ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Maddie Zimmer and Ilse Tromp each had two goals and an assist in the first half, and Northwestern beat Saint Joseph's 5-0 in the championship match of the NCAA Division I women's field hockey tournament at Phyllis Ocker Field on Sunday. It was the second championship for the second-seeded Wildcats (23-1-0), who have played for the title in four straight seasons. Northwestern beat Liberty 2-0 in 2021 before losing to North Carolina the past two seasons. No. 4 seed Saint Joseph's (20-4-0) was in uncharted waters with its first trip to the final. The Hawks eliminated top-seeded North Carolina in the semifinals to advance. The Tar Heels have won the championship in half of their 22 trips to the final. Northwestern grabbed the lead 6:25 into the first quarter when Zimmer used an assist from Tromp to score. Zimmer had an assist on Olivia Bent-Cole's eighth goal of the season for a 2-0 advantage, and Tromp found the net with 25 seconds left with assists from Lauren Hunter and Ashley Sessa for a 3-0 lead. Hunter and Sessa again had the helpers on Zimmer's 10th goal of the campaign, and Hunter and Regan Cornelius assisted on Tromp's 11th goal of the season 2:42 later for a 5-0 lead at halftime, and that was that. Annabel Skubisz finished with her school-record 14th shutout of the season for Northwestern. Zimmer and Tromp are the second duo to score multiple goals for their school in a championship match. Zimmer was named the tournament MVP. It was the second championship for Wildcats coach Tracey Fuchs. Northwestern joins North Carolina and Old Dominion as the only schools to reach the championship match in four straight seasons. Six schools have won multiple titles.PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A pair of conservative groups on Friday challenged a Maine law that limits donations to political action committees that spend independently in candidate elections, arguing that money spent to support political expression is "a vital feature of our democracy.” Supporters of the referendum overwhelmingly approved on Election Day fully expected a legal showdown over caps on individual contributions to so-called super PACs. They hoped the referendum would trigger a case and ultimately prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the matter of donor limits after the court opened the floodgates to independent spending in its 2010 Citizens United decision. The lawsuit brought by Dinner Table Action and For Our Future, and supported by the Institute for Free Speech, contends the state law limiting individual super PAC donations to $5,000 and requiring disclosure of donor names runs afoul of that Citizens United legal precedent. “All Americans, not just those running for office, have a fundamental First Amendment right to talk about political campaigns,” lawyers wrote in the lawsuit in federal court. “Their ‘independent expenditures,’ payments that fund political expression by those who are not running for office but nonetheless have something to say about a campaign, are a vital feature of our democracy.” Cara McCormick, leader of the Maine Citizens to End Super PACs, which pressed for the referendum, said the lawsuit attempts to undermine the will of the people after an overwhelming majority — 74% of voters — approved the referendum last month. “Super PACs are killing the country and in Maine we decided to do something about it. We want to restore public trust in the political process,” she said. “We want to say that in Maine we are not resigned to the tide of big money. We are the tide.” But Alex Titcomb, executive director of Dinner Table Action, argued Friday that the government “cannot restrict independent political speech simply because some voters wish to limit the voices of their fellow citizens.” Named in the lawsuit are Maine’s attorney general and the state’s campaign spending watchdog, the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. The ethics commission is reviewing the complaint, said Jonathan Wayne, executive director. The Maine referendum didn’t attempt to limit spending on behalf of candidates. Instead, it focused on limits on individual donations to super PACS, an area the Supreme Court has not ruled on, observers say. Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig, a longtime advocate for campaign finance reform, contends the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue of individual contributions to PACs, and long-established case law supports the notion that states can limit individual contributions to PACs despite a decision to the contrary by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Lessig, whose Equal Citizens nonprofit backed the Maine referendum, previously said the cap on donations imposed by the referendum "is not asking the Supreme Court to change its jurisprudence, not asking them to overturn Citizens United.”
The Wharf Revue: The end of an eraSouth Korea President Yoon banned from foreign travelDespite neither community advocates nor business interests supporting a plan dictating land use in south Fresno, a top city official pressured planning commissioners Thursday to send the document to the city council. Planning Commission Chair Peter Vang agreed with other commissioners that the city’s South Central Specific Plan required more work. Some residents and community groups said it didn’t do enough to protect against industrial development. Many business and property owners said changes to vacant land and existing businesses devalued their investments and hampered long-existing businesses. Electric vehicle mandates in the plan are also more stringent than state standards. Disagreements between business and environmental interests demonstrate the balancing act the city had to do with competing interests, said Sophia Pagoulatos, director of long-range planning with Fresno. But despite the opposition to the plan, Planning and Development Department Director Jennifer Clark said it needed to be sent to the city council and be heard in December. “We would ask that you move it forward at this time,” Clark said. “It’s been in the process for over five years and it’s ready for the city council to consider it.” Related Story: Family Had Entire Property Downzoned Heather Muell’s family’s property, adjacent to the Amazon facilities in south Fresno, would all be downzoned as part of the specific plan. One parcel is being changed to residential because of a single farmhouse on the property; the rest is changing to business park, which favors office development. A 1,000-foot buffer zone around residential areas further restricts usages on their land. In the 1960s, when Muell’s family purchased land at Central and Orange avenues, her grandfather farmed it, seeing the potential for industrial zoning when infrastructure came, she said. Muell said they’ve long paid property taxes based on the industrial zoning designation. “It’s a small chunk,” Muell said. “For our family, it’s significant.” When Northpointe Business Park began getting developed — millions of square feet of warehouses have now gone up — investment potential began to show. The Muell family then started working in earnest to find a business for the land. Muell’s father attended every meeting of the specific plan in 2019 and 2020. At those meetings, city representatives heard concerns from stakeholders, Muell said, but zoning changes were not discussed. He didn’t know about potential changes until he received a letter from the city a few weeks ago. In 2021, Muell’s family met with different businesses, including food processing giant Olam to build there. Muell said every company backed out because of regulations they had to go through to build. Muell was told the city was not issuing new business permits until the environmental impact report was completed. Companies wanted something sooner, she said. Olam ended up building their plant in Phoenix, she added. “They couldn’t cut through the red tape,” she said. “They were ready to go now, and they did. They went to Phoenix and they’re doing it — they just didn’t do it here.” 60% Reduction in Available Industrial Land In 2019, the Fresno City Council initiated the plan to balance environmental and business interests in the 5,600-acre plan area that spans from California Avenue in the north to American Avenue in the south, and west to east from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Peach Avenue. Within the area are 400 dwelling units and Orange Center Elementary School. The area also hosts 440 businesses with 22,000 full-time equivalent jobs, according to a study from business group INVEST Fresno. City leaders since the 1950s have set the area aside for industrial growth, Pagoulatos said. Heavy industrial can mean anything from manufacturing to slaughterhouses and food processors. Light industrial tends to be warehouses and logistics businesses. The 2014 General Plan maintained the industrial designation. More recently, the nearby Southwest Fresno Specific Plan reaffirmed the use of that area when it drastically reduced industrial zoning. Authors of that plan said industrial growth should be prioritized in south central, where it has historically been directed. Seeking to limit the environmental impact of industrial uses, the plan reduces heavy industry by 17%, Pagoulatos said. Changes go to light industrial, business park, or in some cases, like the Muell’s, residential. Industrial uses in a business park designation need a special permit. That can be a long and costly process, if even approved after public comment and city council hearings. Relevant to future business prospects, though, is the reduction in available land. The plan reduces the 1,085 acres of heavy industrial zoning on vacant land to 431 acres, according to city documents. The plan instead adds 486 acres to business park, which favors office construction. Plan Changes Affect Fresno’s Second-Oldest Business The impact of the plan goes beyond vacant land. Brandon Craighead of Penny Newman Grain Co. — the second oldest company in the city — said the plan reduces zoning on portions of their property. Existing uses get grandfathered in so long as the use remains constant. But expansions and use changes could be limited or come with costly mitigation measures. “The downzoning of our facility will restrict the use of our facility making it very difficult, nearly close to impossible to meet the standards of California’s agricultural industry,” Craighead said. Greg Obloy, vice president of Crown Enterprises, flew in from Michigan to attend the meeting when he found out about potential changes to the company’s property. After high-speed rail forced the logistics company to move, they began working with the city in 2015 to stay in the area, eventually buying a 15-acre parcel on Cherry Avenue. “We didn’t spend $2 million on dirt and $300,000 in soft costs on a hope and a prayer,” Obloy said. “We’re very disappointed with this.” Community Advocates Say More Health Protection Needed Residents and community representatives said the plan needed to go further. Leslie Martinez, community engagement specialist with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, acknowledged the efforts from the city in protecting residents. She interpreted for two different speakers who said they and their families suffer from asthma. “There’s enough contamination, our kids have asthma, and the truth is their future is not going to be great is what I suspect,” said Bertha Castillo, through Martinez. “I have a son with cancer, I have a kid with asthma and I just want things to be better for my community.” In addition to zoning changes, the plan also limits uses within 1,000 feet of homes, daycares, and other sensitive uses. Of the 5,600 acres in the plan area, the 400 residences constitute .07 residences per acre. But 50% of land in the area falls within those buffer zones, according to Ethan Smith, chairman of INVEST Fresno. Martinez said because of the need to protect people living there, that should be expanded. “This is a great start, but it needs to go further if we’re serious about protecting people and schoolchildren,” Martinez said. Vacant industrial land within a buffer zone cannot include rendering plants or slaughterhouses. A special permit could be required for other industrial uses despite being zoned for that use. The plan also creates electric vehicle mandates more stringent than many state standards. Business owners said electric vehicles are not adequate for many uses. McKay Duran of the Central California Food Bank said electric technology doesn’t suffice for refrigerated trucks especially. “These measures will fundamentally alter our operations, threating our ability to be there for those who need us most,” Duran said. Pagoulatos said a process exists to allow special exceptions. Lawsuit Pondered by Business Interests Commissioner Linda Calandra asked if the potential reduction in land value constitutes eminent domain. “You are taking away the value of their property — there should be some compensation, it’s almost like eminent domain,” Calandra said. Pagoulatos said as long as the land maintains some value, it doesn’t constitute a taking. Some business owners wondered about eminent domain as well. They said a class-action lawsuit could be possible if the plan was approved. “They’re taking value from owners and not reimbursing them in any way,” Muell said. “That seems wrong. That seems really wrong.”
O'Neil defends Wolves position - and takes another swipe at VARVisitors can hear Björk's immersive, otherworldly soundscape, Nature Manifesto , over the next few weeks as they climb the long, glass escalator that hugs the side of Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. Björk is not only an Icelandic pop star, but also an avant-garde artist and climate activist. Her new sound installation blends the noises of endangered and extinct animals with her own voice, reading text she co-wrote alongside editor and photographer Aleph Molinari. "It is an emergency. The apocalypse has already happened. And how we will act now is essential," Björk recites over an array of ear-tingling wildlife noises that are sometimes natural, sometimes otherworldly. "In a pioneering sound strata of mutant peacocks, bees, and lemurs, biology will reassemble in new ways." A journey through different sonic worlds Created with IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique), a preeminent music and sound research institute based in Paris, the installation employs field recordings of animal sounds. Some of these were manipulated using artificial intelligence. "As you go up the escalator, you go through all these different sonic worlds," said IRCAM sound artist Robin Meier Wiratunga , who collaborated with Björk on the installation. "We have orangutans, mosquitoes, beluga whales, and then when you reach the top floor, the climactic musical event, which we lovingly call the 'Dolphin Disco.'" A post shared by Björk (@bjork) Some creatures whose vocalizations appear in Nature Manifesto , such as the Hawaiian crow, cannot be heard in the wild anymore. The creative team grabbed this bird's call from an archive of extinct animals. "This immersive sound piece gives endangered and extinct animals a voice by merging their sounds with our words, handing them the microphone," Björk said in a statement shared with NPR. "We wanted to share their presence in an architecture representing the industrial age, far away from nature. We wanted to remind citizens of the raw vitality of endangered creatures." Capturing the sounds of lost species We don't know for sure what sounds many extinct animals made. University of Texas paleontologist Julia Clarke , who studies the sounds of extinct animals, said we can glean clues by studying sound-making in living species and the preserved soft tissues, skeletons and fossils of extinct ones. "We might look at the sound-producing structures, like vibratory vocal cords," Clarke said. "We might look at the structures that are rubbed together or banged together." Up to one million plant and animal species are facing extinction due to human activity including climate change, pollution and habitat loss, according to a 2019 global report on biodiversity. "What we've noticed in mass extinction is really the absence of sound," Clarke said. But she added that Nature Manifesto isn't only highlighting this catastrophic loss. It also suggests if we stop destroying the planet, that species might continue to evolve. "It's challenging us to think about in visceral ways what a very different and very acoustically diverse future might sound like," she said. "I hope it is that acoustically diverse." Björk the climate activist Björk's passion for environmental stewardship runs deep. Some of her albums touch upon the natural world and its complex relationship to technology, such as Biophilia (2011) and Fossora (2022). She also advocates strongly for ecological causes, including her ongoing fight against intensive fish farming in her native Iceland. A recently discovered butterfly species — Pterourus bjorkae — was recently named in her honor. The singer, visual artist and activist Anohni, who is exhibiting a companion video piece alongside Nature Manifesto at Centre Pompidou, said she and Björk often talk about climate issues. "We've spoken a lot about environment over the years, just as artists between each other, trying to understand our right-size relationship to this unfolding crisis and the different ways that we might utilize our agency as artists," she said. "She's always been such a profound and moving optimist." Jennifer Vanasco edited the broadcast and digital versions of this story. Chloee Weiner mixed the audio. Copyright 2024 NPR
About 20 terminally ill people in UK die in unrelieved pain each day, research findsSAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Serve Robotics Inc. (Nasdaq: SERV), a leading embodied AI and automation company, today announced the appointment of Lily Sarafan to its Board of Directors (the "Board"). Sarafan is an accomplished leader with nearly 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, executive leadership and board governance. She is co-founder and former chief executive of TheKey, one of the largest and most trusted in-home care provider networks, where she serves as executive chair. Sarafan currently serves on the boards of Instacart, Thumbtack and Kyo as well as on the board of trustees of Stanford University. She has been recognized as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year, a Fortune 40 Under 40, Women Health Care Executives' Woman of the Year, and a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Sarafan holds an M.S. in Management Science and Engineering and a B.S. in Science, Technology, and Society from Stanford University. "We look forward to welcoming Lily as an independent member of the Board. Her extensive leadership experience, particularly in home services and on-demand delivery, will be invaluable as Serve continues to expand our market presence and shape the future of delivery and automation,” said Ali Kashani, Chairman of Serve's Board . About Serve Robotics Serve Robotics develops advanced, AI-powered, low-emissions sidewalk delivery robots that endeavor to make delivery sustainable and economical. Spun off from Uber in 2021 as an independent company, Serve has completed tens of thousands of deliveries for enterprise partners such as Uber Eats and 7-Eleven. Serve has scalable multi-year contracts, including a signed agreement to deploy up to 2,000 delivery robots on the Uber Eats platform across multiple U.S. markets. For further information about Serve Robotics (Nasdaq:SERV), please visit www.serverobotics.com or follow us on social media via X (Twitter) , Instagram , or LinkedIn @serverobotics. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Serve intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements can be about future events, including statements regarding Serve's intentions, objectives, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future events, including Serve's expectations with respect to the financial and operating performance of its business, its capital position, and future growth. The words "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "project", "predict", "will", "forecast", "estimate", "likely", "intend", "outlook", "should", "could", "may", "target", "plan" and other similar expressions can generally be used to identify forward-looking statements. Indications of, and guidance or outlook on, future earnings or financial position or performance are also forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include those risks and uncertainties set forth in Serve's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and in its subsequent filings filed with the SEC. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Serve undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made. Contacts Media Aduke Thelwell, Head of Communications & Investor Relations Serve Robotics [email protected] Investor Relations [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bdd098f8-8c80-462f-bc1b-c1f2095ed307The past week has been a rollercoaster ride in the financial world. From the surge in small-cap stocks to the potential impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s DOGE initiative, there’s a lot to unpack. Let’s dive into the top stories of the week. Small-Cap Stocks Soar U.S. small-cap stocks have been the star performers this November, following a well-established seasonal trend. The Russell 2000 index, a benchmark for small-cap equities, has seen an impressive 8% rise this month, setting the stage for a strong December. This aligns with the historical trend of small caps excelling in the final two months of the year, often leading to the so-called “Santa Rally”. Read the full article here. Trump’s DOGE Initiative President-elect Donald Trump’s appointed DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) could potentially save $50–100 billion annually, according to Congressional Budget Office analyses. However, Mario Georgiou , CFA, and executive director, head of investments at InCred Global Wealth U.K., suggests that the scale of potential savings is expected to be modest compared to total federal outlays of approximately $6.7 trillion in 2024. Read the full article here. See Also: Fed’s Bowman Warns On Inflation, Says Neutral Interest Rates May Be Closer ‘Than We Currently Think’ Alarm Bells for US Auto Loans ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood has raised concerns about the state of auto loans in America. She notes that 90-day delinquency rates have now surpassed levels seen during the 2009 financial crisis. This comes despite continued investor confidence in auto-backed securities. Read the full article here. Trump Picks Treasury Secretary President-elect Donald Trump has chosen hedge fund executive Scott Bessent as the U.S. Treasury Secretary. Bessent, founder of Key Square Group , was a leading candidate, competing with former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and private equity executive Marc Rowan. Read the full article here. US Business Activity Hits 31-Month High The U.S. private sector activity posted its fastest pace of expansion in more than two and a half years in November. This was driven by exceptional growth in the services sector, which continues to far exceed even the most optimistic forecasts by economists. Read the full article here. Read Next: Why Nvidia Earnings May Trigger Massive S&P 500 Volatility Photo courtesy: Shutterstock This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Ananya Gairola © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Published 5:39 pm Sunday, November 24, 2024 By Data Skrive Top-25 teams will take the court across eight games on Monday’s college basketball slate. That includes the Duke Blue Devils taking on the Kansas State Wildcats at Lee’s Family Forum. Watch women’s college basketball, other live sports and more on Fubo. What is Fubo? Fubo is a streaming service that gives you access to your favorite live sports and shows on demand. Use our link to sign up for a free trial. Catch tons of live women’s college basketball , plus original programming, with ESPN+ or the Disney Bundle.
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Share Tweet Share Share Email Alastair Parr is a key member of the founding team behind Mitratech’s Prevalent TPRM solution . With a deep background in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), Alastair has extensive experience in addressing the challenges of modern risk management. His role focuses on ensuring that Mitratech’s solutions evolve innovatively to meet market demands, particularly within the Prevalent platform and the broader Mitratech GRC ecosystem. Prior to joining Mitratech, Alastair served as an operations director at InteliSecure and worked as an auditor, further honing his expertise in building and implementing effective risk management strategies. In this interview with TechBullion, Alastair shares some insights into Mitratech’s latest advancements in AI and ESG capabilities, the impact of these innovations on third-party risk management, and the company’s vision for the future of GRC and risk technology. Alastair Parr Please tell us more about yourself and what you do at Mitratech. My name is Alastair Parr and I was part of the founding team that started what became Mitratech ’s Prevalent TPRM solution. I am responsible for ensuring that the demands of the market space are considered and applied innovatively within the Prevalent solution and our Mitratech GRC platform overall. With a background in governance, risk, and compliance, I have extensive experience developing and implementing solutions to meet the challenges of the increasingly complex risk management space. Previously, I served as an operations director for the global managed service provider InteliSecure and worked as an auditor. Mitratech has recently introduced AI and ESG enhancements to its recently acquired third-party risk management platform, Prevalent. Could you elaborate on how these capabilities differentiate Mitratech’s platform from others in the market? It’s important to note that the latest enhancements are exactly that – enhancements to existing capabilities. We have taken a long-term perspective on the TPRM market so as the market evolves we evolve with it. We first introduced our ESG capabilities in 2020. Since then, we have added deeper scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions tracking, overall ESG score enrichment, and ESG controversy tracking to our library of ESG questionnaires so that organizations can keep pace with the ever-changing ESG regulatory landscape. As supply chains grow and become more complex, it’s essential that organizations centrally track all of their supply chain risks – from cyber disruptions to operational, ESG, and reputational challenges. Our view is that our solution should become the single source of truth for all third-party vendor and supplier risks, which feeds into the overall GRC solution to manage enterprise risks. With AI, we have steadily expanded our AI capabilities from ML-based reporting to more sophisticated automations such as automatic assessment completion, document/evidence scanning for suitability, and including an AI risk advisor to help interpret risks and provide guidance on suggested remediations. The goal with our AI capabilities is to simplify the user’s experience, add consistency to assessments and analytics, and improve the visibility into risk advice. AI-driven risk assessments are becoming more common. Can you explain how Mitratech’s AI-powered automatic questionnaire completion works and the impact this will have on organizations trying to streamline their third-party risk assessments? Our AI auto assessment completion capability enables users to take a previously completed spreadsheet questionnaire or supporting PDF documentation, upload those artifacts, and have our AI automatically extract answers and relevant details to populate a new third-party risk assessment. This capability benefits responders who have multiple documents, such as internal policies and audit reports, which could satisfy question requirements but have no way to efficiently extract that information without hours of manual documentation review. Using document details to populate new risk assessments radically reduces the time required to manage the third-party risk assessment process. As ESG compliance gains momentum among regulators and investors, how does Mitratech’s new ESG monitoring feature assist companies in maintaining sustainability standards across their supply chains? Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, such as measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have surely emerged as a key priority among companies, investors, and government regulators. Measuring GHG emissions involves focusing on direct emissions and extending attention to indirect emissions throughout the supply chain, where scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions come into play. As more governments legislate ESG and sustainability regulations, companies must sift through mountains of ESG reporting data to meet supply chain compliance requirements. The Prevalent solution includes new capabilities that enhance ESG and sustainability monitoring and correlate with the results of questionnaire-based ESG risk assessments to standardize and simplify global ESG compliance reporting across your supply chain. The latest release includes: Globally sourced, standards-based data from a recognized leader in ESG and sustainability reporting. Advanced sustainability ratings and scores, including scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and equivalent value in cash (EVIC) intensity, for each supplier to compare over time and against industry averages. Analyst-curated emissions scores, negative news and controversies to deliver visibility into potential reputational concerns. A comprehensive library of global sustainability questionnaires with built-in remediation guidance to benchmark reporting. A centralized risk register of assessment results and sustainability data for investigation, triage, and task and event management. By comprehensively understanding and managing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, companies can mitigate supply chain and reputational risks, meet stakeholder expectations, improve operational efficiency, and gain a competitive edge. With the solution, procurement and supply chain teams can improve supply chain visibility and consistency and save time by providing one-stop access to thousands of ESG scores, intelligence, and controversies fully aligned with other enterprise risks. The introduction of Technology Tags is a notable addition to your platform. How does this new feature enhance visibility into software supply chain risks, and what kind of proactive measures can organizations take as a result? To assist in understanding which vendors have particular technologies deployed, the Prevalent TPRM solution now includes Technology tags, which provide access to publicly disclosed technologies that can be applied to all entities in the solution based on the technologies the entity uses. In the event of an incident, built-in ActiveRules automations can trigger actions based on Technology tags including: Reporting on impacted third parties. Informing internal users of the technology association by issuing email notifications. Triggering tasks. Distributing an incident response survey to a key contact to understand how they have been impacted, and what remediation efforts are taking place. Generating risk items for ongoing management. This enhancement is invaluable when news of a vulnerability or data breach impacts a specific technology and there is a need to quickly identify which organizations in a vendor ecosystem may be leveraging it. It improves proactivity through visibility and automation. With this capability, organizations can quickly identify and communicate with vendors potentially at risk of a software supply chain disruption, reducing risk and speeding up time to resolution. Given recent high-profile supply chain incidents like the July 2024 CrowdStrike outage, what lessons did Mitratech draw in developing these new risk management tools? The widespread July 2024 CrowdStrike outage was a wake-up call for organizations to better understand the technologies deployed in their vendor ecosystems. Knowing which third parties utilize a particular technology helps to speed up incident response in the case of a critical outage. And that starts with discovery – building a central inventory of the technologies that third parties utilize. The Prevalent solution already included the ability to track technologies, but the latest enhancement pre-loads options to add to the vendor profile to simplify tracking to speed up incident response. With AI transforming various industries, some organizations express concerns about its potential risks. How does Mitratech ensure that its AI-powered tools are transparent, ethical, and aligned with regulatory compliance? We have implemented several controls to mitigate the risks of bias, hallucination and to ensure security. The LLM that we have incorporated into our solution has been trained on events and leverages our 20 years of experience. There is human governance over the model to ensure that results are realistic and represent actual recommendations. We anonymized all data and only set the risk and/or event name – no other context. Sustainability and ESG have become critical metrics for evaluating vendor relationships. Can you share any insights into the specific ESG criteria that Mitratech’s platform uses to assess and score suppliers? The Prevalent solution provides insights into several ESG metrics. Globally sourced, standards-based data from a recognized leader in ESG and sustainability reporting. Advanced sustainability ratings and scores, including scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and equivalent value in cash (EVIC) intensity, for each supplier to compare over time and against industry averages. Analyst-curated emissions scores, negative news and controversies to deliver visibility into potential reputational concerns. Data is presented over time, and with it, users can compare suppliers against: Industry averages Their peers Other suppliers in the same region In light of these recent updates, how do you see the role of technology evolving in the context of third-party risk management, especially when it comes to adapting to emerging regulatory requirements? Technology and process automation should be at the center of third-party risk management. Two of the most significant challenges involved in assessing a third party are completing assessments and gathering external data to formulate a risk score which then informs how the third party should be treated going forward. TPRM solutions address both of those challenges directly by automating questionnaire management, completion, and scoring, and by centralizing external vendor insights across multiple risk domains. Technology then enables the correlation of the questionnaire responses to external data to validate answers, scoring, and automated remediation management and reporting. Without technology, organizations are left with manual, spreadsheet-driven processes or disjointed risk scoring that limits visibility. Looking ahead, what are the key areas of innovation that Mitratech is focusing on to continue leading in the GRC and third-party risk management space? Mitratech will continue to innovate in areas such as continuous monitoring enhancements, AI translation and automations, natural language reporting, as well as providing new insights into geographic and firmographic data and analytics. Related Items: AI , Alastair Parr , ESG , ESG Capabilities , Executive Director , featured , grc , GRC Solutions , interview , Mitratech , risk technology Share Tweet Share Share Email Recommended for you Financial Infrastructure & APIs: The Backbone of Modern Financial Systems Arcee AI and AWS: Accelerating Deployment of Specialized Language Models for Enterprises. What Is Voice AI? A Look at the Latest Tech Innovations Comments
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The sight was a common one for Andrew Kolpacki. For many a Sunday, he would watch NFL games on TV and see quarterbacks putting their hands on their helmets , desperately trying to hear the play call from the sidelines or booth as tens of thousands of fans screamed at the top of their lungs. When the NCAA ‘s playing rules oversight committee this past spring approved the use of coach-to-player helmet communications in games for the 2024 season, Kolpacki, Michigan State’s head football equipment manager, knew the Spartans’s QBs and linebackers were going to have a problem. “There had to be some sort of solution,” he said. As it turns out, there was. And it was right across the street. Kolpacki reached out to Tamara Reid Bush, a mechanical engineering professor who not only heads the school’s Biomechanical Design Research Laboratory but also is a football season ticket-holder. Kolpacki “showed me some photos and said that other teams had just put duct tape inside the (earhole), and he asked me, ‘Do you think we can do anything better than duct tape,?” Bush said. “And I said, ‘Oh, absolutely.'” Bush and Rylie DuBois, a sophomore biosystems engineering major and undergraduate research assistant at the lab, set out to produce earhole inserts made from polylactic acid, a bio-based plastic, using a 3D printer. Part of the challenge was accounting for the earhole sizes and shapes that vary depending on helmet style. Once the season got underway with a Friday night home game against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 30, the helmets of starting quarterback Aidan Chiles and linebacker Jordan Turner were outfitted with the inserts, which helped mitigate crowd noise. DuBois attended the game, sitting in the student section. “I felt such a strong sense of accomplishment and pride,” DuBois said. “And I told all my friends around me about how I designed what they were wearing on the field.” All told, Bush and DuBois have produced around 180 sets of the inserts, a number that grew in part due to the variety of helmet designs and colors that are available to be worn by Spartan players any given Saturday. Plus, the engineering folks have been fine-tuning their design throughout the season. Dozens of Bowl Subdivision programs are doing something similar. In many cases, they’re getting 3D-printed earhole covers from XO Armor Technologies, which provides on-site, on-demand 3D printing of athletic wearables. The Auburn, Alabama-based company has donated its version of the earhole covers to the equipment managers of programs ranging from Georgia and Clemson to Boise State and Arizona State in the hope the schools would consider doing business with XO Armor in the future, said Jeff Klosterman, vice president of business development. XO Armor first was approached by the Houston Texans at the end of last season about creating something to assist quarterback C.J. Stroud in better hearing play calls delivered to his helmet during road games. XO Armor worked on a solution and had completed one when it received another inquiry: Ohio State, which had heard Michigan State was moving forward with helmet inserts, wondered if XO Armor had anything in the works. “We kind of just did this as a one-off favor to the Texans and honestly didn’t forecast it becoming our viral moment in college football,” Klosterman said. “We’ve now got about 60 teams across college football and the NFL wearing our sound-deadening earhole covers every weekend.” The rules state that only one player for each team is permitted to be in communication with coaches while on the field. For the Spartans, it’s typically Chiles on offense and Turner on defense. Turner prefers to have an insert in both earholes, but Chiles has asked that the insert be used in only one on his helmet. Chiles “likes to be able to feel like he has some sort of outward exposure,” Kolpacki said. Exposure is something the sophomore signal-caller from Long Beach, California, had in away games against Michigan and Oregon this season. Michigan Stadium welcomed 110,000-plus fans for the Oct. 26 matchup between the in-state rivals. And while just under 60,000 packed Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, for the Ducks’ 31-10 win over Michigan State three weeks earlier, it was plenty loud. “The Big Ten has some pretty impressive venues,” Kolpacki said. “It can be just deafening,” he said. “That’s what those fans are there for is to create havoc and make it difficult for coaches to get a play call off.” Something that is a bit easier to handle thanks to Bush and her team. She called the inserts a “win-win-win” for everyone. “It’s exciting for me to work with athletics and the football team,” she said. “I think it’s really exciting for our students as well to take what they’ve learned and develop and design something and see it being used and executed.” —Mike Householder, Associated Press | The application deadline for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards is Friday, December 6, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.