Money and Computing
The Touch of a Ladybug: Creating a New Class of Flexible, Stretchable Electronically-sensitive Synthetic Materials
Restoring some semblance of the sensation of touch has been a driving force behind Stanford chemical engineer Zhenan Bao's decades-long quest to create stretchable, electronically-sensitive synthetic materials. Such a breakthrough could one day serve as skin-like coverings for prosthetics. But in the near term, this same technology could become the foundation for the evolution of new genre of flexible electronics that are in stark contrast with rigid smartphones that many of us carry, gingerly, in our back pockets. more »
*FOIA Response from HUD Reveals 646% Increase in Foreclosures against Seniors in 2016; HUD Must Do Better Monitoring Servicers When They Report "Non-occupancy" As Reason For Foreclosing
In January 2017, the California Reinvestment Coalition and Jacksonville Area Legal Aid submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, seeking data about reverse mortgage foreclosures in HUD’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, and about a new HUD program meant to keep widowed and widower non-borrowing spouses in their homes after the death of their spouse. New data indicates that there was a 646% increase in foreclosures last year against seniors with federally insured reverse mortgages as compared to the previous 7 years. more »
Two Stories: Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Partner on US Employee Healthcare; As Trump Attacks the Federal Health Law, Some States Try to Shore it Up
Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced today that they are partnering on ways to address healthcare for their US employees, with the aim of improving employee satisfaction and reducing costs. The three companies, which bring their scale and complementary expertise to this long-term effort, will pursue this objective through an independent company that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints. "Rather, we share the belief that putting our collective resources behind the country's best talent can, in time, check the rise in health costs while concurrently enhancing patient satisfaction and outcomes," said Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway. more »
Drawn to Purpose Online Exhibition: Women Illustrators and Cartoonists at the Library of Congress
From the nineteenth century into the early decades of the twentieth century, women made incremental progress as professional cartoonists and illustrators, with occasional, notable leaps forward by particular creators. In the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries — as educational and professional opportunities expanded — women have become leaders, producing best-selling work, winning top prizes, and receiving high acclaim from their peers in the field. more »