The capacity of a state and the degree of economic inequality among its residents will determine how successful it is in coping effectively with a pandemic like COVID-19. Whether it is a democracy or a dictatorship matters relatively less, according to recent research by Wharton management professor Mauro Guillen.

Titled, “The Politics of Pandemics: Democracy, State Capacity, and Economic Inequality,” Guillen’s working paper tracks epidemic outbreaks in 146 countries since 1995. It is the first study to explore the effects of democracy, state capacity, and income inequality on epidemic dynamics.

Deloitte will defer the start date for most of its mid-year graduate intake by eight months, while PwC will cut recruitment by up to 50 per cent, two of the biggest changes to graduate programs from the COVID-19 downturn.

Deloitte has deferred the starting date for about 80 of its 110 July graduate intake until March 2021, citing the challenge of remote working.

Image: University of Melbourne student Tayla Collier said the COVID-19 pandemic had created uncertainty for many graduates and students eyeing graduate roles.  - https://www.afr.com

Commercial real estate investors are trying to stay ahead of the pandemic with predictions about which sectors and which markets are best positioned to withstand its negative impact. One common calculation to find these resilient cities is to not only look at their economic statistics but more importantly also cull health data and the impact of the stimulus.

It certainly doesn’t look elegant: an N95 mask, with two tubes sticking out, one of which snakes its way down to a bolted hunk of metal that resembles an industrial Discman. But looks can be deceiving. This new device, being developed at Stanford, is probably the most comfortable N95 a nurse or doctor could ever wear.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on March 27, 2020, provides the Economic Development Administration (EDA) with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

On May 7, 2020, Secretary Wilbur Ross made EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance funding available with the announcement that EDA had published an Addendum to its FY 2020 Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Notice of Funding Opportunity. EDA intends to deploy its CARES Act funding as quickly, effectively, and efficiently as possible, and in a manner that meets communities needs.

When Kmart bought Sears in 2005, the retailer famous for its blue-light special sales left its longtime corporate home in Troy, Michigan, to move to Hoffman Estates, the headquarters of its new acquisition.

Built in 1972, Kmart’s former headquarters, dubbed Fort Kresge, consists of a clutch of low, interlocking buildings of dark steel and mirrored glass. Brick towers loom in between them. Its nickname combined the campus’ fortresslike appearance with the surname of company founder Sebastian Spering Kresge.

Image: Joan Wong for ProPublica, source images: The Daily Herald - https://www.propublica.org

Amir Nashat has spent nearly two decades building biotechnology companies. The first he worked on, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, pioneered a new way to make genetic medicine. He's since helped advise and nurture at least 16 others, several of which were acquired for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Image: Yujin Kim/BioPharma Dive

In May, I experienced what felt like a personal concert by two of my favorite performers. Really, I was sitting in my living room, and 700,000 other people were watching too.

It was the latest “Verzuz” battle–in which two artists perform from their homes while fans egg them on in the comments–and the competitors were Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. But the event felt more like a celebration than a duel. Scott and Badu discussed homeschooling their children, shared stories behind hit songs and complimented each other’s work. Michelle Obama even left comments and tagged her husband.

BALTIMORE, May 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Johns Hopkins University today released a comprehensive report to help government, technology developers, businesses, institutional leaders and the public make responsible decisions around use of digital contact tracing technologies (DCTT), including smartphone apps and other tools, to fight COVID-19.

Digital Contact Tracing for Pandemic Response – a report led by the Berman Institute for Bioethics in collaboration with the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins, as well as leading experts worldwide – highlights the ethical, legal, policy and governance issues that must be addressed as DCTT are developed and implemented. The report's primary conclusions and recommendations advise that privacy should not outweigh public health goals and other values; that big technology companies should not unilaterally set terms when such broad public interests are at stake; and that decisions about the technology and its uses will have to be constantly updated as new information becomes available.

Typically, consumers’ supermarket shopping habits are stable and slow to change. When people do dramatically change their behavior around buying food and beverages, it’s usually driven by a major life event such as having a baby, moving to a new town, or changing jobs.

The Covid-19 crisis is, of course, changing everyone’s life at once — and anyone who’s been to a grocery store can bear witness to the industry’s whiplash. During one week in March, U.S. grocery store sales spiked 77% over the previous year, while restaurant sales declined by 66%. In late April, grocery sales were still running 8% above average, with restaurants down 48%.

For the more than 19 million veterans currently living in the United States, where you live can be essential to your access to healthcare, good employment, and a strong quality of life. 

WalletHub conducted a report of the best US cities for veterans, analyzing 20 key indicators of livability, affordability, and veteran-friendliness. The study then provided rankings — out of 100 — for each category.

Image: https://www.businessinsider.com

When the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act was authorized in 1976 (also known as the 4R Act) it had been 10 years since the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965, introduced by Congress, passed. Interest seemed strong through the 1980s and ’90s but funding for and forward momentum in this direction failed to materialize.

Image: https://alankandel.scienceblog.com

“It’s always been my mission to take psychological concepts that are often overly complex and jargony and put them in language that people can actually understand and take action on,” says Dr. Emily Anhalt, Psy.D. This knack is perhaps best displayed by Anhalt’s Twitter game, where she’s able to unpack convoluted theories of psychology in 280 characters or less.

The National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program uses experiential education to help researchers gain valuable insight into entrepreneurship, starting a business or industry requirements and challenges.

I-Corps enables the transformation of invention to impact. The curriculum integrates scientific inquiry and industrial discovery in an inclusive, data-driven culture driven by rigor, relevance, and evidence. Through I-Corps training, researchers can reduce the time to translate a promising idea from the laboratory to the marketplace.

NSF is developing and nurturing a national innovation network to guide scientific research toward the development of solutions to benefit society.

Image: https://www.nsf.gov

A COVID-19 diagnosis is routinely made by a positive test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. However, the current tests are fraught with challenges. Not only are there shortages of kits, but they take time to complete and carry a possibility of false-negative results. Researchers at Mount Sinai sought an alternative method for rapid and accurate diagnosis of patients with COVID-19. They are the first in the country to use artificial intelligence (AI) combined with imaging, and clinical data to analyze patients with COVID-19. In doing this, they have developed a unique algorithm that can rapidly detect COVID-19 based on how lung disease looks in computed tomography (CT scans) of the chest, in combination with patient information including symptoms, age, bloodwork, and possible contact with someone infected with the virus.

The effects of the global health crisis have been far reaching. Across every country and almost every industry, there have been declines in productivity and income, bringing the economy of the world almost to a halt and leading to unemployment on a scale that has not been seen in decades.

An "urban flight" could take off from the San Francisco Bay Area due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But some tech workers rooted in San Francisco may not be headed too far, according to one new study.

Data analytics firm Moody found that San Jose, about 50 miles to the south, is among the best-poised cities in the US to welcome an influx of residents fleeing crowded areas in a post-coronavirus future as The Mercury News reports. The firm analyzed the top 100 metro areas in the US that have well-educated and widely distributed populations. Joining San Jose on the list is Durham and Raleigh in North Carolina, Salt Lake City, and Boise, Idaho.

Image: Employees chat on the patio of a startup office in San Francisco in 2019. Katie Canales/Business Insider

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. The answer you give can make or break your ability to get an investment, so you need to have the right answer ready before anyone asks. Here are three important reasons for the question:

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

After a decade of hyperactive growth, America's tech hubs now are in danger of sharp reversals.

It may seem like a distant memory, but downtown San Francisco was still largely a financial center only 10 years ago, when its conversion into a bro-dominated tech capital of the universe wasn't yet in full bloom. Back then, the tech industry was known for being dispersed across the suburban towns of Silicon Valley, and venture capitalists famously lined Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park.

Remote working provides many benefits to people. Flexible hours, no commute, more accessibility for working globally, and increased employee satisfaction are just some of the advantages. But, it’s very difficult to find the right setup that encourages productivity and it can also be hard to find a good work/life balance that avoids burnout. Before the pandemic WD Storage were working on some content to help employees achieve a better work/life balance and increase their efficiency.

Image: https://www.digitalinformationworld.com