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What’s the BIG Idea? Episode 2: Steve Jurash on leading through crisis

Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk Management

In this video, Hank Boyer visits with Steve Jurash, president of the 5,000-plus member Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia (MAP). MAP represents several hundred thousand manufacturing employees. In March 2020, Jurash led MAP through an incredibly challenging period of dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, an event that brought manufacturing everywhere to a sudden halt. With several hundred thousand employees' lives affected by his decision-making, Jurash faced one of his most challenging periods of leadership. He shares more than 20 best practices effective leaders use to navigate during periods of crisis.

How and where to invest in Africa: The next investment frontier

Brian Wallace Business Management, Services & Risk Management

The world is changing — innovation is everywhere around the globe, and it’s time to set our sights on a new land of opportunity — Africa. Chances are, you attribute tech unicorns to Silicon Valley, but consider that Africa is on the financial rise. In the year 2019 alone, the five fastest-growing economies in the world were in Africa (Ghana, South Sudan, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Cote d'Ivoire) — and were expanding at a rate of more than double the worldwide average.

Bridging the gap between school safety and emotional wellness during a…

Lynn Scott and Kiera Anderson Education

The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments defines emotional safety as experiences in which one feels safe to express emotions, confidence to take risks, and feels challenged and excited to try something new. They conclude emotionally safe learning environments can be achieved by making social-emotional learning (SEL) an essential part of education. Emotional and physical safety allows the brain to be in a prepared state to learn. Now more than ever, schools have an indispensable obligation to seize the opportunity, evaluate past practices, and adopt new methods to bridge the gap between physical safety and emotional wellness.

The dangers of home title fraud: What it is and how to stop it

Brian Wallace Science & Technology

It’s time to look at one of the latest cybersecurity threats out there. Typically, when you think of cyber scams, you’re usually thinking about things such as credit card fraud, identity theft, viruses, phishing, and so on. An emerging trend is home title fraud, which robs people of their home and the home equity they have built up over the course of years. You might be surprised to learn that real estate and rental fraud grew more than 2.6 times the rate of credit card fraud from 2015 to 2019.

Nicknames: Every state has one (or more)

Dave G. Houser Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

Nearly everyone knows that the United States has 50 named states. What isn’t so well-known is that each of those states has a nickname — or maybe more than one. And it’s not just because they needed a clever or unique slogan for their license plates. It’s because each state has its own history and backstory that it’s proud to share. Some nicknames come from the pages of history while others come from indigenous animals and what grows there. A few nicknames identify a prominent natural feature, and others simply want to entice you to visit. To non-residents, a state’s nickname might seem strange or mysterious — or not at all what you think it means. Let’s look at some examples.

Infographic: Understanding eminent domain

Brian Wallace Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

One of the basic understandings of the American dream is having a house and land. What if the government then came along and tried to take your land? If you own land, you need to know your rights when it pertains to eminent domain. This is happening across the nation. Eminent domain has roots based on the Fifth Amendment, and grants the government the rights to seize private property without the owner's consent — with two main points: as long as the government provides just compensation and claims for public use, it is permissible. Find out more with this visual deep dive.

Here are the most oddly named towns in America

Dave G. Houser Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

Virtually every state in the union has one. We're talking oddly named towns. Veteran road-trippers have probably come across some of them — like Chugwater, Wyoming; Intercourse, Pennsylvania; or Waterproof, Louisiana. But some names are rather Bland (Missouri), even Boring (Oregon) or downright Dull (Ohio) compared to some of the truly nutty names we’ve uncovered. Some towns are named for things we eat, like Chili (Wisconsin), Chicken (Alaska), Spuds and Two Egg (Florida), Fries (Virginia), Bacon (Texas) or Sandwich (Massachusetts). And we say Whynot (North Carolina and Mississippi)?

The Social Security shell game

Dave G. Houser Civil & Government

If you are one of the nine out of 10 individuals age 65 and older receiving monthly Social Security benefits — you are probably a bit ticked off at the paltry 1.3% increase in your monthly remittance for 2021. You and roughly 65 million other Social Security recipients have good reason to be irked at this puny perk from Uncle Sam. According to The Senior Citizens League, the sleight of hand behind it is a formula for calculating the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) that has robbed seniors of 33% of their buying power since 2010.

Dreaming of international travel? You may need a vaccine passport

Bambi Majumdar Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

Have you heard of the term "vaccine passport?" Well, if you plan to travel internationally in 2021 and perhaps for the foreseeable future, you may just have to get one. Travel-related businesses and international governments may soon ask for digital documentation that proves that passengers have been vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus. Governments worldwide suggest caution, but there is also pressure from the travel industry, which has suffered unprecedented losses during the pandemic.

Grade retention: Will it help?

Howard Margolis Education

Retention rarely helps struggling learners, especially those with reading disabilities. I’ll say it again: It rarely helps. It often backfires. Combinations of negative feelings abound: Humiliation, bewilderment, anger, despondency, resentment, despair, and so on. Magnify this by the widespread isolation and anxiety caused by COVID-19 and you have a formula for continued despair, resentment, and turmoil.

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