This is edition 2024/156 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Welcome to the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
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1. Do Celebrities Swing Elections?
Grant Duncan
- 📰 First, read my article about finance minister Nicola Willis in September’s North & South. It’s based on a sit-down interview we did in early August. If you're not subscribed, get a copy from newsstands now.
- 🎤 Taylor Swift recently endorsed the Harris/Walz ticket, while Trump gained endorsements from Hulk Hogan and Amber Rose, highlighting the divisive nature of celebrity endorsements in politics.
- 📊 Political scientists and pollsters debate the real impact of these endorsements, noting that while they can influence voter registration, their actual effect on voting behavior remains unclear.
- 🗳️ Swift's endorsement led to increased voter registrations among young people, potentially influencing voter turnout.
- 📈 Despite potential benefits, endorsements can also backfire and primarily enhance the celebrity's reputation rather than the endorsed candidate's.
- 🇬🇧 The UK faces challenges in its university system, including financial instability and an oversupply of graduates amidst job shortages and mental health concerns.
- 🎓 In New Zealand, university reforms are criticized for focusing more on bureaucracy than on addressing fundamental issues like the integration of AI in education.
- 🤖 AI's role in education raises questions about cheating, plagiarism detection, and the future of traditional learning methods versus technological integration.
- 📚 The shift towards a "knowledge economy" has flooded the market with graduates, raising doubts about the relevance and direction of higher education today.
- 🏛️ Universities worldwide struggle with ideological conformity at the expense of academic freedom and critical discourse, impacting their original purpose and culture.
