UT Health Science Center at San Antonio ranked in top 5% of universities in the world

Science and Health

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has been ranked in the top 5% of universities worldwide.In a release from the university, officials state this placement from the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Global Universities for Clinical Medicine. The university placed No. 51 out of the top 1,000.Recommended VideosThe ranking is based on a university’s ability to show strength in producing research related to a variety of medical and biomedical topics. These include anesthesia, cardiology, general and internal medicine, gastroenterology, obstetrics, ophthalmology, radiology and surgery.Additionally, UT Health San Antonio placed No. 269 out of the top 2,250 in the publication’s overall Best Global Universities.“Being ranked among the best in the world is a testament to the caliber of our research and the dedication of our faculty, students and staff,” said Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, MPH, UT Health San Antonio senior vice president for research, founding director of Be Well Institute on Substance Use and Related Disorders and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “A global reputation allows us to attract diverse talent, foster international collaborations and address the most pressing health challenges across borders.”UT Health San Antonio is the largest academic research institution in South Texas with an annual portfolio of $413 million. The university has over 1,500 researchers working across 108 research units.The release goes on to say the university is the sixth fastest-growing institution in North America for research output.“An increasing global recognition that we are a top-tier university is a reflection of our commitment to excellence and the groundbreaking discoveries that our investigators are making that have a global impact not only in advancing scientific knowledge but also in delivering novel solutions to human diseases that at present have no cures,” said Manzoor Bhat, PhD, MS, vice dean for research and distinguished chair in neurosciences at the university’s Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.You can learn more about UT Health San Antonio by clicking here.

UT Health Science Center at San Antonio ranked in top 5% of universities in the world

Science and Health

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has been ranked in the top 5% of universities worldwide.In a release from the university, officials state this placement from the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Global Universities for Clinical Medicine. The university placed No. 51 out of the top 1,000.Recommended VideosThe ranking is based on a university’s ability to show strength in producing research related to a variety of medical and biomedical topics. These include anesthesia, cardiology, general and internal medicine, gastroenterology, obstetrics, ophthalmology, radiology and surgery.Additionally, UT Health San Antonio placed No. 269 out of the top 2,250 in the publication’s overall Best Global Universities.“Being ranked among the best in the world is a testament to the caliber of our research and the dedication of our faculty, students and staff,” said Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, MPH, UT Health San Antonio senior vice president for research, founding director of Be Well Institute on Substance Use and Related Disorders and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “A global reputation allows us to attract diverse talent, foster international collaborations and address the most pressing health challenges across borders.”UT Health San Antonio is the largest academic research institution in South Texas with an annual portfolio of $413 million. The university has over 1,500 researchers working across 108 research units.The release goes on to say the university is the sixth fastest-growing institution in North America for research output.“An increasing global recognition that we are a top-tier university is a reflection of our commitment to excellence and the groundbreaking discoveries that our investigators are making that have a global impact not only in advancing scientific knowledge but also in delivering novel solutions to human diseases that at present have no cures,” said Manzoor Bhat, PhD, MS, vice dean for research and distinguished chair in neurosciences at the university’s Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.You can learn more about UT Health San Antonio by clicking here.

5 Side Hustle Business Ideas You Can Start Today In 2024

Business News

There’s never been a better time to start a side hustle. The side hustle world has been boosted by new platforms, software, apps that enable you to earn extra cash on the go, and AI (artificial intelligence). Technology advancements make it easier for you to make money on the go and even earn supplementary income from home without needing to take on a second outside job.

And the most exciting part is that many professionals with side hustles have discovered that they no longer need to work a job they don’t enjoy. You can easily find countless stories of individuals who have quit their jobs altogether to go all-in as their their business idea turns into a resounding success.

5 Side Hustles And Business Ideas You Can Start Today
There are endless opportunities to make money from home, and here are just a few side hustle business ideas to inspire you and get your wheels turning:

1. Virtual Event Planner
Since the pandemic, online events (and hybrid events) have remained popular, as they offer a convenient way for more people to attend training, seminars, and other private and corporate sessions—at a fraction of the price if it was held in-person.

As a virtual event planner, you would be handling everything from coordinating schedules and specific events within the main event to administering tech setup and hosting, while being on hand to manage any technical issues throughout the event. You may also offer your services to co-host the event. You can charge an hourly rate or create a package fee. Virtual event planners on Fiverr typically make upwards of about $60 an hour.

Prior experience in events planning, project management and coordination, and experience using remote work tools certainly helps.
What you can do to start today: Build a portfolio by offering your services pro bono to small businesses you already have a relationship with, and create a profile on a freelance marketplace like UpWork or Fiverr.

2. Sell Soaps And Candles
Handmade/homemade soaps and candles have a personal artisan appeal and make for great gifts, especially during the Christmas and winter holiday period. You may notice that certain times of the year experience a peak in demand (besides the winter festivities), such as Valentine’s Day. The amazing thing about making handmade soaps and candles is that they can be designed to be vegan and eco-friendly, resonating with those who share these core values, while at the same time they have a comparatively low start-up cost, and some of the ingredients you might already have in your kitchen or bathroom cupboard.

You could even decide to tap into niche markets such as aromatherapy for massage therapists to use, or organic products. Once you’re ready, you can sell on Etsy, Amazon, or your own website.
What you can do to start today: Research different recipes and allow your imagination and creativity to run wild. Use ChatGPT to help you brainstorm different ideas so that your product line can be niche, while at the same time ensuring it is profitable and has strong demand.Creating and selling homemade soaps and candles is a great way to tap into your creative hobbies and … [+] lean into your artistic skillsgetty
3. Print-on-demand
A major part of the appeal of printing on demand as a business is that it requires no inventory, meaning you don’t need to have storage space to begin with, and you don’t need to spend upfront costs on purchasing inventory either.
Not only does this save you money and space, but it also protects the planet, reducing waste. With printing on demand you earn a commission based off each sale of items such as t-shirts, tops, hoodies, notebooks, and mugs. Some platforms for this include Teespring and Canva, who will handle the printing and shipping for you. You can also set up your store on places like Etsy or Shopify.
What you can do to start today: Decide on a niche and have fun as you start designing graphics for your POD products.
4. Personal Training/Virtual Exercise Classes
The health and wellness industry is in a period of strong growth, and is expected to surpass $6 billion in value by 2027. You can teach live classes on Zoom, or pre-record workouts and upload the videos to a fitness app. You could also offer personalized coaching and provide fitness plans online. This allows you to train clients from across the world, not being limited by geographical location. The market for personal training and fitness is fiercely competitive however, so you will need to work on identifying what makes you and your programs stand out, and have strong results to show for it.
What you can do to start today: If you’re already a certified trainer, go ahead and offer free classes to begin with. Build some momentum and interest in your classes then begin to charge by adding extra value and upgrades, such as membership options.
5. Ecommerce Chatbot Development
Another excellent business idea for 2024 which you can do as a side hustle, is to develop custom chatbots for ecommerce businesses. As more people continue to shop online, more small businesses will seek to make their operations more efficient and improve their customer experience by offering chatbots that answer customer questions and provide support, automating various points of the customer journey. If you already have coding knowledge or experience or can use a no-code chatbot-building platform, this skill can be a lucrative venture that pay can several hundred dollars as a minimum.
What you can do to start today: Target small or medium-sized ecommerce companies, and approach them through LinkedIn or freelance platforms.Print on demand products protect the environment and save you upfront costsgetty
From event planning, to creating products, to using tech to help businesses grow, now is the time to turn your skills into a profitable business idea and side hustle. Get started with the suggestions in this article today.

Chase is driving the future of banking through a digital and tech overhaul

Technology

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Finance

Chase is driving the future of banking through a digital and tech overhaul

Sponsored by Chase

2024-11-14T16:54:07Z

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Chase, with Chief Product Officer Rohan Amin and CIO Gill Haus at the helm, is focused on advancing technology and modernizing digital experiences.
Tech, product, design, data, and digital teams collaborate to serve customer needs, operating as a product-focused organization
Internally called PXT, the organization is the heart and brain driving the future of digital banking at Chase.
The past four and a half years have been a transformational time at Chase. While the pandemic brought chaos and uncertainty to many businesses, it also provided an opportunity to rethink strategy and processes in a new digital age. Chase’s technology team overhauled the rails supporting digital transactions, ATM usage, Chase.com, and the Chase Mobile® app to keep products running for the 84 million consumers and 6.9 million small businesses it serves. At the same time, the organization ramped up hiring efforts, supported talent with learning opportunities, and built a strong culture of teamwork where heads of product work collaboratively with designers, data and tech leaders to collectively make decisions that bring the Chase customer experience to life.By embracing the opportunity head-on, the Chase technology team started an internal movement that has since driven engagement, development, and unparalleled collaboration across the entire organization.Teamwork makes the dream workRohan, Gill, and their leadership team are leading the transformation, prioritizing a culture rooted in collaboration that encourages openness and transparency. They focus on getting all cross-discipline teams to work together and help people in the business understand how product teams bring experiences to life and shape the future of banking. 

Rohan Amin, chief product officer at Chase.

Chase

The team is driving change through three major shifts:Moving to the cloud: Many of the bank’s underlying systems needed to be upgraded and transitioned from decades-old proprietary frameworks to the cloud. This included the bank’s platform — a vital organ at the heart of the largest financial institution in the United States. While difficult to accomplish, the team recognized this need to ensure resiliency and cybersecurity for its systems to protect the bank and its customers. By optimizing infrastructure, the team has made significant progress moving applications to the cloud and creating more effective tools for developers to do it in a way that is a better experience for them.Consumers shifting to mobile banking: Customers want to be able to bank wherever they are. They very quickly started to embrace mobile banking tools, and the ways they pay and manage transactions are now heavily dependent on digital experiences. This prompted rapid deployment of tech solutions for employees supporting digital experiences. Mobile banking is here to stay, and customers still want access to branches for advice and conversations, which is why we have continued to invest in growing our physical footprint while making it easier to do more from the app and online.The need to be agile: To truly transform, Chase had to rethink its internal workings to become more efficient, collaborative, and agile. The goal was to become faster, nimbler, and more innovative to help 84 million customers access their bank accounts and use their money more effectively.

Gill Haus, chief information officer at Chase.

Chase

Amid all these changes, the team’s leaders have championed the importance of keeping everyone learning and growing. To do so, Chase established comprehensive learning agendas across all teams, hosts frequent town halls and mentorship programs, and conducts regular site visits to personally hear team progress, discuss challenges and express appreciation.A few milestonesThis transformational journey hasn’t happened overnight and continues to play a central role in the future of Chase, with a focus on cloud and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) driving innovation in product development, technology, payments, and security including:Continuing to move technology to the public and private cloud to fully maximize the power of data.Reaching milestones of 70% of applications and 75% of data moved to public and private cloud by the end of 2024.Opening four new data centers that are 30% more efficient than legacy data centers.Focusing on emerging and evolving security risks, including cybersecurity and protecting the bank and its customers from fraud.Investing in AI/ML and its transformational capabilities to drive real value for Chase and its customers, including software engineering, customer service, and operations, and helping our employees’ productivity.Other changes driven by their leadership include:Reorganization: Streamlined nearly 1,000 project-based teams to about 100 product-focused teams.Job creation: Established new roles and job families across four main disciplines — tech, design, data, and product.New business lines: Launched Connected Commerce, a new division combining travel, dining, and card experiences from acquired companies like The Infatuation.Enhanced customer experience: Improved satisfaction ratings in the Chase Mobile® app and other digital platforms.Product innovation: Introduced a suite of products and digital tools including Pay in 4, Wealth Plan, Score Planner, Spending Planner, and more.ATM modernization: Upgraded ATM platforms and accelerated rollout of new features.Skill development: Boosted cloud certifications across the organization by 70%.Looking aheadAs AI/ML continues to be tested and evolve, Chase envisions GenAI helping to reimagine entire business workflows, and will continue to experiment with these capabilities and implement solutions in a safe, responsible way.AI has the potential to augment virtually every job and will help ensure data is high quality and easily accessible upon completing migration of analytical data to the public cloud. These new data platforms offer high-performance computing power, which will unlock the bank’s ability to use data.Additionally, Chase has a robust, well-established risk and control framework to proactively stay in front of AI-related and other risks and innovations, including using AI to help detect, mitigate, and counter fraud attempts, enhancing the bank’s product, cybersecurity, and payments capabilities while prioritizing innovation and resiliency.The PXT organization at Chase is now tens of thousands of people strong and they are not just modernizing a banking giant; they are redefining what it means to manage money and develop products in the digital age. By driving a culture of innovation, resilience, and collaboration, they’re building a better way to bank and creating lasting impacts in one of the oldest industries.Learn more on Next at Chase, a blog about technology, product, design, data and analytics, at Chase.This post was created by Chase with Insider Studios. JPMorgan Chase is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including Disability/Veterans  For Informational/Educational Purposes Only: The opinions expressed in this article may differ from other employees and departments of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Opinions and strategies described may not be appropriate for everyone, and are not intended as specific advice/recommendation for any individual. You should carefully consider your needs and objectives before making any decisions, and consult the appropriate professional(s). Outlooks and past performance are not guarantees of future results.  Any mentions of third-party trademarks, brand names, products and services are for referential purposes only and any mention thereof is not meant to imply any sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation. 

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Travellers are only just realising grim truth behind rounded windows on planes

Travel

Many of us have spent time gazing out of the plane window when travelling by air – but it’s doubtful you’ve ever stopped to consider the science behind the glass pane itself.American Airlines pilot, Captain Steve (@captainsteeeve) uses his TikTok account to offer an insight into life on board his Boeing 777 passenger jets, and his latest video revealed a dark truth about engineering evolution. “Did you ever wonder why the passenger windows are rounded at the edges and not square?” he asked his 49,000 followers.Captain Steve continued, explaining the design was implemented in the 1950s following a series of disasters. “Some of the airliners [then] were designed with square windows and over in Europe as aeroplanes started to climb higher and require more pressurisation, they discovered a problem,” he said, sat in a window seat.”The lost a few planes in mid-air – they literally came apart,” Captain Steve reflected. He went on to reveal this was down to their square windows creating a “little hairline crack” right in the edge.”Enough of those cracks created because of the stress on the airframe from the pressurisation – the airframes actually came apart,” he grimly detailed. “So in the analysis afterwards, they said. ‘We’re going to engineer these things different – make them round’.”Captain Steve closed, explaining this made them stronger, reduced the risk of cracking and said there’s “never been a problem since”.”I’m a terrified flight passenger!” admitted one of his followers. “But, after watching your TT’s, Captain Steve, I wasn’t so terrified last week on my flights. Thank you!” A second person concurred: “Thanks for the explanation! The more I know, the easier it is to fly.”A third person confessed: “And here I always thought it was just for aesthetics. That is fascinating. Thank you, Captain.” And a fourth praised: That’s good info to know, that’s pretty interesting.”Elsewhere in the comments section, meanwhile, others cited disasters involving the de Havilland Comet aircraft as a catalyst for the change. “I believe the British de Havilland Comet, was the early culprit,” one TikTok user speculated. “By 1954, several of the Comets crashed from metal fatigue leading to explosion decompression.”While a second agreed: “The Comet was a beautiful design, but such a horrible fate due to those windows.”According to The Museum of Flight, two de Havilland Comets were involved in takeoff accidents in which the wing was stalled during the takeoff run, while another was lost in a violent tropical storm following departure from Calcutta, India.The website adds: “Most significantly, in May 1953 and January 1954, two Comets mysteriously disintegrated in mid-air over the Mediterranean Sea. The fleet was grounded during an exhaustive investigation, which identified metal fatigue and failure of the cabin structure as the cause. The flaw was corrected and new Comet variants eventually entered production again.”

Mykonos Tourism Declines; Rhodes, Chania, Corfu Grow

Travel

Tourism in Mykonos, Greece’s most iconic tourist destinations, continues to show signs of fatigue, with the island’s airport reporting a decline in passenger traffic.According to data from Fraport Greece, overall passenger numbers at its 14 airports reached 3.37 million in October, marking a 9.2% increase compared to the 3.09 million travelers in October of the previous year.For the first ten months of 2024, passenger traffic rose to 34.35 million, an increase of 2 million travelers compared to the same period in 2023, resulting in a year-over-year growth of 6.2%.However, Mykonos airport bucked this positive trend, experiencing a continued downturn. In October, passenger traffic on the island dropped by 9.9% compared to the same month last year, which dragged down the ten-month figures to a 2.8% decline year-on-year.Notably, international traffic at Mykonos airport saw a steep decline of 20.2% in October, while domestic traffic registered a modest increase of 4.3%, insufficient to offset the losses in international arrivals.In contrast, Santorini’s airport maintained its growth trajectory, with a 4.7% increase in passenger numbers in October compared to last year, and a 3.6% rise in traffic over the ten-month period.Among Greece’s other major tourist destinations, Rhodes led the way with over 792,000 passengers in October, followed by Chania, on Crete, with more than 408,000, and the Ionian island of Corfu with over 397,000 passengers.All three airports reported double-digit growth, with Rhodes in particular recording a 15.3% surge, surpassing the second-largest urban center of the country in passenger traffic at the end of the summer season.The island of Skiathos, in the Sporades, was a standout performer, more than doubling its international arrivals in October, attracting nearly 14,000 travelers. Overall, Skiathos airport achieved the highest growth rate among the 14 airports managed by Fraport Greece, recording a remarkable increase of 64.7%.

GOP Bans Dr. Seuss Book ‘Wacky Wednesday’ in Tennessee

Arts & Culture, Books

New book bans have arrived in Wilson County, Tennessee, after changes earlier this year to the state’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022, according to WKRN, a television station local to Nashville. Over 400 titles, including the Dr. Seuss title Wacky Wednesday, were impacted by the Republican-backed act this year. When the act was introduced to the state’s legislature, it contained requirements for school and classroom libraries to follow, including posting and maintaining a list of materials in the school’s library on the school’s website. It also requires “each local board of education and public charter school governing body to adopt a policy to establish procedures for the development and review of school library collections,” according to the Tennessee General Assembly. However, this year, changes were made to the act that define materials that contain nudity, descriptions of sexual excitement and sexual conduct as inappropriate for the age or maturity level of a student in any of the grades from kindergarten through 12th grade, therefore mandating their removal from school libraries, according to H.B. 843. PEN America, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving free expression, released a report in April this year detailing many of the trends found with book bans across the country. Among these trends is the evidence that book bans frequently targeted LGBTQ+ media, with 8% or more of all books banned between 2021 and 2023 containing transgender characters or transgender narratives. Other themes in media targeted by censorship include books that feature themes of sexual violence and books that detail race or racism. The ban on Dr Seuss’s Wacky Wednesday comes from an illustration of the book’s school-age protagonist naked in the shower. This particular removal is tinged with irony as many in the GOP accused the left for “canceling” Dr. Seuss over the use of racial and anti-Semitic stereotypes in his books, according to LGBTQ Nation. In 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that they would no longer print six of the author’s books, and cease sales of the titles, due to the appearance of racial stereotypes in the books, according to CNN.  “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in a statement.

Travelling as a job: This Toronto blogger makes money by seeing the world

Travel

Open this photo in gallery:Christopher Mitchell and his wife Briana at Machu Picchu, a 15th-century Incan citadel in the Andes mountains of Peru. The Mitchells have visited more than 90 countries and lived on four continents.SuppliedChristopher Mitchell started his blog, Traveling Mitch, in early 2011 while doing a year of university in Oslo, Norway. It was a way for him to share fun stories about his travels around Europe with his friends and family back home in Toronto. Traffic blew up when he and his now-wife, Briana, moved to South Korea and began blogging about their adventures there.During a stint living in Istanbul around 2015, Mr. Mitchell attended a blogging conference and realized he was well on the way to being able to make money from the site, through ads and affiliate marketing. Mr. Mitchell has since become the North American director of that conference, launched a newsletter and two more blogs and created full-time gigs for himself and Ms. Mitchell.In this series, Reimagining Wealth, we explore the evolving definition of wealth in today’s world. We’ll meet Canadians who are thinking beyond traditional measures of success to maximize happiness and well-being.Here’s more about how Mr. Mitchell turned a hobby into a career:How did you figure out that your blog could be your job?I started a website with no real intention other than I wanted to be present when I was travelling. At that time, it was a lot easier to get a blog rolling and get traction with it. There were a lot less people trying to do it. When I went to [the blogging conference] I realized, basically, I already had the traffic to monetize it effectively.When we moved back to Toronto and my partner went back into teaching, I decided to go full-time on this. I was nervous to go to her and say, ‘I’m going to give this a try’ but instead of being surprised, she said, ‘I’ve been waiting for you to say this.’What do your days look like?My day-to-day life changes every week. Three weeks ago, I was in Anchorage running a conference. Last week I was speaking in Atlanta. I am going to Istanbul next week and will be in Europe the remainder of the month of November. I am on the road 150 to 200 days this year.The best part of what I do now is that every day is different, every time I check my e-mail inbox, it feels like there’s a new opportunity to consider. I keep waiting for that curiosity to leave me, but it hasn’t. It’s been really liberating.For the first little while when I was working for myself, it took me a while to distinguish between being busy and being productive. I’ve started to get to know my brain very well. My best writing is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then, I’ll shift to more administrative stuff and take calls. The biggest thing was giving myself space to understand when I am most effective. We get trapped in this idea that ‘I am supposed to be working from here until there.’Your wife also works for the blog and the two of you travel together. How has this affected your relationship?We went to South Korea after being together for a year. It laid the groundwork for us to be good communicators. When you do everything together, you need to communicate where you’re at. That set the groundwork for us to be supportive partners.What else plays a big role in your life, or is work the main thing?Over the years, I’ve seen that I don’t have the strongest distinction between personal and professional time and have had to set boundaries. It has taken me a long time to make sure I am not just working 24/7 because there’s always something that can be done. The biggest challenge is burnout.I have lots of different hobbies, but because I have this career where I am doing this thing I love, it can be hard to separate hobbies from work. I love reading and language-learning. I’m studying Spanish right now.Bri and I haven’t taken a trip for just us in a long time, where we don’t owe anyone anything for the blog. It’s a different feeling to be travelling on your own dime and in your own way.I absolutely adore cycling and I cycle a lot with my brother, but I also do about five campaigns a year that are cycling-related for work. I have two nephews now who are wonderful little guys; Bri and I make an effort to see them as much as we can. My dad is the accountant for our business and he’s been the best. That relationship has really grown leaps and bounds because I finally get to see how brilliant my dad’s brain is in finance.What would make you consider changing careers or taking a more traditional job?I wouldn’t sell this freedom for anything. I am really enjoying the opportunity to be the captain of my own ship. I also feel that if traditional employers aren’t going to traditionally employ people and give them benefits and trust and security, of course more and more people are going to look outside the box.I am not the person aiming to work 10 hours a week, but I get to choose what I work on. And sometimes, I get paid to do something I would have paid a good chunk of change to do.

Books & Brews Holiday Edition coming to Ore Dock Brewing Co.

Arts & Culture, Books

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) – Books & Brews Holiday Edition is coming to the Ore Dock Brewing Company Sunday, November 17.The event is the 6th book fair being put on by Snowbound Books and the first holiday themed fair.Books & Brews is happening from 1-5:30pm and will be followed by a concert at 7:00pm by Breathe Owl Breathe.Local Author Heather Bell will be at the event signing copies of her recent release, Mama Bell’s Big Family Cooking.There will also be gift wrapping stations and items you won’t typically find at Snowbound Books.TV6’s Elizabeth Peterson spoke with Bonny Mahin from Snowbound Books to learn all the details.Copyright 2024 WLUC. All rights reserved.