Daily Archives: February 25, 2021

The European Union has kicked off the first stage of a consultation process involving gig platforms and workers.

Regional lawmakers have said they want to improve working conditions for people who provide labor via platforms which EU digital policy chief, Margrethe Vestager, accepted in a speech today can be poor and precarious. Yet she also made it clear the Commissions agenda vis-a-vis the issue of gig work is to find some kind of balance between (poor) platform work and, er, good and stable (rights protected) employment.

Theres no detail yet on how exactly regional lawmakers plan to square the circle of giving gig platforms a continued pass on not providing good/stable work given that their sustainability as businesses (still with only theoretical profits, in many cases) is chain-linked to not shelling out for the full suite of employment rights for the thousands of people they rely upon to be engaged in the sweating toil of delivering their services off the corporate payroll.

But that, presumably, is what the Commissions consultation process is aimed at figuring out. Baked into the first stage of the process is getting the two sides together to try to hash out what better platform work looks like.

The platform economy is here to stay new technologies, new sources of knowledge, new forms of work will shape the world in the years ahead, said Vestager, segueing into a red-line that there must be no reduction in the rights or the social safety net for platform workers (NB: The word should is doing rather a lot of heavy lifting here): And for all of our work on the digital economy, these new opportunities must not come with different rights. Online just as offline, all people should be protected and allowed to work safely and with dignity.

The key issue in our consultations is to find a balance between making the most of the opportunities of the platform economy and ensuring that the social rights of people working in it are the same as in the traditional economy, she also said, adding: It is also a matter of a fair competition and level playing field between platforms and traditional companies that have higher labour costs because they are subject to traditional labour laws.

The Commissions two-stage consultation process on gig work starts with a consultation of social partners on the need and direction of possible EU action to improve the working conditions in platform work, as it puts it.

This will be open for at least six weeks. It will involve platforms talking with workers (and/or their representatives) to try to come up with agreement on what better looks like in the context of platform working conditions, either to steer the direction of any Commission initiative. Or else to kick the legislative can down the road on said initiative if the two sides come up with a way forward they can agree to implement themselves.

The second phase of the consultation assuming the social partners dont agree among themselves is planned to take place before the summer and will focus on the content of the initiative, per Vestager. (Aka: what exactly the EU ends up proposing to square the circle that must be squared.)

The competition component of the gig work conundrum whereby theres also the employer fairness dynamic to consider, given platforms arent playing by the same rules as traditional employers so are potentially undercutting rivals who are offering those good and stable jobs explains why the Commission is launching a competition-focused parallel consultation alongside the social stakeholder chats.

We will soon start a public consultation on this initiative that has another legal base since it is about competition law and not social policies. This is the reason why we consult differently on the two initiatives, noted Vestager.

She said this will aim to ensure that EU competition rules do not stand in the way of collective bargaining for those who need it suggesting the Commission is hoping that collective bargaining will form some part of the solution to achieving the sought for (precarious) balance of better platform work.

Albeit, a cynical person might predict the end goal of all this solicitation of views will probably be some kind of fudge that offers the perception of a plug for the platform rights gap without actually disrupting the platform economy which Vestager has sworn is here to say.

Uber for one has scented opportunity in the Commissions talk of improving legal clarity for platforms.

The ride-hailing giant put out a white paper last week in which it lobbied lawmakers to deregulate platform work pushing for a Prop-22 style outcome in Europe, having succeeded in getting a carve out from tightened employment laws in California.

Expect other platforms to follow with similarly self-serving suggestions aimed at encouraging Europes social contract to be retooled at the points where it intersects with their business models. (Last week Uber was accused of intentionally stalling on improving conditions for workers in favor of lobbying for deregulation, for example.)

The start of the Commissions gig work consultation comes hard on heels of a landmark ruling by the UKs Supreme Court (also last week) which dismissed Ubers final appeal against a long running employment tribunal.

The judges cemented the view that the group of drivers who sued Uber had indeed been erroneously classified as self employed, making Uber liable to pay compensation for the (workers) rights it should have been paying for all along.

So if the EU ends up offering a lower level of employment rights to platform workers vis-a-vis the (post-brexit) UK that would surely make for some uncomfortable faces in Brussels.

While it may be unrealistic to talk about striking a balance in the context of business models that are inherently imbalanced, given theyre based on dodging existing employment regulations and disrupting the usual social playbook for profit, the Commission seems to think that a consultation process and a network of overlapping pan-EU regulations is the way to rein in the worst excesses of the gig economy/big tech more generally.

In a press release about the consultation, it notes that platform work is developing rapidly across various business sectors in the region. So theres a heavy tone of we cant stand in the way of tech-fuelled progress.

It can offer increased flexibility, job opportunities and additional revenue, including for people who might find it more difficult to enter the traditional labour market, the Commission writes, starting with some of the perceived positives that are, presumably, feeding its desire for a balanced outcome.

However, certain types of platform work are also associated with precarious working conditions, reflected in the lack of transparency and predictability of contractual arrangements, health and safety challenges, and insufficient access to social protection. Additional challenges related to platform work include its cross-border dimension and the issue of algorithmic management.

It also notes the role of the coronavirus pandemic in both accelerating uptake of platform work and increasing societal concern about the vulnerable situation of gig workers who may have to choose between earning money and risking their health (and the health of other people) because they cant afford to stop working (if they dont have full access to sick pay).

The Commission reports that around 11% of the EU workforce (some 24 million people) say they have already provided services through a platform.

Vestager said most of these people only have platform work as a secondary or a marginal source of income but added that some three million people do it as a main job.

And just imagine the cost to gig platforms if those three million people had to be put on the payroll in Europe

In the bit of her speech leading up to her conclusion that platform work is here to stay, Vestager quoted a recent study she said had indicated that 35% to 55% of consumers say they intend to continue to ask for home delivery more in the future.

We see that the platform economy is growing rapidly, she added. Worldwide, the online labour platform market has grown by 30% over a period of 2 years. This growth is expected to continue and the number of people working through platforms is expected to become more significant in the years ahead.

European values are at the heart of our work to shape Europes digital future, she also went on to say, taking her cue to point to the smorgasbord of digital regulations in the EUs pipeline and tacitly illustrating the concept of an overlapping regulatory net which the Commission wants to straightjacket platform giants into more socially acceptable and fair behavior (though EU regulations havent done that yet).

Our proposals from December for a Digital Services Act and a Digital Markets Act are meant to protect us as consumers if technology poses a risk to fundamental rights, she said. In April we will follow up on our white paper on Artificial Intelligence from last year and our upcoming proposal will also have the aim to protect us as citizens. The fairness aspect and the integration of European values will also be a driver for our upcoming proposal on a digital tax that we plan to present before summer.

All these initiatives are part of our ambition to balance the great potential that the digital transformation holds for our societies and economies.

See more here:
Europe kicks off bid to find a route to better gig work - TechCrunch

Nearly half of people believe those who lost their job during the pandemic were likely to have been underperforming, a survey has found.

In findings that will raise fears over inequalities in Britain, a study of attitudes by researchers at Kings College London showed a significant minority thought a widening post-Covid income gap between white people and BAME groups would not be a problem.

This analysis throws up the complexity of peoples view about inequalities, said Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which will use the research for its five-year review of inequalities. The British public is clearly concerned about some inequalities, but also sets great store by individual responsibility.

People care more about differences between geographical areas than races, genders and generations, found researchers in the study entitled Unequal Britain.

The findings may suggest widespread support for the levelling up agenda espoused by the government as the country attempts to rebound after Covid, the authors said. But it will also raise questions about the popularity of anti-inequality policies focusing on ethnic minorities and women.

Unemployment rose to 1.74 million people this week, its highest level in five years and business shutdowns are disproportionately affecting women and ethnic minorities.

In one of the starkest findings, one in eight Britons (13%) said they think black people are more likely to be unemployed and have lower incomes because they lack motivation or willpower.

This attitude was held by more than one in five of the Conservative voters polled, compared with less than one in 20 Labour supporters. Overall, 47% said those inequalities are because of discrimination but strikingly racist views remain, with 4% of respondents saying inequality was because most black people have less in-born ability to learn. The researchers discovered this by asking questions rarely posed in the UK, but often included in US social surveys.

The authors said the overall findings showed meritocratic and individualistic tendencies are likely to temper calls for action on inequality.

There is a strong belief in meritocracy in Britain that hard work and ambition remain key drivers of success, and this colours views, even during a pandemic, the report said. Despite the exceptional circumstances [of Covid], Britons are more likely to think that job losses caused by the crisis are the result of personal failure than chance.

The view that individual performance was important in determining whether workers were made unemployed during the Covid crisis was held by 47% of people. Only 31% put it down to luck. Study author Bobby Duffy, professor of social policy at KCL, said this was surprising. By 57% to 39%, Conservative voters are much more likely than Labour voters to attribute these job losses to poor performance at work.

Of the more than 2,000 people polled, the largest number thought gulfs between geographical areas of more and less deprivation were the most serious form of inequality faced by the nation, followed by income and wealth. This view was held by Labour and Conservative supporters alike one of the only issues in the study that united the political spectrum.

Duffy said this rare moment of unity in attitudes toward inequalities points to [support for] policies that are not just about moving the odd government department [out of London] or listening more to the north it is the sense of supporting local community initiatives. It is something that has been underemphasised since the late 2000s.

Less than half of people polled put racial differences in their top three or four most serious types of inequalities and less than a third included gender inequality.

Amid evidence of adverse labour market consequences for women in Britain resulting from the crisis, the study found that a third of people would not consider it a problem if inequality between genders got worse because of the crisis.

These findings underline all too clearly the increased importance of place in debates about politics in general and inequality in particular, said Prof Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe, which collaborated in the study. The government should view this emergent consensus as providing a window of opportunity to act on the ambitious promises it has made to level up the country.

Link:
Job losses in pandemic due to performance issues, say nearly half of Britons - The Guardian

Angelo Plessas was doing plank pose in the narrow space between the foot of his bed and the hotel wall. Several of his quilted sculptures were spread out beneath him to soften the hard floor. Hotel staff dropped off warm meals several times a day.

It is sort of like a residency, the Greek artist told me over a WhatsApp call on day seven of his 14-day quarantine in an 18-square-meter room in Seoul. (The artist had been uploading the footage to Instagram as a kind of performative ritual.) Following his stay, Plessas planned to head to a sacred mountain to meet the South Korean shaman Dodam, with whom he is collaborating for the 13th Gwangju Biennial.

Production still from John Gerrard Mirror Pavilion: Leaf Work (Derrigimlagh) (2019). Courtesy of the artist.

Its not exactly how Plessas imagined he would return to South Korea after an initial trip there in late 2019. Back then, a large group of international artists, shepherded by artistic directors Defne Ayas and Natasha Ginwala, went on a series of site visits ahead of the esteemed exhibitionAsias largest and oldest. At the time, the virus was perhaps already somewhere in the world, but it was nowhere near their imaginations.

Since then, Gwangjus organizers have had to delay, adapt, rethink, and rework to accommodate a constantly shifting public-health situation. After two postponements, the biennial is preparing, finally, to open on April 1. (South Korea has been praised for its response to the pandemic; its most recent seven-day case count came in at under 500.)

Yet the opening will look very different from the buzzy biennials of previous years. Of the 69 participating artists (who are responsible for 41 new commissions), only four individualsincluding a two-person collectivewere able to travel to South Korea to install their works in situ.

Natasha Ginwala (R) and Defne Ayas (L). Photo: Victoria Tomaschko.

The challenges posed by the lockdown era have rushed the biennial circuit into a future that many were already discussing. Had the daring, female-led show in South Korea intended to be a spectacle reminiscent of biennials past, it likely would have been rendered moot by the pandemic.

But neither Ayas nor Ginwala wanted to continue with this machine of biennials, as Ayas put it. Instead, they sought to offer an antidote to it, by exploring spirituality, resistance, and community healing. The events of 2020 gave those themes a new sense of urgency.

We were ready to debunk the biennial format and stretch it, but we did not know we would be stretching it this much, Ayas said with a laugh from her own room a few floors above Plessas. The cracks we were looking into just got deeper.

Video still from Theo Eshetus, Ghostdance (2020). Courtesy of the artist.

The biennial, titled Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning, comes at a moment when loss, grief, and separation are globally felt. And so the duo has gravitated toward two seemingly disparate themes: shamanism, a dominant form of spirituality in South Korea, and technology. A form of cosmic gravitas pulses through the exhibitions preamble of essays, talks, and online programming.

The surreality of the enterprise was clear from conversations with a number of participants who traveled to Gwangju for the opening. All were performance artists whose works could not be presented remotely. Plessas, who came from Athens, shared his hotel wall with Canadian conceptual artist Judy Radul.They would see each other for brief moments when they picked up their food in the hall.

The shows co-curator Defne Ayas, meanwhile, was in her room on video calls with Ginwala, who was already on the ground helping to install the show. It will beset across four locations over a now-shortened four weeks: a historic theater, a sacred mountain, a classical biennial hall, and the Gwangju National Museum. One could consider the Internet the fifth, unplanned venue.

Still from Judy Raduls Good Night Vision (2013). Courtesy the artist.

For the artists who did travel to Gwangju, the mandated pause was surprisingly welcome. There is something special about stopping just before you make an artwork and waiting for two weeks, having the time to just keep thinking about it, Radul said.

Ahead of the trip, she worked closely with two South Korean musicians on her eerily prescient commission. With help from Gina Hwang, who plays a geomungo (a plucked guitar-like instrument), and Hannah Kim (who plays the more percussive janggu drum and gong), Radul created a psychedelic, folkloric soundscape that she plans to record live inside a historic theater.

To film it, she long ago decided to use heat-tracking camerasa medium she began exploring in 2013that will record the heat imprints created by the musicians. Another camera will be pointed at the audience, should there be one come April. There is, of course, a certain irony to preparing this work in a world where free movement is contingent upon body temperature. (Radul was having her temperature taken at the hotel every few hours.)

Proximity, touching, creating sound in a room togetherall of this has shifted, she said.The questions around biennials, where we just drop in and drop out, have been posed for years now. It does make you wonder what you will do for art. We are finding out right now what artists actually bring to a scenario when they show up or dont show up.

OS Session, 2019, V.A.C. Foundation, photo: Marco Franceschin.

Participation in the show has been challenging even for artists who could not show up in person. Korakrit Arunanondchais new video,Songs for Dying, reflects on his own losses this past year, including the death of his grandfather. Itpairs footage drawn from pro-democracy protests in Thailand (whereArunanondchai moved from New York at the beginning of the pandemic) and the 1948 Jeju Island massacre in South Korea with the minutiae that comes from witnessing the death of a loved one. His incisive editingmoving between surrealism, the news cycle, and a very personal narrativefeels fluid and familiar after the past year.

The artist directed the South Korea portion of the videowhich captures a shaman conducting a ritual for the dead on Jeju Islandremotely after it became clear he would be unable to travel.It was hard, he said. I work with hidden narratives to begin with. And often, the thing that pulls you in is not what you can find on the internet. (The films second chapter, Songs for the Living, will be shown at the Migros Museum in Zurich in September.)

Video still from Korakrit Arunanondchai, Songs for Dying (2021). Co-commissioned by the 13th Gwangju Biennale, Han Nefkens Foundation and Kunsthall Trondheim. Courtesy the artist.

While the biennial plays an important role in the regionit was created to process and memorialize the Gwangju Uprising in 1980attendance will necessarily be limited.Then, there is the so-called art world to consider. The traveling band of curators, writers, collectors, and art dealers that would normally attend will also be in absentia. Even the participating curators and artists will have packed up and left.

Thats where the fifth venue, the online forum, comes in. Artists have generously shared their processes and created new online commissions. The catalogue chronicles a year-long conversation that was once meant for Gwangju, but which has now become more global.

Ayas spoke of a mad loyalty that the artists and curators have for one another and for the project. All that matters, she says, is that it installs itself in peoples minds in some important way. In our case, the biennial is not small, but we know from experience that small can also be beautiful and more meaningful, she added.

Emo de Medeiros, Kaleta/Kaleta (2016). Courtesy of theartist.

Her conviction begs the question: how much did wereallysee of these massive shows when we were running around previews trying to take it all in? Perhaps the slow and virtual drip of Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning offers a teachable moment. Maybe we do not need to see the whole in order to be touched by a part.

This biennial was prophetic, in a way, because it was predicting the penetration of the virtual and this post-human feeling of virtuality, Plessas said from his hotel room. It will be interesting to see how it will be remembered.

The 13th Gwangju Biennale is on view from April 1 to May 9.

See the rest here:
Why the Artistic Directors of the Gwangju Biennial Are Quarantining for Weeks (and Working Overtime) to Mount a Show Very Few People Will See - artnet...

The 2017 Lexus NX was an impressively premium compact crossover that felt unrelated to its humble Toyota underpinnings when we last reviewed it. Now alleged images of the latest update to the edgy crossover have leaked online revealing a dramatically updated interior.

Lexus engineers claimed back in 2015 that the NX had reengineered at least 90-percent of the vehicles parts independently from the Toyota Rav4 it is based on, using multiple different manufacturing processes. Every time weve driven the NX, those claims have proven to result in a comfortable, premium ride and user experience in spite of some tricky and confusing interior controls and infotainment systems.

Images reveal an exterior that is a modest update to the current vehicles angular and edgy signature bodywork. The NX gets an expected LED and DRL signature update in the lights as well. The real revelation in these leaked images, which were originally posted on the ClubLexus forums and reported via Autocar, is that the Lexus NX interior has undergone a much-needed overhaul and digital upgrade.

The leaked images of the NX interior reveal a new screen infotainment interface slightly angled toward the driver. Considering the lack of physical buttons anywhere within reach of driver or passenger, it appears the screen will take over almost all of the system, media and vehicle setting adjustments save for that suspicious little blurry knob by the drivers knee. There also still appears to be a physical volume knob and physical temperature climate controls.

G/O Media may get a commission

The old wretched Lexus touchpad is apparently gone, as are most of the outgoing models hard, pale black plastic button and trimmings that bewilders the otherwise premium character of the current NX. There now appears to be a wireless charging pad for phones and other devices.

A second digital screen sits ahead of the driver in place of physical vehicle information dials. One leaked image shows a centralized numerical speed readout hovering above what appears to be a cruise control vehicle distance graphic. The dashboard appears to have a cutout for a heads-up display projector, and Im also moderately pleased to find some paddle shifters sticking their ears out from behind the steering wheel. It may be a sporty novelty, but its nice that Lexus is still committing to it for those of us (me) who enjoy them.

Lexus has sold an average of around 55,770 NX models per year over the last six years, and almost exactly that many in 2020. Hence its obvious why the changes outside arent radical, but the stuff owners will touch has improved dramatically. Its not clear when Lexus intends to officially unveil the new NX crossover, but its now likely soon. The current car starts at $37,610 but theres no indication of the new models price. In the meantime, there are plenty of images of it from the now-deleted forum post for you to check out in full over on Autocar.

Original post:
Here's The Leaked Lexus NX Way Before You're Supposed To See It - Jalopnik

Apple this week introduced a new Ethics and Compliance webpage on its official website that highlights some of the companys policies created to ensure that its business conduct complies with the law.

On the webpage, which was quietly launched within Apples main website, the company details how it ensures compliance at Apple, the conduct of company business policies, and how they conduct independent assessments to guarantee that these policies are effective among employees.

Apple conducts business ethically, honestly, and in full compliance with the law. We believe that how we conduct ourselves is as critical to Apples success as making the best products in the world. Our Business Conduct and Compliance policies are foundational to how we do business and how we put our values into practice every day.

Apple says that all employees need to make sure that they have read and understood Apples policies before joining the company, and also again each year. At the same time, the website states that Apple has teams focused on business conduct and political, antitrust, health, and anti-corruption compliance.

There are also links to PDF files that detail how the company ensures compliance for each of these topics, which also includes Apples responsibility for human rights and environmental protection in its supply chains.

We conduct internal and third-party independent assessments of our programs to ensure they are effective. We make changes to our policies and our training to reflect emerging trends. Apples Chief Compliance Officer provides regular updates to the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors.

You can access the new Ethics and Compliance webpage and find more information about it on Apples official website.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

Continue reading here:
Apple debuts new Ethics and Compliance webpage with details on conduct policies and more - 9to5Mac

Limural

I never imagined I'd ever be writing about a haircut kit, much less debating with myself if I should buy one (spoiler alert: I did), but these are strange times. The first time I posted a deal about barber clippers I hadn't had a haircut in two months. As the months went by, my appearance started to increasingly track toward "bass player in 1968 psychedelic band," rendering some kind of DIY haircut essential. At the time, here in Los Angeles all barbershops and hair stylists were closed, and these kinds of clipper kits were off-the-chart expensive -- finding one for even $75 was a bargain. Thankfully, prices have settled and right now you can get a Limural Professional Cordless Clippers kit for $31.95when you click the product page coupon code and also apply discount code RRNISWYGat checkout.

That's about $17 off the regular price of $49 and is the lowest we've ever seen this model sell for. The kit includes the wireless clipper with a digital status display and five-hour runtime. It comes with six guard attachments (ranging in size from 3mm to 19mm), a comb, barber cape (the kind that traps hair, not the kind that helps you fly) and other miscellaneous accessories.

Subscribe to CNET's Cheapskate newsletter and save on everything from phones to gadgets and more.

I'll be honest: Prior to buying this model, I'd never taken a clipper to my own hair and so I don't know exactly what to look for in a product like this. But this one has 4.8 stars from over 6,800 reviews on Amazon, and I've used it successfully on my own head several times now. So if you're looking for a way to get a trim without breaking the bank or waiting till the vaccine makes its way to you, consider this kit -- and let me know in the comments if you're cutting your hair at home, or waiting it out until the world opens up again.

Read more:How to cut your hair and do your nails at home

This article was previously published. It has been updated with the latest deal.

Now playing: Watch this: Vaccines, antibody tests, treatments: The science of...

6:02

CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and check out our CNET Coupons page for the latest promo codes from Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon and more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page.

Originally posted here:
Cut your own hair with this $32 haircut kit because we never leave home anymore - CNET