How can we use statistics to predict how many medals each nation will win? We speak to Dr Julia Bredtmann, an economist at the RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research. She has come up with a model to predict how many medals each country will win, along with her colleagues, Sebastian Otten, also from the Leibniz Institute, and Carsten Crede of the University of East Anglia.
Some countries like the US and China have a large population and GDP, but a number of countries do very well for their size and wealth. Julia explains the different factors you have to consider to predict Olympic success.
MTN Group’s warning that their interim financial results for the period ending June 30th 2016 would be unpleasant did a lot to absorb the shock when reality struck last Friday— the day the report eventually dropped.
Despite revenue for the interim period improving by ±US$5.7 billion, MTN reported an after tax loss attributable to equity holders of just over US$401 thousand. That translates to a headline loss per share of nearly US$0.20. Compare that with 2015’s headline earnings of just under US$0.48 per share, and it’s sobering to see how humbling this must be Africa’s largest mobile service provider.
As expected, the mobile telco has put forward a long list of explanations for what went wrong. One of the more interesting items on that list is what they are calling “short-term losses” they’ve sustained thanks to their significant investments in Middle East Internet Holdings and of course, the recently rebranded Africa Internet Group— which now goes by Jumia.
We would love to know what’s going through the mind of MTN Group’s President and CEO-in-waiting, Rob Shuter, who will no doubt have his work cut out for him when he takes up the reins from Phuthuma Nhleko come July 2017.
Also in this week’s African Tech Round-up features a chat Andile Masuku shares had with the Cape Town-based Zimbabwean digital all-rounder, Babusi Nyoni. Babusi is the Digital Creative Group Head at South Africa’s #1 ranked through-the-line agency, M&C SAATCHI Abel.
Andile caught up with Babusi to discuss an AI-enabled campaign he recently masterminded and executed for a global FMCG brand, and to chat about the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence in general. Tune in to hear him factor in on what the world might look and feel like when those technologies become common-place
Music Credits:
Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
Some time ago, I had Richard Carrier on to discuss an article he wrote that harshly criticized Evolutionary Psychology as a pseudo-science. Well, at long last, we now get a chance to hear from the other side! Joining me is someone with deep knowledge of the field. A listener named Lindsey! She shares her credentials in … Continue reading AS265: A Defense of Evolutionary Psychology →
Show notes: https://github.com/PHPUgly/podcast/blob/master/shows/ep22.md Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD2Al-bCn6o PHPUgly - Episode 22 recorded August 4th, 2016 Topics SDPHP Meetup Phalcon 3.0.0 Released Alexa Skills for PHP Tom bought a security camera Developers we look up to The hosts Eric Van Johnson Twitter / Github / Blog / About.me Tom Rideout Twitter / Github / About.me John Congdon Twitter / Github Follow us on Twitter @PHPUgly Email us at Podacast@phpugly.com
Interview with Grant Richey; Forgotten Superheroes of Science: Elizabeth Rona; News Items: Young Blood, Electroceuticals, Female Orgasm, Private Moon Mission; What's the Word: Mondegreen; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Nimrod and Edgy; Science or Fiction
On The Gist, Brad Meltzer from Lost History explains why he thinks of himself as one part of a “literary peanut butter cup.” Meltzer teamed up with Tod Goldberg to write The House of Secrets, a spy novel that imagines the final moments between Benedict Arnold and George Washington.
Months after the murder of Teresita Basa, her former coworker began falling into trances, a voice identifying itself as Teresita issuing from her mouth. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, these statements turned out to be true, leading to the conviction of 32 year-old Allen Showers. But what's the real story? Was this justice beyond the grave or beyond the law?
The rise of Donald Trump has clearly signaled the disconnect between voters and the GOP. Ben Domenech says a realignment of the parties may be well underway.
Fitbit climbs. TripAdvisor stumbles. Electronic Arts scores. And FireEye gets singed. Plus, Motley Fool retirement expert Robert Brokamp shares the latest and greatest thinking on how much you need to retire.
The Government says that since the introduction of the 5p fee for single use plastic bags their use has plummeted. We take a look at the numbers.
Olympic Medals at Rio 2016
The Olympic Games are with us again. So how can we use statistics to predict how many medals each nation will win? We speak to Dr Julia Bredtmann, an economist at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research.
Income inequality
Politicians and commentators often claim that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. But what do the numbers actually tell us about income inequality in the UK? Tim Harford interviews Jonathan Cribb of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the co- author of a comprehensive analysis of Living Standards, Income Inequality and Poverty in the UK.
Desk of Good News ? Maternal mortality rates
The number of women dying in childbirth is falling around the world. In 1990, maternal mortality rates were 385 deaths per 100,000 live births
Today there are 216 deaths per 100,000 live births. This means the death rate is down by nearly half.
The Coastline Paradox
Why is it so difficult to measure coastlines? The further you zoom into the detail of a coastline, the longer it becomes. This is referred to as ?The Coastline Paradox?. We speak to Mairi Walker, a mathematician at the University of Edinburgh, and Danny Hyam, from The Ordnance Survey - the UK government agency responsible for mapping our coastlines.
