Latest news with #JamieMiller
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Showing ‘Adolescence' in schools not the answer
THE recent Netflix show Adolescence has prompted much discussion around misogyny among school age boys. The creators have been to Downing Street to discuss the issues and, as a result, many people are calling for the programme to be shown in schools. The series begins with the police bursting into 14-year-old Jamie Miller's family home and arresting him on suspicion of murdering Katie, his classmate. There are no easy answers for his motivation, no dark family secrets or abuse are disclosed, but it questions what leads one boy to commit murder when others do not. It touches on Incels (involuntary celibate), influencers, radicalisation, attitudes and behaviours towards women and girls. It also highlights how little we, as adults, understand the pressures of peer and school relationships. Recent reports show children feel less safe in school than before the pandemic. The UCL (University College London) report (2025) says only 21 per cent of girls and 31 per cent of boys in England strongly agreed they were safe at school. The teacher's union NASUWT has reported a surge in levels of violence and abuse in the classroom with over 27 per cent of female teachers reporting verbal abuse several times a week. And nearly 30 per cent of teachers from black, Caribbean or African backgrounds reported regular physical abuse from pupils — double that of their white counterparts. Something certainly needs to be done but showing 'Adolescence' in schools is not the answer. It is a brilliant and gritty drama — not an educational resource — and to show a 15-rated show to children across secondary schools is an unsafe, knee-jerk reaction. Teachers are not experts in male violence against women and girls and it is unfair to ask them to show, discuss or stop the film to ask questions to provide context or safety. The series itself shows students responding to police and teacher-led discussions with shock, dismissal, mockery and disruption, all of which are common when children are faced with traumatic, disturbing or overwhelming content. There is no specialist support provided for children who may have real-life, similar experiences who may either be further traumatised or silenced by the reaction of peers. Katie, the murdered girl, is framed throughout as a bully as if this is sufficient reason to kill her. There are several blogs citing Katie deserved to be harmed, that she 'got what was coming' and that Jamie was justified in his anger because of this. It is victim blaming. When we are already living in a society that sees one woman murdered approximately every three days is this how we need to educate children? I would suggest the focus should be on how we are teaching boys to become decent and caring men. What works is education which is safe, trauma-informed, grounded in empathy, promotes discussion and is delivered by subject matter experts in small, safe groups with access to support services. If you are a parent and your school is planning to show Adolescence please ask them what support they have put in place for your child and how any disclosures will be managed. If you are a teacher and are looking to access safe, proven resources to address these issues contact enquiries@ Our columnist Jocelyn Anderson is CEO for West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC).
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Miller: At the the end of the day, I just want to be a great city manager.
May 10—MORGANTOWN — On April 16, Morgantown City Council convened for a 90-second special meeting to announce the result of a four-month national search for its next city manager. The body voted unanimously to hire Jamie Miller. Miller, 36, is originally from the Parma Heights area near Cleveland, but has spent most of her adult life in Florida, where she first entered municipal government as a human resources specialist before rising to deputy city manager and interim city manager for Port Orange, a coastal city of 65, 000. She comes to Morgantown from Paris, Ky., where she was hired as city manager on April 26, 2022. The seat of Bourbon County, Paris has just over 10, 000 residents and a current operating budget of $12.3 million. According to media reports, Miller was a finalist for city manager jobs in Manhattan, Kan., and Davenport, Iowa, in the past year. She will take over as Morgantown's chief executive by June 23 with a starting salary of $175, 000. She recently spoke with The Dominion Post about what drew her to the University City and her expectations for the job. What interested you in the city of Morgantown ? I'm very happy in my current community and wasn't necessarily looking to leave, but Morgantown really caught my eye when I saw the opportunity. I was drawn to it. I feel it's a dynamic community. I think it has a strong sense of civic pride and the city has a real mix of natural beauty. The university presence is great and I think it's a community really filled with a lot of opportunities, and that stood out to me. As I started the process and the interviews and talking to people, I felt there was a real alignment with, you know ... I believe in providing high quality municipal services — the highest quality we can at what we can afford to do it with. I felt that those I interacted with during the interview shared that vision and shared that drive to want to do good things for Morgantown. So, I felt very connected. I see Morgantown as a place where thoughtful leadership can make a meaningful impact and I think that's extremely important. How did you get into municipal government and how would you describe your leadership style ? I didn't necessarily go through a traditional path where I sought to get into local government, but that is where my career led me. I have a master's degree in industrial and organizational psychology. So, I started my career in human resources. I ended up practicing human resources for a local government in Port Orange, Fla., and as I got into local government, it really gets into your blood. Public service is something that's either for you or it isn't. It has to be for you if you're going to continue it. I had the opportunity to work under a lot of fantastic people who poured into me, who developed me and challenged me to be my best, and I loved the public service. So, great people along the way saw things in me, and I think that leads to how I value my leadership style — looking for the greatness in others and bringing that out in them. In leadership, it's very important that you're able to respond to different situations. Situational leadership is very important. You need to be able to adapt. But I would say, overall, to describe my leadership style, it's going to be people-focused and collaborative. What do you see as the benefits and challenges of leading a city that's home to a major university with priorities that don't always align with the city ? It's definitely an opportunity. I'm excited to get in and build those relationships. I know the university is also going through some leadership changes, so I think it's a great opportunity for us to pull together and really reflect and say, "How can we do things that meet the common goal of the community as a whole ? How can we build on the things that we share perspectives on and build from those strengths instead of the things that can push us apart.?" Certainly, we can't ignore those, and we have to work on them. But I'm a big believer that as we talk about those, we have to work to understand the different perspectives and make sure we're using the same language. I find a lot of concerns can come down to communication and understanding — not just what people are saying, but why they're saying it. What is driving that need, or that fear or that missing piece that they're looking for ? So, making sure at the end of the day, can we find something where we do have a common goal and push that forward because I think everybody wants Morgantown to be great. I think that's something that everybody can agree on. The interwoven topics of social services, homelessness, addiction and mental health have received a tremendous amount of attention in recent years. What role should government play in addressing those issues, or should they be left to social service providers ? I think it has to be a mix. I mentioned previously, collaboration is my style. There are definitely services and things that may not be the city's core function to provide, and bringing in partners to be able to address those issues is important because they're very complex and they don't have simple solutions. You often have to tackle those items from multiple perspectives. So, I think you have to take a combined approach to it. I am aware that there's been some concern that's come up, but I also know that there's some great things that the city does offer. I know that they employ a social worker with the police department who's focused on connecting people with resources. Certainly, the city financially assists in some of those areas and provides support for social services, which is great to see. There has to be collaboration between government and social services as well the private and public sectors of the community. It is such a complex item to address. More partners will make us more successful. You will be the first woman hired to be Morgantown's city manager. Is that something that holds significance for you ? You know, it's not. I don't think too much about it. I was the first woman in Paris, as well. At the end of the day, I just want to be a great city manager. I'm certainly proud of the things I've been able to accomplish in my career, but that's not something I pay too much attention to. Morgantown's had a recent run of city managers who have stayed in the position for four years or less. Do you see yourself here long term ? I do. I do hope to have that vision. From a personal standpoint, I have a 15-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. I would certainly love to see them all the way through WVU. That would be the ultimate goal. So, I do see a long-term future in Morgantown. What would you like the people of Morgantown to know ? What I want the community to know is pretty simple — I'm here to serve them. I take the responsibility of city management very seriously and I want to be great for the community as a public servant. I'm here for them.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PayPal Posts Q1 Earnings Beat, Revenue Misses
PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) reported Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $1.33, topping analysts' average estimate of $1.16, while revenue of $7.80 billion missed the Street by $40 million. The mixed beat-miss highlights PayPal's challenge to reignite growth amid contract headwinds and a cautious consumer backdrop. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Sign with PYPL. EARNINGS AND REVENUE Earnings: Non-GAAP EPS rose 15% YoY to $1.33 vs. $1.16 expected. Revenue: Up 1% to $7.80 billion, shy of the $7.84 billion consensus. PAYMENT VOLUME & TRANSACTIONS TPV: Total payment volume increased 3% YoY to $417.2 billion (4% FX-neutral). Transactions: Processed 6.0 billion payments, down 7% overall but up 6% excluding payment service provider (PSP) renegotiations. Margin: Transaction-margin dollars grew low?single-digits, reflecting branded-checkout strength offset by PSP mix shifts. USER METRICS Active Accounts: Grew 2% YoY to 436 million, adding 1.5 million sequentially. TPA: Transactions per active account fell 1% to 59.4 but climbed 4% ex-PSP volume. MANAGEMENT COMMENTARYCEO Alex Chriss said branded-checkout enhancements and Venmo debit-card adoption drove durable margin expansion, noting PayPal has the best-in-class checkout on desktop and mobile. CFO Jamie Miller underscored $1.2 billion in Q1 share buybacks and full-year free cash flow of $6.8 billion, crediting AI and automation investments for operational efficiency and supporting targeted marketing spend. STRATEGIC INITIATIVESPayPal's 2025 playbook centers on four pillars: Win Checkout via latency cuts and conversion lifts; Scale Omni with PayPal Everywhere; Grow Venmo through new social-commerce features; and Accelerate SMB with integrated payment and financing tools. Key partnerships and product launcheslike FX-as-a-service and network-token billingare set to boost cross-sell opportunities. OUTLOOKThe company reaffirmed full-year guidance of $4.955.10 in non-GAAP EPS and 4.55% transaction-margin-dollar growth. Investors will watch Q2 results in late July and November's Investor Day for deeper visibility on execution and medium-term targets. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNA
29-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
PayPal beats profit targets, flags spending pull forward amid economic uncertainty
PayPal beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter earnings and stuck to its annual profit forecast on Tuesday, even at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs have fueled economic uncertainty. Executives said PayPal was off to a good start in April, as consumer spending and the labor market proved to be resilient. Chief Financial Officer Jamie Miller told analysts that U.S. consumer activity accelerated as tariff-related concerns pulled forward some spending, echoing comments from big banks. Despite a strong start, PayPal maintained its previous annual profit forecast because of "uncertainty in the global macro environment". It sees annual adjusted profit between $4.95 and $5.10 per share. The forecast embeds some incremental flexibility into the second half of 2025 from economic uncertainty, CFO Miller said. "Keeping full-year guidance unchanged is encouraging given the uncertain economic backdrop. However, PayPal's challenges remain significant and investors are likely to want to see the pace of growth pick up to stay interested," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. Since CEO Alex Chriss took the helm in late 2023, PayPal has narrowed its focus and concentrated on high-margin businesses instead of aggressive growth. "Our strategy is working. This is our fifth consecutive quarter of profitable growth," Chriss said in a statement. Excluding one-time costs, PayPal earned $1.33 per share in the first quarter, topping analysts' expectations of $1.16, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. PayPal shares were up 0.4 per cent in early trading. BRANDED CHECKOUT IN FOCUS Investor worries around growth in the firm's branded checkout offerings, which include PayPal and Venmo, have heavily pressured the stock. Additionally, concerns about market share loss due to increasing competition from Big Tech rivals Apple and Alphabet's Google have created a potential overhang. In February, PayPal unveiled plans to accelerate branded checkout growth to between 8 per cent and 10 per cent by 2027. PayPal is rolling out a new checkout experience and focusing on monetizing its Venmo app to accelerate branded growth. In the first quarter, PayPal's branded checkout TPV grew 6 per cent excluding leap day, compared with a 5 per cent rise a year ago. Evercore analyst Adam Frisch said branded checkout growth was yet to show signs of year-over-year acceleration. PayPal has also forged lucrative partnerships and introduced new products, including its Fastlane guest checkout feature, to shield its dominant position among payments firms.
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The emojis that could reveal if the sender is a NARCISSIST
Not long ago, emoji were solely considered decorative additions to a text message or social media post. But for today's smartphone owners, they can carry very loaded – and often sinister – meanings. In fact, the hit Netflix show 'Adolescence' has demonstrated how emojis can be used to convey secret messages. The series follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, who is arrested for the murder of a female classmate following online emoji exchanges. And according to a study, if you're a heavy emoji user, you may hide some dark personality traits that could hint at your inner beast. Scientists at Oklahoma State University have found that high emoji use is linked with negative attributes such as narcissism and even psychopathy. The experts say: 'Emoji use may be related to strategies to manipulate the perceptions of others and to present a positive impression of oneself.' Overall, the use of 40 emojis are linked with negative personality traits – scroll down to see the full list! The study investigated how emoji use relates to personality – but specifically three undesirable personality traits known as the Dark Triad. These are psychopathy, narcissism and finally Machiavellianism, which is described as 'the willingness to manipulate others to advance one's own interests'. For the study, researchers recruited 285 undergraduate students – 135 male, 145 female and five 'other' – with an average age of about 20. Emoji usage was assessed in multiple ways. First, participants were asked to rate their frequency of usage for 40 common emojis. Of the emoji, 20 were positive in meaning (showing hearts and smiling faces for example) while the other 20 were negative (sad faces and reflections of anger). For each emoji, participants were asked to rate their frequency of using that emoji on a five-point rating scale (from 1 = never to 5 = very frequently). Participants also answered questions about their general emoji use, such as how often they use them when composing text messages and replying to people's social media posts. Meanwhile, personality traits were assessed with questionnaires. Surprisingly, it was not just the negative emojis that were linked to negative traits in the sender, but positive emojis too. Researchers found that in males, more frequent use of all emoji types was related to higher levels of narcissism, which is defined as an unreasonably high sense of one's own importance. Also in males, higher levels of Machiavellianism were related to more frequent use of positive emojis, negative emojis, emojis in replies to social media messages, and emojis in text messages. Meanwhile in females, higher levels of narcissism were related to more frequent use of positive emojis, negative emojis, emojis in new social media posts, and emojis in replies to social media messages. Researchers also found that some emoji use was related to the Big Five personality traits – agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness. For both men and women, higher levels of extraversion were related to more frequent use of positive emojis, while in men only, higher levels of extraversion were related to more frequent use of emojis in text messages. For women, higher levels of openness were related to more frequent use of emojis in new social media posts, replies to social media posts and text messages. And for men, higher levels of neuroticism were related to more frequent use of negative emojis and more frequent use of emojis in replies to social media posts. According to a psychological trait theory developed in the 1980s called the big five, human behaviour is comprised of five personality traits that form the acronym OCEAN – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism Interestingly, women reported more frequent use of emojis than men in each of the five categories of emoji use – positive emojis, negative emojis, emojis in new social media posts, emojis in replies to social media posts, and emojis in text messages. Overall, heavy use of emoji in women is commonly related to narcissism and psychopathy, while in men it is more related to Machiavellianism and neuroticism. Further studies could reveal more about broader and 'more generalised groups of emoji users' than just college students, the study authors say. 'For future research in this field it would be vital to know how different generations (with gender specification for each generation) understands, views and uses emojis in their life,' they conclude in their paper. 'This clarification with generation and age in emoji usage would improve meanings of emojis to a magnitude of populations as shown in the study that context does not always mean clarity.'
