https://theconversation.com/macrons-pledge-to-wipe-out-coal-is-just-as-meaningless-as-trumps-plan-to-revive-it-90729
Coal-fired power plants are disappearing in the U.S. for two reasons.

First, fracking has unleashed enormous quantities of natural gas. This has driven the price power plants pay for gas down dramatically. At the same time natural gas prices have been falling, coal prices have been rising.

This is making natural gas and other alternative energy sources more attractive. For example, the cost of solar and wind power has fallen steadily over the past decade, making those sources more competitive.

Second, it costs more to operate a coal-fired plant than one that runs on natural gas. Coal has to be crushed and washed, and the residue cleared from power plant boilers. These are steps that are not needed for natural gas and renewable fuels.

https://theconversation.com/if-you-thought-colleges-making-the-sat-optional-would-level-the-playing-field-think-again-89896

From the article:

We found no changes in low-income and underrepresented student enrollment after the colleges went test-optional. Instead, we found an unintended consequence of these efforts: Test-optional policies led to an increase in the number of applications overall. That necessarily forced the colleges to become more selective. That’s because more applications typically mean more rejections. More rejections make it look like the colleges are being more selective. That appearance of selectivity enables a college to claim a higher spot in college rankings that view selectivity as a good thing. This all creates a perverse incentive for colleges to go test-optional that has nothing to do with expanding access for students from low-income families.

We also found a 25-point increase in the reported SAT scores of enrolled students. This increase may be driven by higher-scoring students being more likely to submit scores to bolster their applications. Meanwhile, lower-scoring students keep their scores to themselves. This results in higher average scores being reported to the federal government and magazines that publish college rankings. Thus, it appears as though by increasing competition for a limited number of seats on campus and increasing the SAT scores used to generate college rankings, test-optional policies may actually threaten the very access goals they were designed to achieve.

https://theconversation.com/reaching-rural-america-with-broadband-internet-service-82488

Rural Americans want faster, cheaper internet like their city-dwelling compatriots have, letting them work remotely and use online services, to access shopping, news, information and government data.

With an upcoming Federal Communications Commission vote on whether cellphone data speeds are fast enough for work, entertainment and other online activities, Americans face a choice: Is modest-speed internet appropriate for rural areas, or do rural Americans deserve access to the far faster service options available in urban areas?

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/01/equivant-compas-algorithm/550646/?utm_source=feed

Caution is indeed warranted, according to Julia Dressel and Hany Farid from Dartmouth College. In a new study, they have shown that COMPAS is no better at predicting an individual’s risk of recidivism than random volunteers recruited from the internet.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/01/05/new-us-data-show-continued-growth-college-students-studying

The number of college students enrolled in at least one online course

http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/04/using-a-or-an-with-acronyms-and-abbreviations.html

The general rule for indefinite articles is to use a before consonants and an before vowels. The trick here is to use your ears (how the acronym is pronounced), not your eyes (how it’s spelled).

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2314.html

This report explores the causes and consequences of Truth Decay and how they are interrelated, and examines past eras of U.S. history to identify evidence of Truth Decay’s four trends and observe
similarities with and differences from the current period. It also outlines a research agenda, a strategy for investigating the causes of Truth Decay and determining what can be done to address its causes and consequences.

https://theconversation.com/the-greatest-pandemic-in-history-was-100-years-ago-but-many-of-us-still-get-the-basic-facts-wrong-89841

The 1918 flu pandemic has been a regular subject of speculation over the last century. Historians and scientists have advanced numerous hypotheses regarding its origin, spread and consequences. As a result, many of us harbor misconceptions about it.

By correcting these 10 myths, we can better understand what actually happened and learn how to prevent and mitigate such disasters in the future.

Please see ‘Norfolk police chief says targeted approach helped reduce crime rate in 2017’ at http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/VirginianPilot/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=VIRGINIANPILOT%2F2018%2F01%2F12&entity=Ar00205&sk=41259598&mode=text

“We have some huge reductions,” Chief Larry Boone said in a recent interview.

“Last year was our safest year in 17 years,” he added Wednesday in a Norfolk Police Department news release.

http://www.defenseone.com/business/2018/01/federal-workers-dont-trust-their-bosses-much-private-sector-employees-do/145072/

Every year, the Partnership for Public Service partners with Deloitte to identify the best places to work in the federal government. The rankings started in 2003 and are based on data from the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The message from the report, released in December, was positive: the survey data “show the largest yearly increase in the history of the Best Places to Work rankings.”

However, click on “Analysis” and you’ll find a different story. That section takes you to “Overall Findings and Private Sector Comparison.” The FEVS includes 28 questions that are the same as those in private sector engagement surveys conducted by Mercer l Sirota. The average private sector score was 78, compared with the federal average of 62 (rounded to the nearest whole number).