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The PA House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday passed 8 bills designed to combat human trafficking. Here are highlights as we shared them on Twitter. The PCC has long supported such legislation. PA House Judiciary Committee this morning passed 8 bills with strong bipartisan support that are designed to fight the crime of human trafficking. The PCC has long supported such measures. We talked with committee Chair Rep. Rob Kauffman after the vote. @PAHouseGOP @PaHouseDems pic.twitter.com/FF7POQKYL4 — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 A package of 8 bills was passed this morning by the PA House Judiciary Committee to combat human trafficking in PA. The package included HB 246 by Rep. Natalie Mihalek. She talked about the bill prior to the vote. @PAHouseGOP @RepMihalek pic.twitter.com/VYPJc2NSpR — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 Rep. Meghan Schroeder explains her bill on human trafficking, HB 580, to the PA House Judiciary Committee. The bill passed this morning and we hope it will soon be considered by the full House. The PCC supports these human trafficking bills. @PAHouseGOP pic.twitter.com/SRD61DojSF — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 Rep. Craig Williams is the prime sponsor of HB 1130, a measure designed to fight human trafficking that passed the PA House Judiciary Committee this morning. Williams talked about his bill and about his background. @PAHouseGOP pic.twitter.com/3T3xPPG1CX — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 PCC has long supported legislation to fight human trafficking. That has carried over into the package of bills that was passed today out of committee dealing with that crime. Here, Rep. Marci Mustello, sponsor of HB 231, addresses House Judiciary Comm. @PAHouseGOP @Marci4PA11 pic.twitter.com/7tbM8o6Iwy — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 Rep. Barry Jozwiak addresses the PA House Judiciary Committee prior to the vote on his human trafficking bill, HB 753. The bill was passed along with 7 other bills designed to combat human trafficking. The PCC has long supported such legislation. @PAHouseGOP pic.twitter.com/AWJWRL8Vmk — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021          

The 4th and final part of our series on human trafficking explains what lawmakers and the PCC have been doing to help solve the problem. https://fb.watch/7X9-8f1Bdi/

We talk with Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack about the efforts to fight human trafficking. https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1732753579746685324?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1732765713054470239?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1732766219596435926?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1732775470393889221?s=20 Facebook ? Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/hieNMkimGABgrjaS/?mibextid=d6eG65   ? Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/5pnu4uYDr4DXCvJc/?mibextid=d6eG65   ? Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/qH2GGUt8zv8SKdX3/?mibextid=d6eG65        

As part of the PCC’s efforts on human trafficking, we’re talking with advocates and lawmakers about what is being done to address the issue. Today I’m sharing a series of sound bites from an interview I did with Christine Commerce from the Alliance to End Human Trafficking. https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1736783868848492574?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1736796871337599054?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1736818153110307184?s=20              

We talked with PA Senator Maria Collett about two bills to combat human trafficking. The PCC supports these measures. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Kt42YCggWSg8cSfu/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/81hHpExotYkCzhXr/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/pwQ7FQ6FNsH9toZA/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/drx1X9Wqukp77EwZ/?mibextid=WC7FNe  

We continue our series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues with a look at Morning Star Pregnancy Services. They do an outstanding job working with women facing unplanned pregnancies. https://fb.watch/bEB-FxMfAj/ The Harrisburg location for Morning Star Pregnancy Services at 2509 Front Street is relatively new, but the service itself is celebrating its 50th year in existence in 2022. The mission remains the same—helping women with unplanned pregnancies and with their sexual health. It offers a number of free health services, including pregnancy testing and ultrasound exams, along with education and support after the pregnancy. Morningstar does not provide or refer for abortion services but they help you to consider all options, including abortion, parenting and adoption. Bottom line, they are there for support. “We know that all mothers would like to feel loved and supported in their pregnancy and beyond. We are also able to reach out to the fathers of their children and offer them support and education as well,” said Morningstar Executive Director Linda Plummer. She says they see a range of women and men who have just had a positive pregnancy test and just can’t see beyond the immediate challenge. “The majority of women don’t want an abortion. They just feel like they don’t have another solution.” Morningstar will schedule regular visits for clients and will monitor the changing circumstances as the weeks progress. As the circumstances change, so do the perspectives. 6:12   “the first time they come to Morningstar and feel that they have no alternative but abortion, they change on their second visit when we invite them back in a decision-making process on a weekly basis. They may come the second time and say, well now my boyfriend says maybe we can have this baby or now my parents are saying they will support me.” Plummer also points out that 25 to 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Morningstar will help to determine the viability of the fetus through ultrasound testing. “Because a lot of those pregnancies end in miscarriage, what we see here is that women grieve that loss of the baby so in the process, they recognize the idea that if I had gone through with an abortion, I would have been carrying this burden and I would have been mourning the loss of that child.” They’ve been around for 50 years and must be doing something right for folks to keep coming back. The commitment to providing care and support without judgement has translated into a very impressive statistic. “80% of the time that women who come here who are at risk for an abortion will decide to have their child.” Plummer says many of the 20% who choose otherwise later return in a subsequent pregnancy.

Our series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues continues today with a look at the Heart of Tioga Pregnancy Center in Tioga County, PA and the support it gets from parishioners at Holy Child Catholic Church in the Diocese of Scranton. https://fb.watch/bHgvkXjO3Z/

Our series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues continues today with a look at the Tri-State Pregnancy Center in northeastern PA. The facility gets help from local Catholics and on-the-spot advice from above! https://fb.watch/bHh3c7Z-Hu/

Sarah Bowen of the Promise of Life Network crisis pregnancy center near Pittsburgh talked with me about the motivation behind the campaign by abortion advocates against the work these centers do, which is to provide women with support during an unplanned pregnancy. https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1703790777099235616?s=20   https://fb.watch/nccvJtmh6p/?mibextid=cr9u03  

Here are some of our postings for Monday’s PA March for Life. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/KNZfyjbgaMeFPfj3/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/gp5xVu7y8kxW49kv/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/YpxiCotA4v22Q7tb/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/uNFWLVKh3vcTHH7u/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ZJmyUxQnDzEUQs1N/?mibextid=WC7FNe  

We continue our series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues with more on the subject of breastfeeding. For the next several days we will look at the important work being done by the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank and how the PCC is looking to help them. https://fb.watch/dv4YBuc3qS/ https://twitter.com/PAcatholic/status/1532416678121857025?s=20&t=6XAnUbQUJooExYYWxkr1WQ  

The PA House Health Committee today unanimously passed Senate Bill 500, which calls for Medicaid coverage of human donor milk. The milk is vitally important for many newborns suffering from health issues. The PCC supports this issue. It has already passed the Senate and just needs approval by the full House. Here are the Facebook and X links for the two stories we ran. https://fb.watch/nLLsZciiLe/?mibextid=cr9u03 https://fb.watch/nLLsZciiLe/?mibextid=cr9u03 https://x.com/pacatholic/status/1714669965268193289?s=46&t=BhvQl7L4iZmDeA-ftim4Og https://x.com/pacatholic/status/1714667221551587757?s=46&t=BhvQl7L4iZmDeA-ftim4Og    

Title: Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 12/31/1997 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/21/2022 12:00:00 AM

We talked with Jim Lee of Susquehanna Polling & Research about his latest poll on the Presidential race. Here is how we shared the comments on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/eFvLAT1aT9FYqFRY/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/NdQXTChmWarrunmi/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/hjjie61Pso2UFX7A/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ztTnwXpFqx7Leb6u/?mibextid=WC7FNe    

In January Brian Lynch founded the South Central PA Chapter of the Young Catholic Professionals. We talked with Brian about the group. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/kwRbNff8kzdAxMAv/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/8NpLfyUb7crA35JB/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/7twzgWxPv2LaUsab/?mibextid=WC7FNe  

The PA Senate returned to the Capitol for full sessions and committee meetings. The Bishop of Harrisburg, Timothy Senior gave the opening prayer on Tuesday. That is in the first of our Facebook posts offered here. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/gji9z8diELbaWi5E/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/JLLp8LZNLFuBAyrH/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/XRs363N9Mvpog1pe/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/wGTgGutdEcf6vX6V/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/JRyWvi2KkipabkwQ/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/3aBxFaPwQxATNBJj/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/L7H8rK475qyztwnM/?mibextid=WC7FNe

You will never guess where you can find a wide selection of biblical quotations when you visit Harrisburg. Well, yeah, the bible. But I’m talking a building. It’s the State Capitol of all places–hard to believe in this day and age where there is always someone looking to be offended. PA Rep. Kathy Rapp, a Republican out of the northwestern part of the state, put out a nice booklet that is complete with the verses and the scenes that accompany those verses. Many are in the Governor’s reception room, House chambers and Senate chambers. Rapp stated in the first page of her book “Pennsylvania’s history and heritage is rooted in religious significance. From William Penn’s own vision and statement of establishing a Holy Experiment, to the first laws proposed by the General Assembly, to the first section of the first Constitution, the Charter of Privileges, entitled the freedom of conscience, our founders based their way of life on religious convictions. There are verses from the Old Testament, including Isaiah 42:1,4,7,10 “Behold my servant whom I uphold to pen the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Sing unto the Lord a new song ye that go down to the sea.” There are also several from the New Testament and the Gospels, like Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake.” No, this would not happen today. Not with the hyper-politically correct world we live in. In fact, it’s kind of surprising no one has fought to take it down. Maybe they have and I don’t know it. For example… There’s a case involving Lehigh County and the cross on its county seal that was added in 1944. It was fine then, but of course it had to offend somebody eventually. Yep. It did. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation—how they came across the symbol is beyond me—joined four Lehigh County residents and filed a lawsuit. According to the Morning Call, they argued “the seal was a violation of their first amendment rights.” U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith agreed with the folks who were offended. He ruled in September that Lehigh Co. would have to change it on flags, cars or other property but could keep it on older documents. The County appealed to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which is waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to act on a similar case before it makes a ruling.  

Like many lawmakers in Harrisburg, State Rep. Jesse Topper (R-Bedford, Fulton and Franklin Cos.) will be keeping a close eye on budget talks at the Capitol.  The process started after Governor Wolf unveiled his budget proposal earlier this month. “It’s basically the Governor saying ‘this is my wish list,’” said Topper. “That’s the way I look at it. “ There’s a good chance that Topper and his Republican colleagues will have a different set of wishes. Topper said they will be looking at what is needed to run the government efficiently. “There’s always going to be disagreement on that number. It’s a negotiation,” he said. “But from my standpoint, I’m always going to be advocating for spending less money–being more efficient with what we have and not going back to the tax payers for their hard-earned money.” One of the programs that Topper will be pushing for is the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, or EITC for short. It enables businesses to get a tax credit for contributing to a scholarship organization, educational improvement organization or a pre-K scholarship organization. “This is a way that we can make sure that businesses who want to contribute to our Catholic schools—and private schools really, whether they are Catholic or not, that we can’t give direct dollars to directly through the state, this is a chance for them to be able to contribute to their communities and get tax deductions through that. It has been a widely successful program that has benefited both the communities and the businesses they serve in, as well as the schools. “ Topper sees a lot of support for not only keeping, but also increasing the EITC. “We’ve seen increases in the EITC since I’ve been here. Speaker Turzai has been leading the charge on that, as well as a former colleague of mine, Jimmy Christiana and Senator Regan when he was Representative Regan in the House. There’s a lot of bi-partisan support for increasing the EITC. “ Another issue that Topper will keep his eye is abortion. He is part of a staunch Pro-Life Caucus at the Capitol. Like many of his colleagues he was alarmed by what happened in New York with the new abortion law. “You’ve seen a lot of—even millennials,” Topper said, “who have come to understand that – I think technology has really made a difference, when you can see these children through ultrasounds…I knew what my kids looked like before they were born. That technology wasn’t available back in the time of Roe V. Wade.” “It just wasn’t something that people could look at and understand. Now they can. The science is on our side. And I think that’s one social and cultural issue that we’ve moved to our side, the pro-life movement.” And Topper joined his colleagues in adding re-assurance to pro-lifers in PA. “This is something I don’t expect to see in Pennsylvania under this legislature but we have to have an answer for it—as we talk about the value of life at conception, what these little children mean to us as a society and how we are going to protect them.”    

There will be a shift at the helm of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference beginning June 1, 2018. Eric A. Failing, PCC’s current social concerns director, will assume the role upon the retirement of Robert J. O’Hara, Jr. after his 21 years as executive director. Prior to joining the PCC staff as social concerns director, Failing was vice president of sales, marketing and development for Pennsylvania Legislative Services. In his year since joining the PCC team, he has spearheaded efforts to pass bills that would ban the practice of abortion for a Down syndrome diagnosis in the womb, expand services to the poor, address the crisis of drug addiction, and other issues. When he announced his plans to retire in March, O’Hara told CatholicPhilly.com that he counts programs that benefit Catholic school families, namely expanding the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC), among his proudest accomplishments.  He has also worked tirelessly to promote social concerns, access to health care for the poor, pro-life issues and the ability of religious organizations to operate according to their beliefs without government interference. The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference was established in 1960 to give witness to spiritual values in public affairs and to provide an agency for corporate Catholic service to the statewide community. It serves as the public affairs agency of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops and the Catholic dioceses of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to formulate positions on public policy issues, officially represent the Church before state government, and to foster a public understanding of the Church’s teaching and concern about morality, health, welfare, human rights, education and the common good. The PCC gets involved with a wide variety of issues that span across the political spectrum. Visit www.pacatholic.org for the latest news and legislative updates, to lend your voice to advancing the Church’s position in the State Capitol through the PA Catholic Advocacy Network. Congratulations, Eric Failing, on your new job, and Bob O’Hara upon your retirement. Godspeed to you both!

Religious News Service reporter Bobby Ross, Jr. recently asked this question, “When adoption agencies can turn away gay prospective parents, what happens to the kids?” With conflicts between religious based adoption and foster care agencies and government non-discrimination regulations playing out across the country including the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, this is an important question. In March, the City of Philadelphia issued an urgent call for 300 new foster parents to provide loving homes for some of the over 6,000 kids in Philadelphia foster care. That same month, the City abruptly barred Catholic Social Services, one of the city’s top-rated foster agencies, from placing children with foster families. This decision makes it exponentially harder for hundreds of children in need of foster care to find homes. Foster homes are sitting empty, even as the city begs for more families to help in its foster care crisis. Catholic Social Services and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have been serving children throughout Philadelphia for over a century. Their Catholic mission drives them to find loving homes for all children in their care, regardless of the child’s race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. Catholic Social Services currently serves over 100 children in foster homes. No family or individual has ever complained that the agency’s Catholic mission prevented them from fostering or adopting a child. Sharonell Fulton from Overbrook Farms has been a foster parent for over 25 years. She has opened her home to over 40 children, including two children currently in her care. She strives to provide a loving, stable home and treat each child as if they were her own. To do that, Fulton relies on Catholic Social Services’ help, including around-the-clock support and access to information and resources. “What justice is there in taking stable, loving homes away from children?” Fulton said in a statement to CatholicPhilly.com. “If the city cuts off Catholic Social Services from foster care, foster moms like me won’t have the help and support they need to care for the special-needs kids.” By freezing and threatening to cancel its foster care contract with the CSS, the city is “taking away this help and causing harm and heartache to countless families like mine,” Fulton said. The children will suffer if parents like Fulton do not have the support they need. In May, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court in Philadelphia on behalf of archdiocesan Catholic Social Services (CSS), Sharonell Fulton and two other women caregivers associated with the archdiocesan agency. They asked the court to halt the city’s harmful policy. A hearing is expected later this year.

Catholic adoption agencies across the state have been curtailing or stopping their work altogether as a result of a policy by the Wolf Administration that would take away a lot of their power to decide who would be the best parents for adoption. PA Rep. Dave Zimmerman (R-Lancaster) says there is still hope that a religious exemption will be granted by lawmakers for organizations. “A number of us in the House actually held up the budget because of a religious exemption, related to the Foster care and adoption,” Zimmerman told me in his Lancaster district office. Despite their determined efforts the Governor held firm and it was kept out. “They took the religious exemption out, which means an adoption agency would have to work with any type of family arrangements, whether it’s a man and wife, or an LGBT couple. They would have to work with all of those.” Zimmerman and several of his colleagues would like to see the exemption established. They have an agreement from House and Senate leadership to run bills in the fall to make that happen. “This is just one area. So the question is ‘what’s next?’” Zimmerman said. “I believe that our country and our state were established on religious liberty, religious freedom. We need to have these religious exemptions available to business and family throughout our state. It’s very important.” Zimmerman said another issue that drew debate in the last session was the compulsory age for education. The current law requires children between the ages of eight and 17 to be in school. But new regulations installed in one of the budget codes would expand that from six to 18. Zimmerman was one of the lawmakers who opposed the change. “There are a lot of issues with that,” he said. “Some children are just not ready at six. What about someone who graduates early? What about—in our district—the Plain community that gets work permits at 15?  None of that has been really addressed at this point, so there are some real concerns about the compulsory age.” The age change was something that was being pushed by the Governor, Zimmerman said. Even though it was placed in the budget, he says there will be an effort in the fall to get the change modified. ‘I also look at it as a liberties issue,” Zimmerman added. “The parents can probably make a better decision on their children than government.” Zimmerman remains very committed to pro-life issues. He voted for the Down Syndrome Protection Act and has signed on as a co-sponsor to Rep. Stephanie Borowicz’s (R-Centre, Clinton) “heartbeat” abortion bill, which he hopes to see introduced in the fall.

Dr Tania Nagpaul Youth at-risk typically refers to those who may be seriously anti-social, homeless, who may have dropped out of school, taken to substance abuse or engaged in illegal activities. The factors that place these young people at risk in the first place, such as poverty, family dysfunction and disturbed neighbourhoods, are often not factored into the equation. Dr Tania Nagpaul and Ms Chen Jinwen from the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at SMU have published a study which used the Self-determination Theory offered by Deci and Ryan in a past research as a lens to better understand the needs of youth-at-risk and their fulfilment from the vantage points of both social service professionals and youth themselves. In this podcast, Dr Tania Nagpaul discusses the key findings of this research and how it generates a nuanced understanding of the needs of youth in Singapore. Additional Info Self-determination theory as a framework for understanding needs of youth at-risk: Perspectives of social service professionals and the youth themselves - by Tania Nagpaul, Jinwen Chen

Associate Professor of Accounting Holly Yang from SMU’s School of Accountancy has researched on the role of individual managers in corporate disclosure and determinants of firms’ voluntary disclosure decisions. Together with co-author Associate Prof Young Jun Cho, she is currently working on publishing a paper on Institutional Cross Ownership of Peer Firms and Investment Sensitivity to Stock Price. In this podcast, she discuss how cross-ownership of industry peers helps institutional investors better acquire industry insights and produce private information, thus allowing managers to incorporate this information in their investment decisions.

Assistant Professor of Humanities Aidan Wong from SMU’s School of Social Sciences has researched on the areas of development and sustainability, in particular on electronic waste, informal labour and economic development. In recent years, he has published a paper on ‘Waste’, Value and Informal Labour: The Regional E-Waste Recycling Production Network in Malaysia and Singapore” and is seeking to update it. In this podcast, Assistant Professor Wong discusses the value of electronic waste recycling and sustainability in Singapore.

Associate Professor of Humanities Winston Chow from SMU’s School of Social Sciences has researched on the areas of urban vulnerability to climate change; sustainability in urban climatology; and perceptions of environmental and climate change in tourism. In recent years, he has published papers on the impact of weather extremes on urban resilience to hydro-climate hazards and trans-boundary variations of urban drought vulnerability and its impact on water resource management in Singapore and Johor, Malaysia. In this podcast, Associate Professor Chow will discuss the continued economic growth of a city by adopting sustainable urban development measures.

Assistant Professor Richard Crowley from SMU’s School of Accountancy examines financial accounting using both archival and analytical methods for his research. Much of his archival work deals with large sets of unstructured data using high-powered computing algorithms to address accounting issues that are otherwise infeasible to approach. He has recently written two research articles on using a machine learning technique to assess the content of companies’ disclosures. In this podcast, he discusses how fraud and misreporting can be detected by studying a company’s financial statement using a machine learning technique, and shares how companies disclose financial information on Twitter, and how feedback from investors and others can influence this.

The advent of financial technology, or fintech, has created new opportunities, business models, products and services. Fintech innovations have disrupted the financial industry, leading to novel ways of delivering financial services, not only by traditional financial institutions but also by start-ups. There is now a new way of computing that uses extremely small objects called "quantum" that could revolutionise the power and accuracy of computations from artificial intelligence to financial investments. Associate Professor Paul Griffin is a financial technology expert at the SMU School of Information Systems; he is also Director of the Financial Technology track under the SMU Master of IT in Business programme. In this podcast, Prof Griffin, who has started researching into the efficacies of quantum computers, shares his research findings and discusses how he sees quantum computers developing in the near future.

The rise of new technologies is changing the way companies raise funds. Along with increased popularity of crowdfunding in recent years, a new form of funding has emerged – that is, the use of Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs. In 2017, companies in the United States raised over $4 billion through ICOs; in 2018, more than $21 billion has been raised. ICOs generate many challenges for securities regulators, and also give rise to other issues including corporate governance, data protection, anti-money laundering and insolvency. Assistant Professor Aurelio Gurrea-Martínez from the SMU School of Law has conducted legal research on financial regulation. In this podcast, he shares his recent comparative and interdisciplinary study which addresses the issue of ICOs and makes recommendations to regulators and policy makers in a way that aims to promote innovation and firms’ access to finance without harming investor protection, market integrity and the stability of the financial system.

Financial literacy in Singapore has not been analysed in much detail, despite the fact that this is one of the world’s most rapidly aging nations. In this podcast, Professor of Finance Benedict Koh from the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, discusses the key findings of his research jointly conducted with Olivia Mitchell from the University of Pennsylvania and Susann Rohwedder, Senior Economist at the RAND Corporation and Associate Director of the RAND Center for the Study of Aging. Using a unique new data-set and nationally representative survey - the Singapore Life Panel, they conducted an analysis of older Singaporeans’ financial literacy. Here, Professor Koh discusses his key findings, including: Do older Singaporeans score better on financial knowledge compared to their counterparts in the United States? What are the empirical linkages between financial literacy and retirement preparedness in Singapore? And is financial literacy positively associated with greater wealth and diversity of portfolios?

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in improving the quality of care for the elderly, be it enhancing aged care patient experience, developing home-care for an ageing population, or automating clinical processes. Associate Professor Tan Hwee Pink from SMU’s School of Information Systems, together with his team, have extensive ground experience in developing and deploying senior-centric technologies, from previous research projects at SMU. They are now collaborating with NTUC Healthcare Co-operative Ltd, a key provider of community programmes for seniors in Singapore, to use smart technology to enhance the operational efficiency and productivity of NTUC Healthcare’s centres. In this podcast, he discusses the type of technologies deployed in the project with NTUC Healthcare, the preliminary results achieved, and the challenges faced.

Building on research conducted in 2018 on the clear and positive link between high levels of psychological safety and a strong teamwork culture, Richard Smith, Professor of Strategic Management and Deputy Dean (Programmes) at the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, has now dug deeper by focusing on diversity. How does closing the gender gap within organisations in Asian countries impact overall company performance? Are employees more productive, or less, with a sense of belonging to the workplace? In this podcast, Professor Smith discusses the key findings of his research conducted in collaboration with consultancy group Great Place to Work Institute Singapore. The rigorous study, one of the largest in Asia to highlight gender differences, surveyed over 400,000 employees from more than 800 organisations located across eight countries in the Asia Pacific.

Rapid urbanisation, coupled with the lack of coordination in the use of resources, such as taxis and security personnel, has negatively affected a wide array of quality-of-life metrics. These include waiting time in queues, response time for emergencies, and the number of traffic violations in cities. Using AI and Machine Learning methods, aggregation systems have been developed and adopted to improve the matching of resources and demand, thereby enhancing the efficiency of real-world transportation, emergency response and security systems. In this podcast, Associate Professor Pradeep Varakantham from the SMU School of Information Systems shares how AI can be used to improve transportation and security.

With the advent of new technologies, rapidly changing customer needs and emerging competitors, companies across industries are facing disruptions like never before. To succeed, they will need to innovate by harnessing the power of a wide range of partners who can bring different skills, experience, capacity, and their own networks to the task. In this podcast, SMU University Professor Arnoud De Meyer, who is also co-author of The Ecosystem Edge (https://ecosystemedge.com/) and The Ecosystem Advantage, shares riveting lessons from organisations poised to innovate successfully in this age of disruption. His case-based research reveals how ecosystem leaders bring companies together with complementary abilities to redefine value, serve more customers and create an overall larger pie for each to partake from.

As the effects of climate change continue to grow, the world is more aware than ever about the concept of being sustainable. Most people's entry point to sustainability consists of the ‘Three R’s’, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The question is, what makes waste reusable and recyclable? And what role does informal labour have to play in this journey to sustainable living? In this podcast, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies (Education) at the Singapore Management University, Aidan Wong, explains his research on the value creation process within e-waste recycling networks, including the role of the karang guni, in Singapore and Malaysia. [About the SMU CP Podcast Series] SMU City Perspectives brings together researchers from Singapore Management University (SMU) for insightful conversations exploring the pivotal trends in digital transformation, growth in Asia, and sustainable living. Get inspired and discover solutions that will help you drive more impact in your work and shape the future of cities.

Because of climate change, cities have been grappling with stronger and more frequent storms as well, most recently being Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam and Hurricanes Helene and Milton in America. But many people remain apathetic to climate change. SMU Associate Professor Terry Van Gevelt explains the intricacies of climate change communication and what needs to be done to get urbanites facing climate change to become more aware. . [About the SMU CP Podcast Series] SMU City Perspectives brings together researchers from Singapore Management University (SMU) for insightful conversations exploring the pivotal trends in digital transformation, growth in Asia, and sustainable living. Get inspired and discover solutions that will help you drive more impact in your work and shape the future of cities.

11/15/2024 - 1:00 PM - Venue: The Hanging Tree Cafe

11/14/2024 - 6:00 PM - Venue: AscenDance

11/14/2024 - 5:00 PM - Venue: Chaos Games and More

11/14/2024 - 12:00 PM - Venue: The Senate Bar & Grill

11/13/2024 - 8:30 PM - Venue: Broadway Tavern and Grill

11/13/2024 - 7:30 PM - Venue: Park East Restaurant

11/13/2024 - 6:30 PM - Venue: Assistance League of Pueblo

11/13/2024 - 6:00 PM - Venue: Chaos Games and More

11/13/2024 - 2:00 PM - Venue: Steelworks Center of the West Museum

11/13/2024 - 11:30 AM - Venue: Pueblo Country Club

Ice, my friends, is anything but basic.  It does strange and unexpected things, foiling even modelers. This week's #AntarcticLog reviews an essential principle or two. 

The post #AntarcticLog: Ice is cool appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.