Money and Computing

Jo Freeman writes: Unlike the other social sciences, psychology is thriving. While the supply of trained psychologists in the labor force has remained constant since 2005, the demand has grown. Quite a few employers purchased booths in the exhibit area just to advertising that they were hiring and interview potential recruits. They ranged from clinics in Hattiesburg, MS to New Zealand. more »

Internet Scout's Research Group's weekly marvelous discoveries: In February 1623, a group of Dutch officials accused a team of English merchants and Japanese mercenaries of conspiring to capture a castle on Amboyna, a small island in what is now part of Indonesia. The island was central to the booming spice trade, which had fueled an increasingly acrimonious rivalry between the British and the Dutch. "Folk art is a reflection of society as seen through the eyes of artists whose perceptions are sometimes traditional and conventional - sometimes unruly, and even wild." So writes the Canadian Museum of History, host of a online exhibit that highlights Quebec folk art from the eighteenth century through today. Michael Twitty explains how enslaved African-Americans created contemporary American southern cuisine. more »

This bill [Seniors Fraud Prevention Act of 2017] directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish an office within the Bureau of Consumer Protection to advise the FTC on the prevention of fraud targeting seniors and to assist the FTC in monitoring the market for mail, television, Internet, telemarketing, and recorded message telephone call (robocall) fraud targeting seniors. The office must: (1) disseminate to seniors and their families and caregivers information on the most common fraud schemes, including methods of reporting complaints either to the FTC's national toll-free telephone number or to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network, (2) provide, in response to a specific request about a particular entity or individual, publicly available information regarding the FTC's enforcement action; and (3) maintain a website as a resource for information on fraud targeting seniors. more »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is concerned about companies misrepresenting the purpose and amount of pay-by-phone fees, which can result in consumers incurring charges for services they don't need. For example, a recent Bureau enforcement action alleged that a company and its service provider misled consumers into paying a $14.95 pay-by-phone fee by deceptively calling it a "processing" charge. The fee was actually for posting payment to the account the same day. more »