225 Matching Annotations
  1. Dec 2024
    1. philanthropy, if we take it as a sector or an industry or as a biome, as we say in the book, it's a massive, massive sector. It's about $2.2 trillion. So it's equivalent to the GDP of Canada, a G7 country. It would be one of the top ten, maybe top eight industries in the world. And it's completely excluded, very little transparency, labyrinth rules and systems, opaque and almost no public discourse about it.

      for - stats - philanthropy - possibly the world's 8th largest industry - with little transparency - Post Capitalist Philanthropy Webinar 1 - Alnoor Ladha - Lynn Murphy - 2023

  2. Nov 2024
  3. Jun 2024
    1. people talking to each other about the things that really affect theirlives is what keeps power accountable

      Transparency is a key feature of both education and now policing and something the medical profession is attempting to achieve to build trust around data collection. The accountability feature of democracy is the strongest feature media has when speaking to power.

  4. Mar 2024
    1. Writing for an audience keeps me honest.

      Working in public as a way to avoid fooling yourself (a la Feynman).

      “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself– and you are the easiest person to fool. So you have to be very careful about that.” -Richard Feynman-

  5. Oct 2023
  6. Jul 2023
  7. Jun 2023
    1. SECURE, DIGITALSTUDENT RECORDS

      Access to student records is an equity issue. It's now been said. Out loud. Regardless of how essential that revenue is, maintaining barriers to accessing student records amounts to institutional efforts to perpetuate inequities.

  8. Apr 2023
  9. Mar 2023
    1. we remove language that incites or facilitates serious violence

      Believing in "government" REQUIRES hypocrisy, schizophrenia and delusion. One illustration of this is the bizarre and contradictory way in which social media platforms PRETEND to be against people advocating violence.

      https://youtu.be/7OyNHgTSBiQ

  10. Feb 2023
    1. Data Policy and related materialsometimes, on the contrary, demonstrate an oversupply of very high level, generalised information atthe expense of a more concise and meaningful delivery of the essential information necessary for thedata subject to understand the processing being undertaken and to exercise his/her rights in ameaningful way. Furthermore, while Facebook has chosen to provide its transparency information byway of pieces of text, there are other options available, such as the possible incorporation of tables,which might enable Facebook to provide the information required in a clear and concise manner,particularly in the case of an information requirement comprising a number of linked elements. Theimportance of concision cannot be overstated nonetheless. Facebook is entitled to provide additionalinformation to its user above and beyond that required by Article 13 and can provide whateveradditional information it wishes. However, it must first comply with more specific obligations under theGDPR, and then secondly ensure that the additional information does not have the effect of creatinginformation fatigue or otherwise diluting the effective delivery of the statutorily required information.That is simply what the GDPR requires.

      DPC again schools facebook in reality.

    1. TikTok offers an online resource center for creators seeking to learn more about its recommendation systems, and has opened multiple transparency and accountability centers where guests can learn how the app’s algorithm operates.

      There seems to be a number of issues with the positive and negative feedback systems these social media companies are trying to create. What are they really measuring? The either aren't measuring well or aren't designing well (or both?)...

  11. Jan 2023
    1. Required: Transparent evidence of thecompetencies mastered by credential holders

      Clear, measurable criteria that is assessed

    2. Information about credentials should be valid, reliable,and transparent. Without sound, transparent informationindividuals and others do not know if credentials are en-abling individuals to achieve their goals

      Transparent Credentials

  12. Dec 2022
    1. In previous versions of Open Badges, the creator of an Achievement (known as a "BadgeClass") was the only entity that could issue it, but in v3.0, the door opens to many issuers recognizing the same achievement based on their own assessment. This practice of shared achievements enables skill assertions, where multiple issuers use a shared achievement definition to recognize achievement of a skill with each issuer doing their own assessment. In addition, further recording of related skills, competencies, standards, and other associations are enabled by the alignment of an Achievement

      Big deal: credentials with disparate names, from disparate issuers, nonetheless asserting a shared achievement definition. For example, competencies in my Spanish 4 class assert Intermediate-Low language proficiency, but a teacher whose class is more advanced than mine even though it's also called Spanish 4 could assert Intermediate-Mid proficiency while their Spanish 3 assertions is for Intermediate-Low.

    1. Economists explain that markets work bestwith “perfect information.” And visibilityfeeds this market by translating and sharingskills. But the price of transparency in themodern age is invaded privacy, as well as biasinherent in automated products and services
    2. DEGREES AS CREDENTIALSDON’T GO AWAY

      They are redefined as the skills that make up the degree, and learners can achieve mastery by other means. What does change is the emphasis on proficiency. Being able to demonstrate and validate skills proficiency will provide much more information to employers and (l)earners.

    3. Universally accepted assessments ordemonstration opportunities, particularlyfor softer skills, could help learners andworkers validate any type of skill withoutbeing told that they will have to “go backand get a degree” before being consideredfor professional track careers

      Universally accepted assessments can also add trust to college and university credentials. There is merit to the notion that higher ed institutions have a conflict of interest when it comes to serving as both learning provider and validator of that learning.

    4. Skills visibility is about making the skills a (l)earner hasacquired open, transparent, and accessible to the(l)earner, providing agency to showcase their curated skillsand competencies to employers in the marketplace
    5. We are now tantalizingly close to a worldwhere my skills are telegraphed digitally to any employer around the nation,or even the world, looking for that skills cocktail. And it works the other way:all employers looking for certain skills can feed into a real-time skills tickertape, signaling to learners and the learning providers that serve them whatcombination of skills will yield employment
    1. credentials need to be enhanced with additional data aboutindividual courses/modules a person has studied, together with the learning outcomes(skills/knowledge) obtained in each of those modules and other documentation of ability.Credentials should also be used to connect to evidence of achievement such as architecturalportfolios or coding projects. Wherever possible, credentials should refer to occupational standardsor sectoral competence frameworks to increase the ability to interpret them in a specific context

      Transparency is an equity issue. Adding common language and richer data on skills and competencies to credentials means: * More data about courses/module * Learning outcomes from those modules * Connect to evidence of achievement * Refer to occupational standards/competency frameworks

    1. that envisions credential transparency and open data as tools to  unlock the learn-and-earn ecosystem nationwide and help every learner make more informed decisions about the credentials they might pursue

      WHY this stuff matters. It's a responsibility to our learners (eg consumers)

    1. n the political aftermath of the tragedy at Chernobyl, the failure to inform its citizens served to expose the hubris of the Soviet State

      It's the hubris of the #West to neglect that the capitalist Japan 25 years later would cripple transparency and honesty much further than Soviets had done. Eventually we learned everything about the accident 2 years later, whil it took 8 years for Fukoshima to admit they had been consciously hiding the fact that cores had melted.

  13. Nov 2022
    1. Please refer to the help center for possible explanations why a question might be removed.

      Why not just show the page and let people see the content and decide for themselves if it's helpful? (Could also show the moderation outcome there, with the reason.)

    1. It may be tempting, for the sake of brevity, to put complicated initialization details into a standalone script and merely add a RUN command in the Dockerfile. However, this causes the resulting Dockerfile to be overly opaque
  14. Aug 2022
  15. Jul 2022
  16. Jun 2022
  17. Apr 2022
    1. Platform Accountability and Transparency Act

      PATA via Senator Coons website.

    2. tech companies need to be more transparent about how they operate
    3. More importantly, these companies are still way too guarded about how exactly their standards operate, or how their engagement ranking systems influence what goes viral and what doesn’t.
    4. The problem is, we often don’t know what principles govern those decisions. And on an issue of enormous public interest, there has been little public debate and practically no democratic oversight.

      Call for more transparency in social media algorithms, with a little threat of regulation.

    5. Russians could study and manipulate patterns in the engagement ranking system on a Facebook or YouTube.

      This suggests there is enough transparency in social media algorithms to game them.

  18. Mar 2022
    1. Showing transparency does not have to take a long time

      The quicker we are willing to be vulnerable in our heads, the easier pathways are created for learning new ways to explore ideas safely

  19. Feb 2022
    1. When the C.D.C. published the first significant data on the effectiveness of boosters in adults younger than 65 two weeks ago, it left out the numbers for a huge portion of that population: 18- to 49-year-olds, the group least likely to benefit from extra shots, because the first two doses already left them well-protected.

      US is not only the worst country from a death/cases standpoint, but also its governmental health services are not adept to the task.

      US is a failed state in many domains outside defense & security.

    1. Σημείο καμπής και ημερομηνία σταθμός είναι η 8η Δεκεμβρίου όπου για λόγους που όλοι μπορούμε να φανταστούμε, κόπηκε η πρόσβαση από το υπουργείο Ψηφιακής Πολιτικής.

      Ο Θεοδωρικάκος διαχειρίζεται KAI τα δεδομενα covid19!

    1. Τότε άλλωστε – λένε στο iEidiseis- ήταν και η περίοδος που αποφασίστηκαν να δρομολογηθούν και οι αλλαγές με τις Επιτροπές. Από μια μεγάλη που συνεδρίαζε κάθε βδομάδα ή και ακόμη πιο συχνά φτάσαμε σε 3 νέες με την ολομέλεια των Ειδικών να συνεδριάζει συνήθως κάθε δεύτερη Τετάρτη. Κάποιοι, δηλαδή, μπήκαν στον πάγο, ήρθαν νέες Επιτροπές και μέλη, ώστε τελικά οι βουλές της κυβέρνησης να μην βρίσκουν… επιστημονικές αντιστάσεις.

      Προνομιακή πρόσβαση στα στοιχεία ακόμα βαστάει 2 χρόνια μέσα στην πανδημία, και μάλστα μετατρέπεται σε ρεβανσιστικό όλπο ενάντια σε όσους πέφτουν σε δυσμένοια.

  20. Dec 2021
  21. Nov 2021
    1. ReconfigBehSci. (2021, October 30). as the fallout from the JCVI minutes build, it’s worth considering that the corresponding U.S. body ACIP has been live streaming its meetings on YouTube... Transparency helps reduce faulty reasoning...we should have learned that lesson with the very first lockdown, no? [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1454502337368764421

    1. Dr. Thomas Wilckens. (2021, October 31). JCVI facing calls from within for greater transparency over decision-making https://buff.ly/3GwVqCZ JCVI has been criticised for failing to publish detailed minutes, modelling and analysis behind its decision to advise vaccinating all over-16s in Britain #covid19 #coronavirus https://t.co/nWbnvci7LI [Tweet]. @Thomas_Wilckens. https://twitter.com/Thomas_Wilckens/status/1454798820156530689

  22. Oct 2021
  23. Sep 2021
  24. Aug 2021
  25. Jun 2021
  26. May 2021
    1. This transparency shows students that we have read their feedback and take it seriously.

      I found this to be insightful - if you're more transparent in showing that you're changing things that student's provide feedback on, it shows you're listening. It also shows that you want to deliver a high-quality course.

  27. Apr 2021
    1. Ryan Knorr Lawn Care is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and other affiliate programs below. An affiliate advertising program is designed to provide a means for sites and creators to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com or other product sites. I receive a small commission through these links.
    1. Dr Ellie Murray [@EpiEllie] (2020) I saw a tweet about how there isn’t enough discussion of what experts got wrong on COVID, so here’s a thread of things I got wrong. Tweet. Retrieved from: https://twitter.com/epiellie/status/1378016842174898185

    1. Robson, S. G., Baum, M. A., Beaudry, J. L., Beitner, J., Brohmer, H., Chin, J., Jasko, K., Kouros, C., Laukkonen, R., Moreau, D., Searston, R. A., Slagter, H. A., Steffens, N. K., & Tangen, J. M. (2021). Nudging Open Science. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/zn7vt

  28. Mar 2021
    1. με τη δημιουργία της ΕΑΔ καταργήθηκαν όλα τα ελεγκτικά σώματα της διοίκησης, όπως ο γενικός επιθεωρητής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, το Σώμα Επιθεωρητών – Ελεγκτών Δημόσιας Διοίκησης και το Σώμα Επιθεωρητών Υπηρεσιών Υγείας και Πρόνοιας

      Η ΕΑΔ φτιαχτηκε με τον νόμο για το "επιτελικό κράτος" (sic) Ν.4622/2019, 7 Αυγ 2019.

    2. ο επόμενος «σταθμός» του σχεδίου είναι η ενοποίηση της ΕΑΑΔΗΣΥ με την Αρχή Εξέτασης Προδικαστικών Προσφυγών, σκοπός της οποίας είναι η επίλυση των διαφορών που ανακύπτουν κατά το στάδιο που προηγείται της σύναψης των συμβάσεων δημοσίων έργων, προμηθειών και υπηρεσιών, ύστερα από την άσκηση προδικαστικής προσφυγής.
    1. We are just as in the dark as the customers. We clock in and look at a screen on a scanner and scan the stuff the systems tells us to pick for you. We have no clue how the website worked for you for that order, no clue about billing issues, nada. The system didnt want you to have that item that day. The only thing we can suggest is "try again later". or call 1800walmart and complain to a call taker to see if they can put in a complaint for you. We are peons and know not much more than if you walked in the backroom threw on a vest and did the work yourself. Were not privy to anything and the company doesnt tell us jack shit except how to do the immediate task in front of us until we clock out
    1. We’re doing our part to be more transparent and get data into the hands of patients quicker. Starting October 25, 2020, we’ll be releasing test results, visit notes and summaries immediately. Your provider may take up to three to five days to review your results and contact you to discuss abnormal results. Learn more here.
    1. ReconfigBehSci on Twitter: ‘1 week to the SciBeh workshop “Building an online information environment for policy relevant science” Join us, register now! Topics: Crisis open science, interfacing to policy, online discourse, tools for research curation talks, panels, hackathons https://t.co/Gsr66BRGcJ https://t.co/uRrhSb9t05’ / Twitter. (n.d.). Retrieved 2 March 2021, from https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1323207455283826690

  29. Feb 2021
    1. A ring signature is created when the sender of a transaction is mixed together with a random collection of other IDs that basically serve as a decoy. This process produces a unique digital signature for the transaction, but it blurs the identity of the real sender.

      Ring Signature

    2. Zero-knowledge proofs present the solution. The enterprise can prove it's the recipient of upcoming payments without revealing all the business details it may rightly want to keep private.

      zero knowledge proofs

    1. Brian Nosek. (2020, December 5). We need a #2020goodnews trend. Here’s one: Science keeps getting more open. One indicator from @OSFramework: OSF users posted 9,349 files of data or other research content PER DAY OSF users made 5,633 files public PER DAY EVERY DAY in 2020 #openscience is accelerating [Tweet]. @BrianNosek. https://twitter.com/BrianNosek/status/1335210552252125184

    1. Around 2 years ago I decided to end the experiment of “TRB PRO” as I felt I didn’t provide enough value to paying users. In the end, we had around 150 companies and individuals signed up, which was epic and a great funding source for more development.
    1. Using an implicit intent to start a service is a security hazard because you can't be certain what service will respond to the intent, and the user can't see which service starts. Beginning with Android 5.0 (API level 21), the system throws an exception if you call bindService() with an implicit intent.
    1. It is only through broad public conversations and beginning to see the consequences of some of the approaches I was taking that I have come to fully appreciate the severe limits of technocracy. In that case, as in all those above, there is a severe danger of great technical minds being wasted on an arrogant pursuit of remaking the world in their image, rather than contributing to a broader conversation.

      Laudable transparent self-reflection from the author. Would that more were so willing to change, and be public about their changing!

  30. Jan 2021
    1. Mambrini. A. Baronchelli. A. Starnini. M. Marinazzo. D. De Domenico, M. (2020) .PRINCIPIA: a Decentralized Peer-Review Ecosystem. Retrieved from: chrome-extension://bjfhmglciegochdpefhhlphglcehbmek/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Farxiv.org%2Fpdf%2F2008.09011.pdf

    1. While this tutorial has content that we believe is of great benefit to our community, we have not yet tested or edited it to ensure you have an error-free learning experience. It's on our list, and we're working on it! You can help us out by using the "report an issue" button at the bottom of the tutorial.
  31. Dec 2020
  32. Nov 2020
  33. Oct 2020
    1. Rationality and transparency are the values of classical liberalism. Rationality and transparency are supposed to be what make free markets and democratic elections work. People understand how the system functions, and that allows them to make rational choices.

      But economically, we know there isn't perfect knowledge or perfect rationality (see Tversky and Khaneman). There is rarely every perfect transparency either which makes things much harder, especially in a post-truth society apparenlty.

  34. Sep 2020
    1. Hennessy, E. A., Acabchuk, R., Arnold, P. A., Dunn, A. G., Foo, Y. Z., Johnson, B. T., Geange, S. R., Haddaway, N. R., Nakagawa, S., Mapanga, W., Mengersen, K., Page, M. J., Sánchez-Tójar, A., Welch, V., & McGuinness, L. A. (2020). Ensuring Prevention Science Research is Synthesis-Ready for Immediate and Lasting Scientific Impact [Preprint]. MetaArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31222/osf.io/ptg9j

  35. Aug 2020
  36. Jul 2020
    1. In cases where the data subject withdraws his/her consent and the controller wishes to continue toprocess the personal data on another lawful basis, they cannot silently migrate from consent (which iswithdrawn) to this other lawful basis. Any change in the lawful basis for processing must be notified toa data subject in accordance with the information requirements in Articles 13 and 14 and under thegeneral principle of transparency.
    2. Transparency is an additional safeguard whenthe circumstances of the research do not allow for aspecific consent. A lack of purpose specification may be offset by information on the development ofthe purpose being provided regularly by controllers as the research project progresses so that, overtime, the consent will be as specific as possible. When doing so, the data subject has at least a basicunderstanding of the state of play, allowing him/her to assess whether or not to use, for example, theright to withdraw consent
    1. In the interest of transparency, this data is not encrypted: you can see exactly what information we store.
  37. Jun 2020
  38. May 2020
    1. Organizations must be transparent on the purpose of the data collection and consent must be “explicit and freely given”. This means that the mechanism for acquiring consent must be unambiguous and involve a clear “opt-in” action (the regulation specifically forbids pre-ticked boxes and similar “opt-out” mechanisms)
    1. Transparency is fundamentally linked to fairness. Transparent processing is about being clear, open and honest with people from the start about who you are, and how and why you use their personal data.
  39. Apr 2020
    1. Ultimately, it is clear that organizations cannot process personal data without individuals’ knowledge
    2. Third, the focus should be centered on improving transparency rather than requesting systematic consents. Lack of transparency and clarity doesn’t allow informed and unambiguous consent (in particular, where privacy policies are lengthy, complex, vague and difficult to navigate). This ambiguity creates a risk of invalidating the consent.

      systematic consents

  40. Mar 2020
    1. You must be transparent in how you handle user data (e.g., information provided by a user, collected about a user, and collected about a user’s use of the app or device), including by disclosing the collection, use, and sharing of the data
    2. you must limit use of the data to the description in the disclosure
    1. For large-scale analysis of websites, we have implemented a crawler, called Cookinspect, based on a Selenium-instrumented Chromium, that detects what consent cookie banners store in the user's browser.
    2. The primary goal of Cookie glasses extension is to empower the end users and Data Protection Authorities to investigate websites and detect when the consent stored by the website does not correspond to the choice made by the user.
    1. Good data privacy practices by companies are good for the world. We wake up every day excited to change the world and keep the internet that we all know and love safe and transparent.
    2. startup focused on creating transparency in data. All that stuff you keep reading about the shenanigans with companies mishandling people's data? That's what we are working on fixing.
  41. Feb 2020
    1. people assume that by asking someone a question privately, they are doing everyone else a favor by bothering the fewest amount of people.
    2. We encourage team members to consider making private issues public wherever possible so that we can all learn from the experience, rather than requiring a small group to spend effort translating those learnings in the future.
    1. Remote work is also what led to the development of our publicly viewable handbook, which captures everything you'd need to know about the company.
    1. We commit to build the load testing tool with the best developer experience, k6, and developing it in the open with the community, read our document on stewardship of the OSS k6 project. We believe this is key and the necessary foundation to build great developer tooling.
  42. Dec 2019
    1. Transparently Secure. We believe that transparency and openness are the best foundation for trust so we are building Padloc completely out in the open. Our source code is developed under an open source licence so anyone can review it, provide feedback and even offer contributions at any time!
  43. Nov 2019
    1. Is the code developed in full view?
    2. uBlock Origin's logger allows you to see all behind-the-scene network requests, including its own (to GitHub, for updating filter lists).
  44. Oct 2019
    1. What’s the harm in sharing company data with the government? Three recent news stories demonstrate the significant human rights risks that arise when companies share data with law enforcement agencies: Motel 6 was fined over US$7 million for sharing guest lists with U.S. immigration authorities. Bloomberg News reported that 7-Eleven Inc. had shared information with U.S. immigration that led to raids in over 100 of the company’s franchises. And in China, the Associated Press revealed that more than 200 automotive manufacturers, including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, are sharing location information and other important data to government-backed monitoring centers. There are many good reasons why companies share data with law enforcement agencies. This can include transport and logistics companies addressing human trafficking and smuggling, travel and tourism companies seeking to prevent child sexual abuse, and financial services companies tackling money laundering and the illegal funding of terrorist organizations. There are also many ways in which companies are called upon to assist with criminal investigations or with matters of public safety and national security. However, these scenarios come with two common challenges: The first is providing appropriate assistance to law enforcement efforts that have the protection of human rights as a core purpose, while at the same time protecting the privacy rights of customers and users. Second, companies must work out how to constrain assistance to law enforcement efforts that may not have the protection of human rights as a core purpose, as can be the case in governments that don’t respect the rule of law, or that regularly violate the human rights of their citizens. This leads me to my central theme: the public currently lacks sufficient insight into how companies are navigating these two challenges, the strategies companies and governments can deploy to enhance human rights protections, and the transparency necessary to scrutinize whether these human rights protections are being implemented. The public currently lacks sufficient insight into ... the strategies companies and governments can deploy to enhance human rights protections and the transparency necessary to scrutinize whether these human rights protections are being implemented. Encouragingly, the technology industry has developed practices that indicate a path forward. In 2010, Google published the world’s first law enforcement relationship report (which the company called a “transparency report”) listing the number of requests the company received from governments to restrict content or hand over user data. The report explained how relevant legal processes worked and described when and how Google chose to challenge these requests to protect their users’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy. Since then, more than 70 internet and telecommunications companies have started publishing regular law enforcement relationship reports. While much remains to be done to ensure that data are managed appropriately, this transparency has brought three essential benefits: Awareness: The reports have substantially raised awareness about the complex data sharing relationships between governments and companies, resulting in higher quality public policy proposals on key human rights issues. Advocacy: The reports have enabled civil society organizations and human rights defenders to advocate for improved privacy protections. More strikingly, companies have used the reports to expose privacy violations committed by governments and advocate for greater human rights protections on behalf of their users. Accountability: The reports have provided a place for companies to explain the processes and procedures in place to respect and protect the human rights of their users, allowing them to be held accountable for their approach by civil society organizations and users. The reports have also enabled civil society organizations around the world to better understand the nature and volume of data requests made by their home governments, advocate for improved rule of law and data protections, and hold governments to account. However, as the three cases of Motel 6, 7-Eleven Inc., and automakers in China illustrate, technology companies are not the only ones receiving requests for data and assistance from law enforcement agencies. These requests extend to companies in the transport and logistics, travel and tourism, retail, healthcare, financial services, and other sectors as well. Indeed, with the emergence of the internet of things, facial recognition, and artificial intelligence, the amount of data collected, processed, and shared by non-technology companies is exploding. And there is no doubt that law enforcement agencies will increasingly demand access to this information. In a world of increasingly ubiquitous data, it is essential that all companies incorporate data sharing considerations into their human rights due diligence and strategies. There is an urgent need to enhance disclosure practices across all industries that receive requests for data and assistance from law enforcement agencies. For this reason, I believe there is an urgent need to enhance disclosure practices across all industries that receive requests for data and assistance from law enforcement agencies. By establishing the norm that all companies, regardless of sector, issue thorough, transparent, and informative law enforcement relationship reports, we increase the likelihood that personal data will be better managed by the private sector and that civil society, business, and governments are more able to hold each other accountable.
    1. Four Ways C-stores Can Enhance Traceability & Transparency By Angela Fernandez, GS1 US - 10/02/2018 Get great content like this right in your inbox. Subscribe With greater access to product information comes greater scrutiny over how a retailer or brand is meeting consumer demands for transparency. Are they providing nutritional information? Are they accommodating my gluten-free diet? How can I be sure this food is safe to eat? Convenience stores that take steps to definitively address these questions are more likely to remain relevant with today’s consumers. Several leading c-stores, including 7-Eleven Inc., are collaborating with their suppliers and distributors through the use of global supply chain standards, specifically GS1 global product identification numbers and barcodes, to share data more efficiently. Through standards, they can minimize the limitations created by data silos and proprietary systems. C-store systems become more interoperable with those of their distributor or supplier partners, enabling faster food traceability and improved linkages between product data, which ultimately enables more transparent and informed consumer research. Why is this so important? Widespread food safety scares, such as the romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak, have chipped away at consumer trust. According to a recent survey from FoodLogiQ, 50 percent of consumers believe that one to two days is an acceptable amount of time for a food company to fully address a foodborne illness outbreak. On top of this high expectation, it’s not even guaranteed a customer will return after an outbreak. In the survey, 35 percent said they would avoid the company for a few months and "maybe return," while only 27 percent said "I’ll return as soon as it’s resolved." Another 23 percent would never visit again, and 15 percent said they would switch to a competitor for a while. Consumers are more health-conscious in the long term, as well. Another study by Response Media found that 70 percent of consumers surveyed said their purchases are always or often influenced by the transparency of product content. Almost all respondents said they would pay more for more "transparent" products. By leveraging GS1 standards in the following four ways, c-stores can enhance traceability and transparency, demonstrating they are more in tune with these concerns and expectations: 1. Collaborate With Trading Partners Since foodservice offers one of the biggest opportunities for growth over the next few years, c-stores need to stay educated on best practices for driving efficiency. The Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative is a collaborative industry group composed of manufacturers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators and solution providers, who agree upon best practices and the integration of standards into key business processes. This work has been shown to reduce supply chain redundancy, streamline operations and improve consumer experiences. By focusing on the big picture, companies are able to understand trends, consumer concerns and regulations, and decide on a unified approach to data sharing that benefits the entire industry. 2. Uniquely Identify Products & Locations There are two key standards that are foundational to creating more consistent and open data exchanges between trading partners. The Global Trade Item Number (or GTIN) uniquely identifies a product and can be encoded into a barcode to track individual items as they move through the supply chain. Many companies also use Global Location Numbers (GLNs) to help identify supply chain event locations. Using both of these standards establishes a uniform way to identify both the "what" and the "where" within the supply chain. 3. Implement Case-Level Traceability Specialized case labels with the GS1-128 barcode are important to a traceability program because it encodes the product GTIN, as well as date codes and batch or lot numbers, onto a case, carton or pallet. By being able to identify units at this level, all supply chain partners can manage fast and accurate tracking of inventory — a critical piece of conducting precise recalls. Recently, Subway’s Independent Purchasing Co-Op realized a significant ROI from adopting these barcodes. Without a traceability program in place, the system incurred high costs and endured arduous recalls — up to $500,000 in costs to visit 5,700 restaurants in one instance. It could have avoided $420,000 in costs by only visiting the 980 locations that were actually impacted. With case-level traceability, the co-op was recently able to pinpoint five specific cases of affected product, and eliminated the need to visit more than 700 restaurants, saving $60,000. 4. Leverage the Global Data Synchronization Network The Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) enables the electronic transfer of standardized product information between trading partners and the continuous synchronization of that information over time. This network ensures all partners have access to the same, accurate information for more than 1 million food items. Shamrock Foods, a foodservice distributor, recently shared that that it experienced a 20 percent sales lift after leveraging the GDSN to share product information. Ultimately, standards provide the necessary framework for c-stores to evolve their supply chain processes to meet and exceed consumer expectations. With increased automation, enhanced efficiency and more accurate data, c-stores can secure their relevance among an increasingly digital consumer base. Angela Fernandez is vice president of foodservice and retail grocery at GS1 US. She leads the industry engagement strategy to drive broader adoption of GS1 Standards and is an authority on food traceability. Editor's note: The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Convenience Store News.
  45. Sep 2019
    1. There is already a lot of information Facebook can assume from that simple notification: that you are probably a woman, probably menstruating, possibly trying to have (or trying to avoid having) a baby. Moreover, even though you are asked to agree to their privacy policy, Maya starts sharing data with Facebook before you get to agree to anything. This raises some serious transparency concerns.

      Privacy International are highlighting how period-tracking apps are violating users' privacy.

  46. Aug 2019
    1. Today Cargobot is an innovative, reliable, and transparent technology

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    2. We know that it’s important that you know who you are partnering with when doing business, so we want to be transparent with you.

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