. What I was learning was the opposite, she told GMA. It was inhumane.

Oxenberg was a part of NXIVM for seven years, and was asked to join DOS after five years. In that time, her mother tried many times to reach out to her and get through to her, but her daughter dismissed her concerns as misguided.

As a part of DOS, Oxenberg kept a strict diet that was monitored by Raniere and her master and swore an oath to serve him. She was told it was a secret society for women that offered one-on-one coaching, but it soon ended up with her being branded with Ranieres initials.

Oxenberg left NXIVM altogether in 2018, and shes broken her silence in the time since The Vow started airing.

In an interview on The Doctors, she discussed how she was brainwashed into joining DOS from the very beginning when she joined NXIVM. I went into this when I was 19 years old, so very young, and what I didnt realize is that I was being systematically groomed towards something that would happen later on almost five years later, the now 29-year-old said.

Looking back I see the warning signs, she told Elle.

One of the rites of passage in DOS was to get a painful brand with what they were told was a symbol standing for the different elements near their genitals; the brand was actually a design with Keith Ranieres initials. Oxenberg was personally recruited to join DOS by none other than Mack.

Oxenberg recalled the horrific details in an interview with People magazine. It was January 2016. She was instructed to remove her clothes, and along with several other women, she was told to walk into a room that had a table. She was the first one to lay on the table.

I had two women holding my hands and my feet so I wouldnt convulse, she remembered. She was then branded with Ranieres initials. I remember the smell of flesh, she admitted. I remember crying but not with pain. There was no choice to say no.

Read the original here:

'The Vow': India Oxenberg Was the First One to Be Branded in 'Inhumane' NXIVM Sex Cult - Showbiz Cheat Sheet