Category: Education

Latest Read: Poverty, by America

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date September 13, 2023

Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond. Matthew is a sociologist at Princeton University. He is also the principal investigator of the Eviction Lab.

Matthew’s first book Evicted was the 2017 Pulitzer Prize winner. In addition, Time Magazine named Evicted one of the ten best nonfiction books of the decade. So, can lightning strike twice?

Matthew’s follow up book just might as he provides fresh insights into how society actually thinks about a morally urgent issue. Yet, he is also indicating solutions are available without raising taxes.

This is not about the war on poverty or welfare reform, but simply a book addressing how poverty somehow persists in the richest nation on earth. Long story short: because the rest of us benefit from it.

Matthew’s insights are data driven and so he asks why. Why are 1 in every 8 children in fact going without basic necessities, why are citizens homeless, and why can corporations pay poverty wages? In addition, Matthew is providing updated statistics the really resonate in a post COVID-19 world.

In fact, throughout our history, the US Congress has raised the minimum wage 22 times. The current level — $7.25 an hour was established in 2009. Wow that was 14 years ago.

There are certainly key factors that perpetuate poverty and economic disparity. Matthew points out how the government gives so many benefits and subsidies to the wealthy. This directly undermines the poor.

Tags Bias, Matthew Desmond, poverty, Poverty by America

Education Reading Technology

Latest Read: The New Normal in IT

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date September 9, 2023

The New Normal in IT: How the Global Pandemic Changed Information Technology Forever by Gregory S. Smith. Gregory is CIO for the American Kidney Fund and previously served in the same role for Pew Charitable Trusts and the World Wildlife Fund.

He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a former adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. The New Normal in IT is part of Wiley’s CIO Series.

The pandemic certainly changed everything. The information technology industry was no exception. The downstream impacts placed tremendous pressure on IT teams to maintain service delivery as the world went home and Zoom entered our lexicon.

Reflecting upon this move away from the office, how have IT leaders communicated the change necessary now and moving forward? Change is indeed hard.

We all witnessed the fundamental shift regarding remote work. From optional to mandatory over the next 18 months. How many organizations scrambled like mad to secure and deploy to every employee a laptop?

Can you recall the immediate infrastructure upgrades stood up in weeks versus months? IT faced many critical challenges starting in March 2020. Yet, our IT infrastructure teams kept delivering in those early weeks in order to keep their organization alive and employees functioning.

Tags cloud, cybersecurity, Information Technology, mobile, pandemic, The New Normal in IT

Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: Machine Learning: The New AI

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date September 5, 2023

Machine Learning: The New AI by Ethem Alpaydin. A Fulbright scholar, Ethem holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. He has held visiting research positions at University of California, Berkeley, and MIT.

Ethem is delivering an exceptional overview of machine learning. If you want to understand the foundations of machine learning without any programming details, this is the perfect book. The math and statistics are delivered at a conceptual level. Anyone can follow along. He provides a solid foundation addressing algorithms, artificial intelligence, and neural networks. Again for anyone interested, this book is not technical. You will not be overwhelmed, but rather inspired to learn.

Today, Machine Learning (ML) certainly is the most popular subset of artificial intelligence. With ML certainly now a core AI service, we can more easily understand the growing range of ML apps we use everyday.

This includes product recommendations to voice recognition. Spread across just seven chapters, readers will come to understand ML, Statistics and Data Analytics. However chapter four: Neural Networks and Deep Learning is a strong delivery of ML’s core services. This is perhaps the most important chapter for readers new to ML. Ethem provides the much needed context that the foundations were first tested in 1946. This helps set a level playing field in following onto neural networks and the core of deep learning.

Tags algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, Ethem Alpaydin, machine learning, neural networks

3D Printing Artificial Intelligence Education Reading Technology

Latest Read: HBR’s 10 Must Reads on AI, Analytics, and the New Machine Age

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date September 2, 2023

HBR’s 10 Must Reads on AI, Analytics, and the New Machine Age by Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Review has selected 10 articles focusing on intelligence machines and why your strategy cannot ignore their impact.

Published in January 2019 these article certainly provide insights to the new machine age. Each article is presented with three ideas: Problem, Causes, and Solutions.

This very new class of intelligent machines are indeed revolutionizing business through data. Sensors now embedded can gather and transmit data. So, data analytics and machine learning are uniting to provide organizations powerful, data driven insights not possible even ten years ago. The cornerstone of these technologies is miniaturization and supply chain manufacturing costs.

When Organizations and smart machines are correctly brought together, teams will being hiring, not firing. The data outcomes will release new levels of productivity in a much shorter timespan. organizational Leaders will see the big idea new machines provide. As a result, leadership must rethink strategy, managing people, and introducing new services.
The downstream impact: Drone deployments will need retooling of current services into the cloud via mobile apps. Just wait until drones mature and move into commercial spaces. This is a far cry from perceived military only use for drones.

Tags 3D printing, analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Drones, Innovation, machine learning

Education Reading

Latest Read: Raising Lazarus

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date August 30, 2023

Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis by Beth Macy. Beth holds a master’s degree from Hollins University. Her book Dopesick was shortlisted for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.

Beth is a former reporter for The Roanoke Times from 1989 to 2014 writing extensively about the opioid crisis in Appalachia. Beth has written op-eds for The New York Times. She was awarded the 2010 Nieman Fellowship for Journalism by Harvard University.

From the moment I finished reading Dopesick my attention was drawn to the coming realize of this follow up book. Beth continues addressing the opioid crisis in America. In fact, Beth’s work remains simply R E Q U I R E D reading as this crisis continues devastating our country.

Raising Lazarus certainly moves beyond the Virginia coal mines found in Dopesick. This new book illustrates how America confronted the opioid crisis as COVID locked down the country.

Furthermore, this success is at the grassroots level, not from local or state politicians. There is an overwhelming sadness to read how so many died as pandemic restrictions that shut down critical treatment options.

Tags Beth Macy, opioid crisis, Raising Lazarus, Sackler