Business Commons^™

Ransomware Is Quietly Devastating American Healthcare Facilities, Benjamin Powers

Capstones

The patient didn’t attract any attention initially. They were just one more cog moving through the system that was the massive hospital complex on your average day. That was, until they were shown to a room, and left alone. At that point, they removed a flash drive from their pocket and tried to insert it into a computer — with the goal of accessing the hospitals computer systems.

This is according to the Chief Information Security Officer at a major Northwest university hospital system, who asked for anonymity due to the sensitive nature of such attacks.

The imposter patient was …

The Price Of Regulating The Self-Storage Industry In New York City, Modou Nyang

Capstones

In December 2017, New York City Council passed a regulation that curtailed the growth of self-storage facilities in the city’s Industrial Business Zones. As a result, major self-storage developers in the city diverted their investments to other business portfolios. But the demand for storage in New York City is high. And due to high population density coupled with small living quarters, peoples need for extra space in the city is huge. In contrast, studies show that peoples need for storage in the city is underserved. In this article, i spoke to policy makers, activists and developers in the self-storage industry …

Google Has A Labor Problem, And It’S Not Just Coming From Its Employees, Daniel Whateley

Capstones

For decades, technology companies have used temporary and contract workers to lower costs, creating a shadow workforce of thousands of indirect employees. That business model is now under threat.

In September 2019, 80 contract workers at Google’s Pittsburgh office voted to unionize with the United Steelworkers, the first time that white-collar tech workers in the U.S. have successfully organized with a union. These contractors are employees of HCL Technologies, an Indian multinational IT and consulting company that partners with Google around the world.

Tech and office workers face a different set of workplace issues from blue-collar and factory employees, which …

In The Midst Of The Apocalypse, Artificial Intelligence Can Save Brick And Mortar Retailers, Vrushank Nayak

Capstones

You might have heard that brick and mortar stores are closing by the thousands but I bet you didn't hear that brick and mortar stores are using artificial intelligence and customer data to help them counter closures and stay relevant in the transitioning retail industry.

https://coveringcompanies.journalism.cuny.edu/2020/01/07/in-the-midst-of-the-apocalypse-artificial-intelligence-can-save-brick-and-mortar-retailers/

Getting It Right: New York Can Make Its ‘Inevitable’ Marijuana Industry Accessible Before It’S Too Late, Kelly Zegers

Capstones

New York is inching closer to marijuana legalization. It's often touted as a tax revenue boost for states and a fast-moving industry to be cashed in on. But who gets to have access to those benefits? Advocates are working to make sure that communities hurt by marijuana prohibition have the option and pathway to build businesses in the legal marijuana market. Small farmers are looking to grow marijuana, some hoping to take apply what they've learned about and benefited from, cultivating hemp. What's clear in a quickly evolving industry in other states is that there's no golden standard for accessibility. …

Not Just Yet: Despite Grinding It Out In Silicon Valley, Asians Are Least Likely To Lead Big Tech Companies, Karishma Vanjani

Capstones

Silicon Valley has long been known for the paucity of African-Americans and Hispanics in its ranks, but equally telling is the fact that the vast majority of Asians hired for non-managerial jobs are not moving up to management. The lack of diversity in the upper echelons of the companies is due in part to the maddening stereotype that Asians are too passive. White managers mentoring and supervising Asian employees face a wide gap in understanding cultural disparities. For the companies, though, tightening immigration policies can become barriers when they consider promoting Asians in the country on work visas.

https://karishmavanjani.com/writing/not-just-yet-despite-grinding-it-out-in-silicon-valley-asians-are-least-likely-to-lead-big-tech-companies/?_thumbnail_id=610

From Muhammed To The Jobup: Engaging Malemployed Immigrants Through Journalism, Tiziana Rinaldi

Capstones

I focused my graduate work on the local community of malemployed immigrants. They are foreign-educated newcomers — medical doctors, pharmacists, teachers, lawyers and engineers, to name a few of their professions — who lack the resources to find skill- appropriate work in the U.S. They end up either unemployed or working at "jobs for which they’re overqualified or overeducated or both,” I wrote for NJSpotlight in 20171.

Using the social journalism method2 of engaging members of a chosen group to fill important if not crucial information gaps, I developed The JobUp, a series of free, offline educational events, as my …

Credit Disaster, Orla Mccaffrey

Capstones

“Credit disaster” explains how inconsistent reporting to credit bureaus in the wake of natural disasters reduces victims’ credit access. It explores how the low rate of credit suppression on products from mortgages to auto loans can delay recovery indefinitely. Regulatory changes have been proposed, but there is little incentive for lenders or credit bureaus to change the current system.

https://www.orlamccaffrey.com/natural-disasters-credit-scores

Black Graduates Confront Another Crisis Amid Protests And Pandemic, Jazmin Goodwin

Capstones

Black graduates confront another crisis amid protests and pandemic: Their optimistic expectations are now dashed and the result will be more inequality in America.

Much has been written about how among America’s workers, youth will suffer the greatest economic setbacks during the pandemic. Just like millennials who entered the labor force after the 2008 financial crisis, Generation Z will likely experience permanent declines in wealth, which will have ripple effects on their health and wellbeing. But those setbacks aren’t evenly distributed. Among young workers, Black youth will likely bear the largest burden.

Link to capstone project: http://www.blackgrads2020.com/

As The Hourly Minimum Wage Moves Toward $15 Across New York State, Some Say The Fight For A Decent Living Is Far From Over., Barbara Prempeh

Capstones

This capstone projects examines the coming of the fight for a $15 minimum wage across New York State and beyond its borders. In 2012, the Fight for $15 organization took the streets of NYC to begin their fight only raising the wages for low income earners who work in different industries such fast- fast, hospitality, and even retail. For years now, the government has yet raise the minimum wage for all Americans which has caused several families to feel a crunch in affording a normal lifestyle. Since the start of this fueled fight, New York City is one of the …