All posts tagged: challenge

National Endowment for the Arts Scraps Challenge America Grant Program

National Endowment for the Arts Scraps Challenge America Grant Program

Published by skeptic

To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter. The Headlines NEA NIXES GRANT. In the latest anti-DEI news, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has cancelled its Challenge America arts grant program for 2026, reports Hyperallergic. The 2001-founded program awards $10,000 for arts initiatives targeting “underserved communities,” including those with limited access to mental health services. New requirements for the grant also recently stated that recipients must certify they will not use the money to “promote gender ideology.” The cancelation “sends a message to corporate donors that they should reconsider their grant-making,” observed Robert Kesten, executive director of Stonewall National Museum, Archives, and Library. He added that most of the museum’s corporate donors have “vanished” since the new Trump policies. “That has been the biggest surprise, just how fast corporate and foundation America has closed its doors and is reducing the size and scope of the public conversation on important issues,” he added. UNCLEAR FUTURE FOR FEARLESS GIRL. In a related story, Artnet News reports that the “fate” of the Fearless Girl sculpture …

The MacRumors Show: Samsung’s 2025 Challenge to Apple

The MacRumors Show: Samsung’s 2025 Challenge to Apple

Published by skeptic

The MacRumors Show is back for 2025! On this week’s episode, we look at how Samsung’s latest announcements challenge Apple. Samsung this week announced the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25+, and the top-of-the-line Galaxy S25 Ultra. The new devices will directly compete with Apple’s iPhone 16 and upcoming iPhone 17 lineup. Similar to the ‌iPhone 16‌, AI is a major focus for the S25 lineup, with Samsung touting a new “Personal Data Engine” with a Dynamic Island-like “Now Bar” with a “Now Brief” that guides users through their day, Circle to Search, generative photo editing, context-aware searches with suggested actions, improved natural language understanding, third-party integrations via Gemini, Portrait Studio, and more. Samsung also previewed the all-new “Galaxy S25 Edge,” a super-thin variant of the S25 set to launch in the first half of 2025. It appears to be positioned as a direct rival to Apple’s upcoming “‌iPhone 17‌ Air,” which is expected to be the thinnest iPhone ever at just 6mm and a radical departure from previous devices with a 6.6-inch display with ProMotion, …

they’re a brilliant idea, but a herculean challenge

they’re a brilliant idea, but a herculean challenge

Published by skeptic

Data centres are the backbone of our digital infrastructure, supporting everything from social media platforms to online shopping and streaming services. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and the internet of things, the amount of data generated and processed daily is extremely large, and the demand for data centres is constantly growing. Data centres, unfortunately, are massively energy hungry – among a host of other environmental drawbacks. One possible solution is to build them in space, and several companies are working on making this a reality. So how would this work, and is it really going to happen? Worldwide data centre demand is expected to rise at around 20% a year over the next few years. In the UK alone, Google, Microsoft and various other US companies are collectively spending £20 billion to ramp up data-centre capacity for AI up and down the country. Google’s new data centre in Hertfordshire. Maurice Savage/Alamy Yet data centres built for high-performance computing and AI require much more power than a standard facility. This generates a …

why it’s so hard to challenge ‘cheeky chaps’ and ‘loveable rogues’ (even for middle-class women of a certain age)

why it’s so hard to challenge ‘cheeky chaps’ and ‘loveable rogues’ (even for middle-class women of a certain age)

Published by Sam

Food critic Grace Dent is to replace Gregg Wallace as host of Celebrity MasterChef after he “stepped back” in the wake of allegations over his conduct. Wallace stands accused of historical misconduct – of making inappropriate comments and of sexually harassing behaviour. Wallace’s lawyers say the allegations are false. There’s a common refrain when people discuss cases of this nature – that sexualised comments are just “harmless fun”. They are jokes – a bit of banter. “Jokes” and “banter” are central to “lad cultures”, which have been a focus of my research for over 20 years, including books on lad cultures in universities and schools. My research in secondary schools showed how boys who cultivated a “cheeky chappie” image – arguably, like Wallace – were often seen as “loveable rogues” and were given considerable leeway to “joke around” in class in ways that girls simply were not. Girls were never seen as loveable rogues. Thus, gendered cultures become embedded early on. Of course, jokes are not in and of themselves a problem. However, research in …

MPs from across the Commons challenge place of bishops in the Lords

MPs from across the Commons challenge place of bishops in the Lords

Published by skeptic

MPs in the House of Commons yesterday called for a government Bill to remove the historic anomaly of 26 bishops voting in the House of Lords. The calls came in a debate on the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. Humanists UK, which has campaigned against the presence of religious clerics voting on our laws, and which works for separation of church and state, has naturally welcomed the proposals. In the debate Andrew Murrison MP (Conservative) asked the Government: ‘Does the Minister recognise that a recent survey of Church of England clergy showed the need to reform the participation of Church of England bishops in our legislature? Will he reflect on that, and on the fact that it looks like we are in danger of having bishops who, instead of focusing their efforts on the cure of souls, are more like mitred politicians? That cannot be good for any of us.’ Sir Gavin Williamson MP (Conservative) said he hopes to try to amend the bill: ‘There is a big opportunity here as well as unfairness …

The full scale of Labour’s challenge revealed

The full scale of Labour’s challenge revealed

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles A damning parents’ survey has revealed the scale of the task ahead for ministers in fixing the broken SEND system by making mainstream schools more inclusive. While 90 per cent of parents of pupils with additional needs said their child was well supported in a special school, just 59 per cent said the same in a mainstream school. The sobering findings heap further pressure on the new government as it gets to grips with its SEND challenge. Schools Week reveals the four key problems facing Labour’s inclusive school drive… The parent perception problem The SEND improvement plan’s key theme is to make mainstream schools move inclusive. Labour, while still assessing the scale of the SEND problem and what its approach will be, has promised a “community-wide” solution. This will include “improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs”. But a government survey of more than 2,000 parents with children in year 9, published on Friday, found …

Nike’s Next CEO Has One Hell of a Challenge Ahead

Nike’s Next CEO Has One Hell of a Challenge Ahead

Published by skeptic

It all started when Donahoe took over as CEO and made the controversial decision to restructure Nike’s product and marketing departments, eliminating long-established categories such as running, football, basketball, fitness, and training in favor of simplified, gender-led labels such as “men,” “women,” and “kids.” This shift not only alienated a core group of designers and marketers, many of whom left en masse, but also muddled Nike’s ability to speak authentically to specific athletic communities, diluting its competitive edge in innovation and niche marketing. Under Donahoe’s leadership, Nike centralized its marketing efforts and pushed for a digitally led strategy. This resulted in the abandonment of the bold, emotionally charged campaigns that once defined the brand—like the iconic “Failure” ad from 1997, featuring Michael Jordan reflecting on his missed shots and losses, and the “Find Your Greatness” campaign from 2012, which celebrated ordinary athletes pushing their limits. These campaigns struck a chord with audiences because they tapped into universal themes of human struggle and triumph. Instead, Nike pivoted to a more clinical, algorithmic approach, which Giunco referred …

Reports warns of ‘long slog’ to resolve Covid challenge

Reports warns of ‘long slog’ to resolve Covid challenge

Published by skeptic

The impact of Covid is “moving like a series of waves” through the school system as secondaries grapple with reading difficulties and poorly-organised pupils and primaries tackle “acute developmental needs” among new starters, a new report has warned. The paper by assessment expert Tim Oates for the ASCL school leaders’ union lays bare the “sliding set of distinctive challenges”. He cautions against assuming schools are “back to normal” and says the educational challenges will continue to unfold over the next five to 10 years. Oates, who works for Cambridge Assessment, called for better early years and parental support, earlier intervention for pupils with mental health needs, as well as other “well-funded” and targeted actions. Tim Oates Although a “wealth of high-quality research” into the impact of Covid on schools exists, “we have spent little time on how this all adds up – the pattern of individual, local and system-wide impacts”. In working through the existing studies, “we begin to understand that the totality of the problems across all age groups presents a very new type …

The Challenge of Negotiating With Xi Jinping

The Challenge of Negotiating With Xi Jinping

Published by José

As China’s leader, Xi Jinping, intensifies his campaign to reshape the U.S.-led global order, the big question hanging over international affairs is: How will he choose to do it? Xi purports to be a man of peace, offering the world fresh ideas on diplomacy and security that could resolve global conflicts. Yet his actions—above all, his moves to deepen a partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin—suggest that he presents a new threat to global stability, and instead of bringing security, he is facilitating forces that create turmoil. This was a key issue that U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan faced during his visit to Beijing this week. On the table was China’s support for Putin’s devastating war in Ukraine and American efforts to stop it. Part of Sullivan’s mission was to persuade China’s leaders to cooperate more with the United States. “I’ve sought to impress upon my Chinese interlocutors that they need to recognize the American history with European security,” Sullivan told me. “There is no more profound issue for us in our foreign policy.” …