Latest news with #SAT
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
With her app Smash, Kesha can be whoever she wants – even a tech CEO
Kesha – yes, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack Kesha – is now a startup founder. But if you think her journey from raunchy pop star to CEO is unexpected, then you haven't been paying attention. Kesha has always embraced contradictions. She exploded onto the pop scene in 2010 with irreverent ear candy like 'Blah Blah Blah' and 'TiK ToK,' stylizing her name with a dollar sign despite throwing shade at the egregious wealth of Hollywood. She didn't let people dismiss her as a one-dimensional, glitter-clad party girl. As beleaguered high schoolers studied for exams amid Kesha's rise to fame, they whispered in frustration about how the world's most famous party girl got a near-perfect score on the SAT, but turned down a full-ride to Barnard College to sing about peeing in champagne bottles. The biggest contradiction of Kesha's story is that despite living the dream of a pop star on the surface, her years in the spotlight were nightmarish behind the scenes. Now, drawing from her own experience suffering at the hands of predatory record contracts, Kesha is building an app called Smash, which is a way for musicians to find one another, make music together, and establish clear, artist-friendly contracts among collaborators. Smash aims to set itself apart by using a built-in system to generate contracts between artists. The terms of the contracts depend on what each artist decides — for example, a musician may decide to license a beat for set fee, or request a percentage of royalties over time. Smash would fund itself by taking a small cut of payments made through the app. 'One of the pieces of leverage, especially over younger music creators, is you need a way into the club,' Kesha's brother and Smash co-founder Lagan Sebert told TechCrunch. 'With Smash, we want to give music creators the keys to get into this club of professionals and other creators without them feeling like they have to sign anything away, or make any large decisions about the rest of their lives.' After establishing herself as a powerhouse pop star, Kesha sued her producer Dr. Luke in 2014 for alleged sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. He immediately countersued her for defamation, sparking a high-profile legal battle and reckoning with the dark side of pop music. Though Kesha sought to get out of her recording contract with Dr. Luke, the court ruled against her, forcing her to release three more albums with him. It was only this month — on July 4, a date chosen very intentionally — that Kesha released an album without Dr. Luke for the first time. But regaining her own artistic agency isn't enough. Now that she is a fully independent artist, she wants to help ensure that other young musicians don't fall victim to exploitative record deals like she did. 'One of the things that really motivated her was when she went through this long legal battle to regain the rights to her voice, regain rights to her music,' Sebert said. 'I think the motivation behind Smash more than anything was to try to give music creators access to the community they need to create music independently.' Building the Band If Kesha and her brother were going to build an app, they were going to need some technological expertise. Years ago, Kesha attended an ACTAI Ventures event and met Lars Rasmussen, who co-founded Google Maps and was one of the first investors in design unicorn Canva. The two stayed in touch, and when it came time to build Smash, Rasmussen introduced her to Alan Cannistraro, who would become the app's CTO. Cannistraro spent over 12 years at Apple, where he worked on products for creatives like Final Cut; he also managed a team of engineers to build the first ever apps for iOS, like Remote, iBooks, iTunes, and Podcasts. He went on to start Rheo, a social video startup, but he has always had an interest in music. 'In the late '90s, when my friends were all using Napster, I was saying to them, 'What the hell, you like this music, why are you screwing the artist?'' Cannistraro told TechCrunch. 'It's always just been in my value system that artists need to be supported.' When Kesha, her brother Lagan, and Cannistraro started working together, Rasmussen became one of their first investors. Kesha even announced the app as part of Rasmussen's Panathēnea festival in Greece. 'Smash is a community platform for music creators. It's a place where you can go to connect, to create, and to hire, all while retaining the rights to what you create,' Kesha said at the festival. 'The goal is to shift the power back to the hands of the creators.' 'The contracting is safe — it's all transparent, and then you get to choose, and you get consent over where your art and where your voice goes, and how it goes into the world, all while retaining the rights to what you have just created,' she added. The Smash app remains a work in progress, intending to open to some artists later this year. But to test some of the tech tools that the company has created thus far, Smash hosted a contest where artists could submit remixes of Kesha's song 'Boy Crazy' — the five winners of the contest will have their remixes released on Kesha's record label for what Sebert calls an 'industry standard remix fee.' 'I regained the rights to my voice back for the first time in my adult life about one year ago, as a 37-year-old woman,' Kesha said at Panathēnea. 'Predatory deals like that are normal.' 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The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
Perth vet's registration cancelled after multiple complaints and two dead dogs
A Perth vet has been struck off and banned from re-applying for registration for five years after a multitude of complaints against him in relation to the deaths of two dogs. Dr Adrian Burstein was found to have engaged in 22 counts of professional misconduct by the State Administrative Tribunal while working as a vet at his Clarkson practice, Ocean Keys Veterinary Hospital. A further 13 complaints against him were dismissed. The SAT findings, released on Monday, related to the care and treatment of two dogs; Malo and Meggs. The documents stated Malo, a five-year-old Dogue de Bordeaux, was taken to the clinic in January 2019. He was kept overnight, with Burstein later telling the tribunal he monitored the dog throughout the night, even charging Malo's owners an overnight monitoring fee, but the dog died of a ruptured spleen before he could be operated on the next morning. In a text message to the dog's owners the evening he died, Burstein stated that Malo was 'alone for very very few periods last night'. However, the tribunal found that was a lie and Burstein had spent much of the evening at home, and therefore did not intensively monitor the dog. Throughout the dog's admittance, Burstein communicated with his owners via text message, telling them the dog was doing well, and claimed to have examined him about 6am the following morning, which the tribunal also found was a lie. At that time, he sent the couple a photo of the dog's gums with the caption, 'stable for now' and 'colour good', implying that he had just checked the dog that morning.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Perth vet's registration cancelled after multiple complaints and two dead dogs
A Perth vet has been struck off and banned from re-applying for registration for five years after a multitude of complaints against him in relation to the deaths of two dogs. Dr Adrian Burstein was found to have engaged in 22 counts of professional misconduct by the State Administrative Tribunal while working as a vet at his Clarkson practice, Ocean Keys Veterinary Hospital. A further 13 complaints against him were dismissed. The SAT findings, released on Monday, related to the care and treatment of two dogs; Malo and Meggs. The documents stated Malo, a five-year-old Dogue de Bordeaux, was taken to the clinic in January 2019. He was kept overnight, with Burstein later telling the tribunal he monitored the dog throughout the night, even charging Malo's owners an overnight monitoring fee, but the dog died of a ruptured spleen before he could be operated on the next morning. In a text message to the dog's owners the evening he died, Burstein stated that Malo was 'alone for very very few periods last night'. However, the tribunal found that was a lie and Burstein had spent much of the evening at home, and therefore did not intensively monitor the dog. Throughout the dog's admittance, Burstein communicated with his owners via text message, telling them the dog was doing well, and claimed to have examined him about 6am the following morning, which the tribunal also found was a lie. At that time, he sent the couple a photo of the dog's gums with the caption, 'stable for now' and 'colour good', implying that he had just checked the dog that morning.
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
2025 ILEARN reading scores remain flat for 5th straight year while Indiana math scores improve: Find out how your school fared
Indiana ILEARN 2025 results show flat reading scores and rising maths proficiency SAT and ILEARN 2025 results: Indiana's 2025 ILEARN results show continued stagnation in reading proficiency while students made gains in mathematics, according to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). The results, based on spring 2025 testing , indicate that reading scores across grades 3 to 8 have remained largely unchanged for five consecutive years, even after major state-level interventions and funding. The English/Language Arts (ELA) proficiency rate for 2025 stood at 40.6 percent—only 0.1 percentage point higher than in 2021. In contrast, mathematics proficiency rose to 42.1 percent, an increase of 5.2 percentage points since 2021, according to IDOE's official data release. Statewide trends in reading and mathematics The results highlight a notable divergence between student outcomes in ELA and mathematics. While ELA performance showed a minor improvement from 40.5 percent in 2021 to 40.6 percent in 2025, mathematics scores rose more significantly, from 36.9 percent in 2021 to 42.1 percent in 2025. As reported by IDOE, Indiana Governor Mike Braun acknowledged the trend, stating, "While we continue to see students growing in math proficiency, this year's results remind us all of the need to continue our focus in both early and adolescent literacy." According to Indiana Secretary of Education Dr Katie Jenner, there is "an urgent need to support middle school students in English/language arts." She added that the ILEARN redesign will help provide "a beginning, middle and end-of-year look at student performance," as quoted in an IDOE press release. Local school corporation performance Proficiency levels varied across school corporations. Below is a breakdown of local performance in both ELA and mathematics: School Corporation ELA Proficient % Math Proficient % Sunman-Dearborn 51.50 53.40 South Dearborn 35.70 37.30 Lawrenceburg 38.70 40.70 Rising Sun 38.00 33.50 South Ripley 49.40 56.60 Batesville 46.50 49.00 Milan 32.20 37.70 Jac-Cen-Del 36.70 47.00 Switz. Co. 37.30 34.00 Franklin Co. 36.40 38.30 ILEARN redesign and upcoming changes Indiana has been working since January 2022 to redesign the ILEARN assessment system. In the 2024–2025 academic year, approximately 1,350 schools participated in a pilot version of the new model, which includes three "Checkpoints" during the year and a shortened summative assessment. According to IDOE, these Checkpoints aim to provide real-time data to educators and families, allowing for earlier interventions. The redesigned model will be implemented statewide in the 2025–2026 school year. IDOE stated that "Checkpoints are not punitive and are used to guide student learning." If a student fails to master a standard, additional instruction and intervention will be provided before a retest option is offered. SAT results for Indiana students The state also released SAT results for the 2024–2025 academic year. The SAT serves as the federally mandated high school assessment in Indiana. Around 54.8 percent of Year 11 students met the college-readiness benchmark in evidence-based reading and writing, an increase of 2.7 percentage points over the previous year. Mathematics performance remained nearly unchanged, with 25.4 percent of students meeting the benchmark. Indiana law requires the SAT cut score to match or exceed the national standard, as noted by IDOE in the same release. Government emphasis on foundational skills Governor Braun emphasised the significance of foundational skills in both literacy and numeracy. He stated, "The literacy and numeracy skills developed in early grades are essential as students begin to explore career options, engage in hands-on learning, and ultimately, make decisions about their next steps after graduation," as quoted in the IDOE presentation of the results. All schools across Indiana are expected to transition fully to the redesigned ILEARN model beginning in the 2025–2026 academic year. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Time of India
3 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
How student-athletes score scholarships at top global universities
How student athletes can secure sports scholarships in universities abroad. In today's global education landscape, student-athletes stand out, not just for their sporting excellence, but for their unique ability to unlock doors at top-tier universities. Successfully combining academics and athletics creates a powerful profile, especially when applying to institutions in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia. If you're an aspiring student-athlete dreaming of studying abroad, this comprehensive guide breaks down everything you need to know—from building a strong profile to securing scholarships and navigating the admissions process. How Indian Students Can Secure College Sports Admissions in the U.S. & Beyond Who is a student-athlete? A student-athlete is a full-time university student who also competes in varsity-level sports for their college. This structured pathway is especially prominent in North America, where organizations like the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), and other college leagues ensure that sports and education go hand in hand. Why choose the student-athlete route abroad? Scholarship Opportunities: Top universities often offer partial or full sports scholarships, significantly reducing tuition and living expenses. World-Class Training and Coaching: State-of-the-art facilities and professional coaching help athletes reach peak performance. Holistic Growth: The system is built to support both academic and athletic goals, without forcing a choice between the two. Global Exposure and Networking: Student-athletes enter diverse networks of peers, mentors, and alumni across the globe, creating long-term career and life opportunities. How to study abroad through sports Student-athletes planning to study abroad can plan their journey by following the steps outlined below: 1. Start Early: Begin planning by Grade 9–11; research countries, sports, and universities. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ultra-Luxury 3–5 BHKs Overlooking the Arabian Sea L&T The Gateway Enquire Now Undo 2. Build Your Sports Profile: Create a resume, record highlight videos, and track rankings/stats. 3. Maintain Academic Excellence: Keep strong grades and prepare for SAT, ACT, TOEFL, or IELTS. 4. Contact Coaches: Email shortlisted coaches with your sports profile and personalised message. 5. Get Evaluated: Use rankings or attend camps to benchmark your level. 6. Understand Recruitment & Scholarships: Communicate regularly with coaches and apply formally when ready. 7. Prepare Key Documents: Include transcripts, test scores, recommendation letters, resume, and personal statement. 8. Stay Organised: Track deadlines, check eligibility (e.g., NCAA/NAIA), and prepare for visa processes. Which sports offer the best opportunities? Sports like tennis, golf, swimming, and track & field offer the best opportunities for international student-athletes, as they rely on measurable stats and rankings—making it easier for coaches to assess talent remotely. Soccer, basketball, and fencing offer moderate opportunities but often require showcase participation or video-based evaluations. Emerging sports like hockey, squash, shooting, and equestrian have fewer programs but can still lead to scholarships for standout athletes. Quantitative sports generally provide smoother recruitment pathways due to their data-driven nature. The student-athlete journey goes far beyond scholarships. It builds life skills that last a lifetime—discipline, time management, leadership, and resilience. Whether you pursue a pro career or pivot to other fields, these experiences shape you into a global citizen with a competitive edge. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
