Downshift

Interesting

Category: Education (Page 3 of 9)

The Economist names Vienna the world’s most liveable city for 2023

2023-07-22 /

Vienna has retained its crown as the world’s most liveable city, according to Economist’s annual index.

The 2023 Global Liveability Index quantifies the challenges presented to an individual’s lifestyle and standard of living in 173 cities worldwide. The 2023 Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual ranking has also included three Canadian cities among the worlds top 10 most liveable. Australia and Switzerland each have 2 entries. Denmark, Japan, and New Zealand each had one city in the top rankings.

1. Vienna 🇦🇹
2. Copenhagen 🇩🇰
3. Melbourne 🇦🇺
4. Sydney 🇦🇺
5. Vancouver 🇨🇦
6. Zurich 🇨🇭
7. Calgary 🇨🇦 (tie)
7. Geneva 🇨🇭 (tie)
9. Toronto 🇨🇦
10. Osaka 🇯🇵 (tie)
10. Auckland 🇳🇿 (tie)

The Global Liveability Index 2023: optimism amid instability

Note: Clicking the above image will load and play the video from YouTube.

The Economist »

Only 1 in 10 Americans give high ratings to the way democracy is working in the U.S.

2023-07-14 /

AP »

Majorities of adults say U.S. laws and policies do a poor job of representing what most Americans want on issues ranging from the economy and government spending to gun policy, immigration and abortion. The poll shows 53% say Congress is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values, compared with just 16% who say it’s doing a good job.

The findings illustrate widespread political alienation as a polarized country limps out of the pandemic and into a recovery haunted by inflation and fears of a recession. In interviews, respondents worried less about the machinery of democracy — voting laws and the tabulation of ballots — and more about the outputs.

Half of humanity lives in countries that are forced to spend more on servicing their debt than on health and education

2023-07-12 /

UN »

Last year global public debt reached a record $92 trillion, of which developing countries shoulder 30 per cent – a “disproportionate amount”, the UN chief stressed.

He warned that 3.3 billion people suffer from their governments’ need to prioritize debt interest payments over “essential investments” in the Sustainable Development Goals or the energy transition.

“And yet, because these unsustainable debts are concentrated in poor countries, they are not judged to pose a systemic risk to the global financial system,” the UN Secretary-General added.

The cost of tuition has increased 710% in the U.S. since 1983

2023-07-12 /

Statecraft, Arman Madani »

Tuition cost and fee inflation have outpaced CPI Inflation 4-to-1 over the last 40 years:

The cost of tuition has increased 710% in the US since 1983

The cost of tuition has increased 710% in the US since 1983

The resulting $1.78T of debt includes $1.65T that is federally owned (93%). 45M Americans have federal student loan debt. Roughly half of all the debt belongs to individuals with graduate degrees while the other half belongs to individuals with undergraduate degrees; though it’s worth noting that there are fewer graduate students overall so the debt held per student is higher for graduates:

Continue reading

America’s drive to compete with China requires lots more skilled workers. Tennessee’s free technical education, and its partnerships with Volkswagen and Nissan, offer a glimpse of the future

2023-07-07 /

Bloomberg »

Federal incentives are driving investments in the electric-car industry worth more than $100 billion. Every state wants a piece of the action, and Tennessee is getting plenty. It’s a lynchpin of the new Battery Belt that stretches from Michigan to Georgia. More than $16 billion in EV capital has poured into the state since 2017. Last year, Ford Motor Co. broke ground on a giant new plant near Memphis that’s slated to open in 2025 and churn out half a million electric trucks per year.

But the drive to reboot manufacturing and claim national leadership in strategic technologies is about to crunch up against a shortfall in trained workers — and impose new demands on technical education all across America.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Be.

Do interesting things. Be bold. Respect. Adventure. Explore. Question. Listen. Learn. Try. Fail. Try better. Your mileage may vary. You are unique. Be yourself. Appreciate. Be kind. To others, with an equal measure to yourself. Do good. Do what’s right. It’s a one way ticket. Enjoy the ride. You are limited to one.

Note

Downshift.ca is not responsible for the content of other sites.

Made in Canada 🇨🇦 Yeah!

© 2024 Downshift

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑