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Reasons Why You Should Get an iPhone Case

You should definitely get a case for your iPhone, especially if you are clumsy and tend to drop your device frequently. You do not want your brand-new, pricey phone to sustain damage such as a scratch, bump, or break. If you go about without a case on your smartphone, there is a greater chance that it will sustain damage from scratches or even water. Because of this, we believe that it is best to err on the side of caution rather than regret.

  • Your iPhone is exposed to several threats throughout the day. You can protect your iPhone from scratches, liquid spills, dust, and rubbing against other objects in your purse and pocket by using a quality case. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, sometimes nothing works out for you, including your phones.. Anxious people can easily lose their mobile phones, which can easily cause them to slip out of their fingers and land on the concrete pavement, where their front and rear glass would break. You can rest assured that your phone won’t be damaged if you drop it by accident with a smartphone case.
  • Scratch – You dislike seeing scratches on your iPhone’s display, correct? Therefore, you need a quality screen protector to safeguard the display of your pricey smartphone.
  • Friction – A quality case can protect your iPhone not only from scratches, fading, and metal finish flaking, but also from rubbing from other items.
  • Easy gripping – The sleek and attractive iPhones are quite slippery. Putting a rubberized case on your iPhone makes it easier to handle and reduces the likelihood that you will drop it. The majority of individuals claim that they do not use a mobile case or cover because they do not wish to obscure the device’s aesthetic appeal. However, this is a completely incorrect premise. There are currently a variety of mobile phone cases and coverings that not only give optimal protection but also increase the phone’s aesthetic appeal. There are smooth silicone edge cases with rounded corners that make your mobile phone appear even nicer, and if you choose, you can also obtain a personalized case/cover for your mobile phone to get optimum protection and the aesthetic you desire.
  • Drop protection – Although iPhones are constructed to withstand occasional drops, this does not mean they are impervious to this risk. There are smartphones whose screens are more susceptible to breaking when dropped.
  • Unique – decorating up your iPhone can make it unique and ownership. It adds flair and fashion and reveals your individuality.
  • Increased Functionality – Mobile phone covers used to serve only one purpose—protecting the phone—but today, they serve multiple purposes. While most phone cases and covers are designed to keep your smartphone safe from the elements, some models also contain extra features that come in handy in other contexts, such as a place to store credit cards or a holder to prop up your phone so you can view movies. Customers can choose an option that best suits their needs thanks to the abundance of accessible alternatives.
  • Old iPhone – Your old iPhone may have sentimental significance, which is why you want to cover it and preserve its original appearance. Or you may wish to conceal it because you do not want others to realize that you have an older iPhone.
  • Extra features – certain cases, like the flip case or notebook-style case, contain pockets in which you can store your top-up cards or any other small, potentially critical notes.
  • Upgrade — If you have protected your iPhone from damage, nicks, and scratches with a quality case, you will have a greater chance of receiving a high-value iPhone when you decide to upgrade.

Why Phone Cases are Important 

No matter what kind of case you buy, your iPhone will be protected from harm. You don’t want your shiny new, expensive phone to get dinged up by accidental drops or scratches, bumps, or breaks, especially if you’re clumsy. Without a case, your phone is more vulnerable to harm from things like scratches and water. Given this, we think it is wise to err on the side of caution rather than experience any regret.

iPhones and other types of smartphones are in the hands of millions of people. Your phone, and more importantly, you, will be more noticeable when you use a case. When you buy a case that is truly one of a kind, you can rest assured that you will be the only person with that case. It will make it easier for you to find your phone in the crowd and will make you stand out more.

Conclusion

The iPhone’s protective cover has quickly become a must-have for any mobile phone owner. Nowadays, they provide far greater security than was previously available. That makes the phone practically indestructible under certain conditions. One should keep in mind that after a specific period of time, the phone case should be changed.

When you are considering updating your mobile phone, you would get more money for it if you had used a mobile cover to safeguard it. When you use a mobile case or cover for your mobile phone, you are essentially protecting it from all sorts of damages, scratches, and nicks that could occur without a case and reduce its resale value.

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Tips for Effective Brand Marketing

When you are getting your business up and running, one key aspect you need to focus on is- brand marketing. It makes the difference between whether you get ahead in the race or fall into oblivion. Your goal should be building up your brand, not just a business. Consumers are more likely to go for the already familiar brands, rather than try out an unfamiliar one. So how can you get your startup in the race? We’ve brought in some pro tips from business experts for an effective brand strategy, that can definitely work to get your brand to stand out.

Find Out Who Your Target Market Is

“I believe that it’s crucial to know who your target audience is and how to market to them effectively. Before you try to market to them, you need to determine who you want to be your buyers. This is a vital element in any marketing campaign, whether online or offline, and it is a well-defined component of your brand that you can return to. When it comes to digital marketing, it’s vital to note that in order for a business to be successful, it must first understand who its target audience is, which social media sites they use, and then ensure that it can supply content for those platforms. When it comes to social media marketing, Facebook is clearly ahead of the pack because they offer the most options for defining who you want to promote to and allowing you to establish whatever budget you want. Facebook also lets you target your audience based on up to ten different interests. This is why having a clear target audience is critical; you must know what they like to do and what they want in order to generate content that will hold their attention.”

Miklos Zoltan, CEO & Cybersecurity Researcher Privacy Affairs

Start Collaborating with Influencers

“Collaborating with the top influencers in one’s sector is an influential strategy to reach a new audience and increase brand exposure. I enabled leading designers and parent bloggers to take control of our Instagram account for a few days at a time. I was able to reach a new audience by allowing influencers to share inspirational material.”

Bram Jansen, Chief Editor of vpnAlert

Persistence Should Drive Your Brand Strategy

“Your brand strategy should be driven by persistence. Only a few companies could once claim to have developed a brand strategy that gained them national or regional, much alone international, recognition. These were either well-funded companies that engaged top marketing and advertising agencies or enterprises that were fortunate enough to receive media notice. The playing field has been greatly leveled thanks to social media and content marketing. To build brand recognition, startups no longer need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising.”

Jason McMahon, Digital Strategist Bambrick

Be the Solution – Start Helping Customers Solve a Problem

“Providing solutions for consumers is a wonderful strategy to generate brand loyalty and leave a lasting impact on a customer. You’re in business because you deliver solutions. Whether it’s through apps/tools, social media, newsletters, or outreach, creating how-to information, delivering exclusives that are relevant to clients, making their life simpler, replying, and listening are all critical methods.”

Alex Claro, VPN Analyst Credit Donkey

Use Big Data to Target Customers

“Big data is increasingly assisting merchants in identifying and targeting individual customers, as well as predicting purchase trends. A few airlines utilize canceled flight information to communicate with stranded visitors. Customers who are facing terrible weather or power disruptions are sent coupons by a pizza business using data. In a nutshell, big data can be used to forecast buying patterns. You may contact customers before they look for your products or services using this information.”

Ansh Gupta, Founder of Empire Crafter

Use Videos

“We have utilized video marketing quite a bit for our business. Using video is a more attractive way to market, and it gives you free rein to give your company any sort of image you want. One thing I’ve learned about it— it is a more “shareable” (or “retweetable”) way to advertise your brand. Consumers are more likely to pause scrolling for an interesting or visually appealing video. We also have a Youtube channel where we share testimonials, podcast videos, and show off our recipes and products. We have also created a challenge on our website that has encouraged our consumers to participate via posting on Youtube called the “Toast Cleanse”. We’ve had consumers who have participated in the challenge on our podcast as well. Using video in your business, especially in our industry, is unequivocally beneficial.”

William Schumacher, CEO and Founder of Uprising Food

Visible Presence

“An important tip for effective brand marketing tip is to have a visible presence on relevant social media platforms. Being active on social media is critical for any business’s success, especially in today’s environment where nearly all enterprises have gone digital. It’s one way to set yourself out from the crowd. As a result, you must establish an online presence on relevant social media networks. There are numerous social networks to choose from, but you must first determine where your clients spend the most of their time and then target them there. Choose those that are relevant to your company and prospects, and establish a presence there.”

Lacy Summers, Chief Marketing Officer, Crush the PM Exam

Be Consistent With Branding

“I believe that one of the most important tips for brand marketing is being consistent about your brand. The importance of brand consistency cannot be overstated. I would suggest that you should keep your colors and logo consistent across all digital channels, this covers things like your website, online directories, signs, stickers, flyers, menus, brochures, t-shirts, and other printed materials. Ensure that your brand’s tone is consistent across all social media platforms and blog postings. Make your staff aware of your company’s brand guidelines. Getting everyone on the same page when it comes to branding is the best approach to ensure that people identify your brand. Chances to interact with potential consumers are quite valuable. People won’t be able to grasp what your brand is all about if your brand strategy differs across media.”

Sam Browne, CEO/Founder of Find a Band

Make Connections Through Real-life Events

“Partner up with events and conferences in your niche- Real-life events and conferences offer many opportunities to help you spread brand awareness. You can reach out (through their contact form) and ask for your brand to be placed in the partners’ section in exchange for social media shoutouts- this leads to free backlinks for your website. You can also offer the possibility of cross-promotion through both your newsletters, exposing your brands to each other’s audiences for free. My favorite is this one: Start by writing a blog post on your website, listing the best events in your niche. Next, reach out to all of the events you mentioned to ask them for a backlink in exchange for the mention. They will most likely agree to your offer. If many disagree, reach out to other events you haven’t added to the list and offer them the possibility to be added to the post in exchange for a backlink. Those who agree to your terms are placed in the content, and you both benefit from the situation.”

Nikita Chen, Founder & CEO, LegitGrails

Finally, your brand will decide your reputation as a business. Your unique idea, effective marketing of your idea and of course the quality of your product will together impact your business’ success. 

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5 Mistakes to Avoid in House Construction

Building a house is not easy. From managing your budget to picking out the right materials and consulting contractors, it can be an exhausting experience. You may be worried about wrapping up construction work as soon as possible, but when it comes to something as big as this, you’re going to want to take it easy. Patience and vigilance are keys to getting you through the house construction journey. 

Here are five tips to help you in your project:

1. Ensure Access to Light 

Positioning is important when it comes to lighting. As such, try to position your windows where you can make the most out of the natural light. 

Natural light has many benefits. It can give you your much-needed dose of Vitamin D, but it will also save you from additional costs for electricity. You might also want your doorways to be positioned where enough light comes in. Different types of iron doors may be a good choice for this, as they can be fashioned in such a way where the light filters in. 

You can get a custom wrought iron door for this purpose, so that the style matches the rest of your home elegantly. 

2. Maximize Your Space

Some people make the mistake of not fully utilizing their space. Your living area should be designed to accommodate as many guests as you want. Take your time mapping out your floor plan so that you can build as per your requirements. 

You need to think carefully about how high you want your ceilings to be, as well as how wide your hallways are. When you go furniture shopping, make sure to take measurements so you know how much space will be taken up. 

3. Lay Your Tiles Carefully 

Laying the tiles may not be as difficult as other tasks, but it is easy to make mistakes. Before starting to lay down your tiles, remember to use the proper trowel. Use the trowel that matches the size of your tiles. For example, large zellige tiles need a deeper layer of thin-set so you need a trowel with deep notches. 

Depending on the materials they are made from, tiles can easily crack. This results in costly repairs and a waste of resources. To reduce the number of cracked tiles use a diamond wet saw as it is the best tool to cut tiles. Also, make sure that your tile choices are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

4. Let In Proper Ventilation

When constructing your house, make sure to install large windows to let air flow in. You will save money, as you do not need to purchase and install air conditioners to keep every room cool. 

As we said earlier, iron doors are a great option for letting in natural light, but the same goes for outdoor air. Therefore, both your windows and doors must be strategically placed. Come summertime, you’ll be thankful for your attention to detail.

5. Focus on Your Plumbing 

The placement of pipes is another important aspect when it comes to house construction. Failure to focus on your plumbing and pipe placement can put you in serious trouble, especially if there is a leak. You can always call a plumbing company near you and just get their service.

Your sewage line should come in from outside rather than come in through the rooms. Should there be a leak, you can easily repair this without ruining the floor of your rooms. In addition to this, remember to place your hot water pipelines closer to the kitchen and the bathroom for easy access.

To summarize, wait until you consult with professionals with an end goal and proper budget in mind before you even think of lifting a tool. Invest in high-quality materials, do not rush the process, and think of where you want to place things. When your home is able to withstand the usual wear and tear, you’ll be glad you did not cut corners. 

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How to Travel After Coronavirus- 2021 Travel Tips

The Coronavirus crisis will probably change the way we travel if you’re wondering what your vacation might look like after all this is over. Here are our seven quick tips on how to plan your trip during the quarantine. 

Number seven, prepare multiple destination options for your next trip. Start with creating a travel bucket list and choose multiple destinations based on your preferences. Watch YouTube videos, read blogs, watch documentaries on the possible destinations you want to visit, etc. 

When you’re making a list, make them based on the factors such as how healthy or risky the country you’re planning to visit is. Keep on checking the WHO website, the Coronavirus tracker and life updates, see which countries have the best preventive measures, etc. If you’re unsure, explore less crowded destinations. Places such as nature, less crowded towns, and cities visit to a national park will be such example check if there is enough medical infrastructure in the place or in the region you’re traveling to if you get sick while you’re there. 

Number six, Book your trip with possible cancellation options. Book your accommodation so that you can easily cancel to eliminate unnecessary cancellation fees. Always look at what the cancellation policy for your recommendation right or flight is. It might not always be easy to find the cancellation conditions, so take some time and read the fine print. You can even consider purchasing to read cancellation insurance to watch for the best value and not necessarily the lowest prices after the best crisis. 

Many hotels offered a great price-quality ratio and packages for tourists to get them traveling again. But be careful when booking, especially with unknown operators, and watch out for scams. If you choose a well-known brand, such as hotels, booking providers, or airlines, the chances of going bankrupt are lower. Also, don’t forget to get the right travel health insurance. 

Number five, plan to travel closer to your home plan shorter trips so you can easily get back home. You can even take several shorter trips more often; instead of making one big trip, take advantage of long weekends and holidays to travel to neighboring states or countries. So you’re always able to come home fast by car or a very short flight at most. 

Number four, do not plan way ahead. Why is it not so good to plan that far ahead? Well, maybe in the summer, the Coronavirus situation improves, but then it might hit hard again, as SARS did. Nobody knows what will happen. That’s why it’s great to have several options ready, including several possible dates. 

Number three, stay healthy. It would be best if you are strong and healthy for your next travel. So eat healthily, take vitamins, drink enough, sleep well, exercise, and practice mental strength. 

Number two, take precautions while traveling after this is over. Here’s what you can do to stay safe and healthy during your travels. Always wash your hands properly every time you have a chance to, for example, after using a toilet, but be careful not to touch the doors after leaving the restaurant. Bring hand sanitizers and wipes. Use them every time you touch something. For example, right after touching handrails, doors surfaces on the metro elevator buttons before you eat outside, etc. 

Remember that many people have just touched that elevator button right before you, and viruses can stay on the surfaces for days. Use wipes to sanitize surfaces that you’re about to use. Don’t touch your face. One of the main ways the virus spreads is when you touch your nose, eyes, or mouth, use tissues or your sleeve when coughing and wear a mask, especially indoors and when you’re close to other people. 

Don’t sit down while using the metro and try to use the metro without holding them, just as some locals do. But be careful, we don’t want you to fall, of course, either the restaurants, fast food joints and food centers that have good reviews chances are they are way cleaner stay healthy. 

Eat well, drink enough and take vitamins also during your travel and get enough sleep. Also, know what the emergency number is for your destination. 

Number one, don’t rush into taking your first vacation. Wait until the authorities say it’s safe to go, and then revisit your travel plan. If you’ve made a long enough list with many options, you will probably find a great place to visit.

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What is Entertainment?

Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over 1000s of years specifically to keep an audience’s attention. Although various things hold people’s attention, most forms are recorded stable and familiar because individuals have different preferences and entertainment. 

Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures or supported in Royal Courts developed into sophisticated forms, and it became available to all citizens. The process has been accelerated in modern times by the entertainment industry, which records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale ranging from an individual who chooses private entertainment from an enormous array of pre-recorded products to a banquet or adapted for to, to any size or type of party with appropriate music and dance to performances intended for 1000s. And even for a global audience. 

The experience of being entertained has come to be strongly associated with amusement so that one common understanding of the idea is fun and laughter. Although many entertainments have a serious purpose, this may be the case in the various forms of ceremony, celebration, religious festival, or satire. Hence, there is the possibility that what appears as entertainment may also be a means of achieving insight or intellectual growth. An essential aspect of entertainment is the audience which turns the private recreation or leisure activity into entertainment. The audience may have a passive role, as in the case of persons watching a play, opera, television show, or film, or the audience role may be active, as in the case of games, where the participant slash audience roles may be routinely reversed. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGIVPnJfMZQ

Entertainment can be public or private, involving formal, scripted performance, as in theater or concerts, or unscripted and spontaneous, as in children’s games. Most entertainment forms have persisted over many centuries due to changes in culture, technology, fashion, films, and video games. For example, although they use more recent media, continue telling stories, presenting drama, and playing music, festivals devoted to music, film, or dance allow audiences to be entertained over several consecutive days. Some activities that once were considered entertaining, particularly public punishments, have been removed from the public arena. Others such as fencing or archery, once necessary skills, have become serious sports and even professions for the participants while developing into entertainment with a broader appeal for bigger audiences.

In the same way, other necessary skills, such as cooking, have developed into performances among professionals staged as global competitions and then broadcast for entertainment. What is entertainment for one group or individual may be regarded as worked by another? The familiar forms of entertainment can cross over various media, and they have demonstrated a seemingly unlimited potential for creative remix. This is ensured the continuity and longevity of many themes, images, and structures. Entertainment can be distinguished from other activities such as education and marketing, even though they have learned how to use the appeal of entertainment to achieve their different goals. 

Scholars recognize the importance and impact of entertainment, and its increasing sophistication has influenced practices in other fields such as museology. Psychologists say the function of media entertainment is the attainment of gratification. No other results or measurable benefit are expected from it except perhaps the final score in sporting entertainment. This contrasts with education, which is designed to develop understanding or help people learn, and marketing, aiming to encourage people to purchase commercial products. However, the distinctions become blurred when education seeks to be more entertaining, and entertainment or more Marketing seeks to be more educational. The neologisms entertainment or infotainment often knows such mixtures. 

The Psychology of entertainment as well as of learning has been applied to all these fields. Some education entertainment is a serious attempt to combine the best features of the to some people are entertained by others pain or the idea of their happiness shot in Freud. Entertainment might go beyond gratification and produce some insight and its audience when it skillfully considers universal philosophical questions such as What is the meaning of life? What does it mean to be human? What is the right thing to do? Or how do I know what I know is a question such as these drive many narratives and dramas, whether they are presented in the form of a story, film, play, poem, book, dance, comic, or game. 

Its ideas became popular References See phrases from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and translated into many languages. Its themes encompass the meaning of life and the ethics of entertainment, artificial intelligence, multiple worlds, God, and philosophical method.

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Healthcare News

6 tips for covering COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

by Naseem S. Miller, The Journalist’s Resource
February 9, 2021


Americans’ enthusiasm towards COVID-19 vaccines is growing. In January, more than four in ten adults said that they’ll definitely get the vaccine when it’s available to them for free, compared with 34% in December, according to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Meanwhile, the percent of adults who said they wanted to “wait and see how it’s working” has dropped from 39% to 31% between December and January, the KFF poll shows. There has also been a slight drop in the percentage of adults who said they will only get the vaccine if required and those who said they will “definitely not get it.”

Still, although more Americans are embracing COVID-19 vaccines, the rollout has highlighted a segment of the population that didn’t receive much press coverage before the pandemic: vaccine-hesitant individuals. The World Health Organization defines vaccine hesitancy as “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccine services,” going on to explain that it is “influenced by factors such as complacency, convenience and confidence.”

In 2019, WHO listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health, so it’s important for journalists to shed light on the issue and educate the public about it, but it’s also critical to distinguish people who are vaccine-hesitant from the so-called “anti-vaxxers” — a small but vocal group that actively advocates against vaccination.

“They’re separate from vaccine hesitant [people],” says science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer, who has written about vaccines and vaccine hesitancy for the New York Times. She describes anti-vaxxers as “people who are doggedly sharing misinformation and trying to convince other people that vaccines aren’t safe. But most people are not that. Most people are somewhere along this spectrum of maybe just having one question that makes them a little bit uncomfortable until they have the question answered.”

Take the time to investigate vaccine hesitancy in your community and explain to readers its nuances.

“People who are vaccine-hesitant are a very heterogenous group,” says Maryn McKenna, veteran science journalist, author and senior fellow at Emory University’s  Center for the Study of Human Health. “Try to make it clear to the reader or the viewer that vaccine hesitancy is not one thing, but it’s a spectrum. People have come to it with degrees of belief or disbelief for a variety of reasons.”

We asked several researchers and journalists how they think reporters should cover the topic of vaccine hesitancy. Here’s their advice distilled in six tips.

1. Find out why someone, or a segment of the community, is vaccine hesitant.

“Don’t assume that a community would be vaccine hesitant and don’t assume why a community would be vaccine-hesitant,” says Dr. Emily Harrison, a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard History of Science Department and co-author of the essay “Vaccine Confidence in the Time of COVID-19,” published last April in the European Journal of Epidemiology. “Don’t go into a story assuming you know who is feeling what about the vaccine.”

2. Be compassionate and answer your audience’s questions about vaccines.

“It’s fully understandable that people have questions and concerns about the [COVID-19] vaccine, especially for a vaccine that’s new,” says Moyer. “We, as journalists, should be empathetic to that and be respectful.”

And let the public ask questions. You can collect the questions but putting out a call on your social media channels or on your news outlet’s website. Ask your local doctors or nurses what questions they’ve been getting from their patients and address those questions in your stories.

“If we don’t let the public ask questions, we don’t know what their questions are and we’re making assumptions,” says Dr. Cindy Prins,  associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida.

Dr. Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou, program director of the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute and a co-author of the study, “Considering Emotion in COVID-19 Vaccine Communication,” published in Health Communication in October, suggests having a well-respected community figure — an athlete, community activist or faith leader — to pose questions and concerns and have them answered by experts.  For journalists, this could be an opportunity to create a virtual forum with local experts and leaders.

3. Don’t gloss over COVID-19 vaccine side effects. Do address what’s still unknown about vaccines.

“We should report on [vaccines] accurately and honestly,” says McKenna. “We should report on side effects and acknowledge them and communicate them to people precisely so any reports of side effects won’t get blown out of proportion.”

Explain that the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines — for the vast majority of people the side effects are minimal compared with getting very sick and being hospitalized with COVID, says Prins.

“It’s also important to say that just because [the COVID vaccine] is fast-tracked, it doesn’t mean that corners were cut,” says Chou, who helped write the National Institutes of Health’s COVID-19 vaccination communication guide for public health workers. “Yes, we’re still learning a lot and NIH has invested a lot in observing the long-term effects and side effects. But the benefits outweigh the risks. We need to be honest with describing all the things and tell people that this is the best solution we have right now.”

4. Balance the voices you include in your stories.

Your coverage of a vaccine allows the public to gauge how other people feel about it. If you interview only people who say they’re not getting vaccinated, inadvertently you’re making it appear that the majority of people in a certain group or community are hesitant to get the vaccine, even though polls show that’s not the case. Some 51% of Americans who haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine say they definitely plan to get vaccinated, while an additional 26% say they probably would, according to a Jan. 27 report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Be sure to speak with those who have gotten the vaccine or are planning to get it.

“Bring in more than one perspective,” Prins recommends.

If your deadline allows, look for people who used to be hesitant and changed their minds and got vaccinated, she adds.

A recommendation from Harrison:  Ask people who are getting vaccinated why they chose to get vaccinated and what gave them the confidence to get vaccinated.

5. Spend time in communities where most residents are racial or ethnic minorities to understand why vaccination rates tend to be lower.

Recent public opinion polls show that Black and Hispanic adults are warier of the vaccine than whites. The same trend is true for rural residents.

Researchers and journalists have examined the link between systemic racism and a relative lack of trust in the medical community. In a piece published in November on Wired, for example, McKenna delves into the history of medical racism that has led to vaccine hesitancy among some communities of color. And in a story published in February in the Los Angeles Times, reporter Kurtis Lee explains how the Tuskegee syphilis study has led to vaccine hesitancy in Black communities.

But vaccine hesitancy is not the sole cause of lower vaccination rates in some communities.

“Some might assume that lower vaccination rates are because people aren’t choosing to get vaccinated,” Harrison says. “But maybe  it is in part problems of access. Maybe it’s a product of structural racism and who can actually get access to the vaccines. Statistics are an opportunity to ask questions.”

Journalists should also highlight the fact that many people in communities of color are willing to get vaccinated. For instance, while 22% of Black individuals surveyed by the U.S. Census Bureau in January said they probably won’t get the vaccine, about 64% said they will “definitely or “probably” get the vaccine.

Look for examples of people who are working hard to protect their families and communities from the pandemic, advises Dr. Reed Tuckson, co-convener of the Black Coalition Against COVID-19, a national group of doctors, public health experts and professionals whose aim is to bring information about COVID-19 and the vaccine to the Black communities and inspire trust.

“Tell the story of a younger person who is not eligible for the vaccine but took their grandmother to the site to get vaccinated because of the values of the Black family,” says Tuckson. “We should talk about this a lot more through the prism of the Black family and the relationship we have for survival. I think we need to be able to tell the story of survival.”

He also advises featuring local activists in stories.

“Find someone who is a Black Lives Matter activist, who says, ‘Black lives matter,’ and, therefore, they want to make sure that [their community] gets access to the vaccine,” Tuckson says. “You really should be telling more stories about those who are fighting for equitable access at the local level.”

6. Talk to researchers and academics who study vaccine hesitancy.

Science journalist Tara Haelle, who has written extensively about covering vaccines, features a list of peer-reviewed studies on vaccine hesitancy in a blog post on the Association for Health Care Journalists website. Reach out to the authors of the studies for comment and advice.

“And make sure you talk to multiple people so that you get different perspectives and then potentially look for the consensus perspective,” says Prins.

Ask experts to suggest other sources, including those who might have a different perspective. And double-check your work.

“It’s really incumbent on us as much as possible to check our stuff with experts,” says McKenna. “We should be seeking out people who can be our informal fact-checkers and can tell us that something is right or wrong or that we’ve misinterpreted a number, so that we can be as accurate as possible.”

Looking for more tip sheets on covering vaccines?

Need an expert?

This article first appeared on The Journalist’s Resource and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

SOURCE: Naseem S. Miller
VIA: The Journalist’s Resource
MAIN IMAGE SOURCE: Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

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News

How law enforcement is using technology to track down people who attacked the US Capitol building

Don Hummer, Penn State and James Byrne, University of Massachusetts Lowell
January 20, 2021


After rioters flooded the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, there was an immediate call for those who overran officers on the scene and swarmed the House and Senate floors, as well as congressional members’ personal offices, to be identified, arrested and prosecuted. The coordinated law enforcement response to this incident is massive.

As researchers who study criminal justice, we see that law enforcement agencies are accessing large amounts of information via technological sources to investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol building. High-definition security cameras, facial recognition technology, location services acquired from cellphones and third-party apps, and accessing archival evidence on social media are all used to identify perpetrators of crimes and tie them to specific places and times.

While watchdog groups have raised legitimate concerns about the use of government and private-sector surveillance technology to identify people who might commit violent acts at some future point, there is much less concern raised about the use of technology to identify, arrest and prosecute individuals once these crimes have occurred.

Facial recognition technology

In the days since the breaching of the Capitol, information has flowed continuously to law enforcement with names and/or images of suspected participants in the unrest. Facial recognition technology can be used to compare images obtained by law enforcement – particularly those images taken from the network of security cameras within and outside the Capitol complex – to positively identify persons of interest.

Facial recognition systems work by matching a face in a video or photo with a face in a database that is associated with a person’s name and other identifying information. Beyond using public records, law enforcement agencies have been turning to private companies to access large databases of identified faces. A growing body of evidence shows the large amount of data some companies have been collecting from social media and other publicly available sources, as well as from CCTV systems in public spaces around the globe. Law enforcement agencies can simply purchase the services of these companies.

A security camera mounted on a streetlight pole with the U.S. Capitol dome in the background
Cameras in public spaces provide surveillance – and contribute to a growing trove of private facial recognition databases available to law enforcement agencies. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

The technology exists to identify individuals participating in violent encounters in public spaces in real time using the soon-to-be-completed national ID database. This could result in some extremist groups going off the grid to avoid identification.

Sourcing information from social media

Investigators are being aided by many of the participants in the events of Jan. 6 themselves who posted accounts of their activities on social networks. In addition to the participants who breached the barricades of the Capitol, many bystanders documented the happenings. Social media companies are assisting law enforcement in accessing content that may be useful to locate and prosecute specific individuals.

Some of the earliest subjects who were arrested after the events of Jan. 6 were previously known to law enforcement agencies around the nation, their involvement confirmed by social media postings. Reports have emerged that individuals and groups already under surveillance by law enforcement agencies nationwide via their activity on social media, including suspected white supremacists on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist, were contacted by officers before the individuals traveled to Washington to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally.

Information from social media is also assisting authorities in determining the extent of planning among individuals and groups that were involved.

There is some disagreement within the law enforcement community about the pros and cons of restricting the ability of extremists to communicate on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Parler. The benefit of restricting extremists’ access is hindering communication in the hopes of preventing similar attacks. There is emerging evidence that extremist groups are moving their social media conversations to password-protected sites and to the darknet, where an individual’s anonymity is protected. This migration might hinder extremist groups in recruiting and propaganda efforts, but it’s not clear if it has an effect on the groups’ organizing.

The downside of driving extremists to less-visible online platforms is that it makes it difficult for law enforcement to gather information needed to bring cases against those who participate in criminal incidents. Their virtual footprints become harder to follow.

Location tracking

Identifying a person – particularly someone not previously known to law enforcement – is just one piece of evidence needed to issue an arrest warrant. Empirical information that puts the suspect at the location of a crime when that crime occurred often provides the corroboration courts need to issue a warrant.

The vast majority of participants in the Capitol unrest carried mobile devices with them and had them powered on, which makes it possible for law enforcement agencies to determine the movements of the cellphone’s owner. Even if users have location services, cellular data and Wi-Fi disabled, law enforcement has access to technology that can determine the location of a device at a specified time.

People crowded in the U.S. Capitol building rotunda using cell phones
Many of the people who broke into the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 had cellphones, which law enforcement agencies can use to place people at the scene of the crime. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

But location data is useful only when coupled with other evidence of a subject’s involvement in a criminal incident, such as photos and video. For instance, it is doubtful whether simply being in the vicinity of the Capitol during the unrest is sufficient. Location data may not be precise enough to discern whether a device was on someone’s person behind previously established barricades outside the Capitol building or if that device was inside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s private office, particularly with thousands of mobile devices clustered in one small geographic space inside structures that can obscure signals.

Tips from the public

One aspect of criminal investigations that has not changed with the rise of technological surveillance is the value of information provided by eyewitnesses and associates of individuals suspected of perpetrating crimes. In the days since the storming of the Capitol, many tips have come into law enforcement from friends, relatives, ex-spouses, neighbors, co-workers and others who indicated they either saw images of someone they knew participating in the unrest on television or on social media, heard them boast of their exploits or heard from a third-party that they had participated.

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The FBI, especially, took advantage of the constant media attention on the unrest at the Capitol to ask the public for tips and information, and had established a hotline to gather this information within hours of the incident. It certainly helps criminal investigations when perpetrators are willing to be recorded and photographed, and when they provide their names, ages and hometowns to reporters.

Technology expands the reach of law enforcement investigations, and, combined with tips from the public, makes it more difficult for participants in mob actions to become lost in the crowd. However, these technologies raise the question of whether they can and should be used in the future to prevent these types of large-scale violent incidents from occurring in the first place.

Don Hummer, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Penn State and James Byrne, Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell


This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

SOURCE: Don Hummer, Penn State and James Byrne
VIA: theconverstaion.com
MAIN IMAGE SOURCE: Many of the people who broke into the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 carried cellphones, which can be tracked, and posted photos of their activities on social media. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

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Entertainment Healthcare News

22 Facts About Naps

After a long stressful day, what better way to recharge than a nap? There’s no better feeling than napping a bit before getting back to work. But there’s more to napping than you might think. Here are 22 facts about napping. 

One: It doesn’t mean what you think. If you know you have to pull an all-nighter, try a prophylactic nap. Typically, these naps last for about 90 minutes. It’s a short nap in advance of expected sleep deprivation that will help you stay alert for up to 10 hours afterward. 

Two: You can’t avoid that down period after lunch by not eating. Human bodies naturally go through two phases of deep tiredness, one between 2 to 4 am and 1 to 3 pm. Skipping lunch won’t help this period of diminished alertness and coordination. 

Three: Pick the right time. After lunch in the early afternoon, your body naturally gets tired. This is the best time to take a brief nap as it’s early enough to not mess with your nighttime sleep. 

Four: Hour naps are great. A 90-minute nap improves the alertness for 10 hours, although with naps over 45 minutes, you risk what’s known as sleep inertia, that groggy feeling that may last for 15 minutes to 30 minutes. 

Five: Short naps are the best. For healthy young adults, naps as short as 20 to 30 minutes can help mood, alertness, and performance. Drink coffee first. This works because you drink a cup of coffee right before taking your 20-minute or half-hour nap, which is how long caffeine takes to kick in—that way. When you wake up, you’re not only refreshed; you’re ready to go. 

Six: The NASA nap. A little group called NASA discovered that just a 26-minute nap increases performance by 34% and alertness by 54%. Pilots take advantage of NASA naps when all planes are on autopilot. 

Seven: Can’t sleep? Don’t stress. Even if you can’t fall asleep for naps, just laying down and resting has benefits. Studies have found resting results in lower blood pressure, which some college kids have to worry about genetically predisposed to high blood pressure. 

Eight: Napping may save your life. A multi-year Greek study found napping at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes resulted in a 37% lower death rate due to heart problems. 

Nine: More nap, more benefits for the brain. Not only will napping improve your alertness. It will also help your decision-making, creativity, and sensory perception. 

Ten: But wait, there’s more. Studies have found napping raises your stamina by 11%, increases the ability to stay asleep all night by 12%, and lowers the time required to fall asleep by 14%.

Eleven: The ultimate nap, according to Dr. Sarah Mednick, occurs when REM sleep is in proportion to slow-wave sleep. Use her patented take a nap wheel to calculate what time of day you can take a nap to the max. 

Twelve: Research shows that women who sleep five hours at night are 22% more likely to experience major weight gain than those sleeping seven hours. A two-hour nap isn’t feasible for many, but napping is a good way to make up for at least some of last night’s sleep. 

Thirteen: If it was good enough for them, presidents JFK and Bill Clinton used to nap every day to help ease the heavy burden of ruling the free world. Of course, they also had other relaxation methods, but we won’t get to those. 

Fourteen: Do as the Romans do. In ancient Rome, everyone, including children, retreated for a two to three-hour nap after lunch. No doubt, this is the reason the Roman Empire lasted over 1000 years. 

Fifteen: Don’t wait too long. The latest you want to wake up from a nap is five hours before bedtime. Otherwise, you risk not being able to fall asleep at night. 

Sixteen: Sugar is not a good substitute for a nap. When we are tired, we instinctively retrieve foods with a high glycemic index. After the initial energy wears off for left more tired than before, consider pairing proteins with carbs or fat for longer-lasting energy. 

Seventeen: Nap is a good way to catch up. If it takes you less than five minutes to fall asleep at night, you are sleep deprived. If you can never get to bed earlier at night, a midday nap is a great way to catch up on sleep. 

Eighteen: Freshmen and sophomores are still in their teens. They need up to 10 hours of sleep to feel rested. So the odds are you are sleep deprived. 

Nineteen: (We’ll have to leave the party sooner!) After one school week of not getting enough sleep, three alcoholic drinks will affect you the same way six would when you are fully rested. 

Twenty: Don’t drive drowsy. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of an emergency nap on the side of the road in your car—sleepy people behind the wheel cause as many as 100,000 traffic fatalities.

Twenty-one: The Einstein method. If you are concerned about sleeping too long, do what Albert Einstein regularly did- hold a pencil while you’re drifting off. So when you fall asleep, the pencil dropping will wake you up. But we don’t guarantee you will wake up with a 180 IQ.

Twenty-two: Missing sleep is worse at your age for people ages 18 to 24. Sleep deprivation impairs performance more significantly than other age brackets. 

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Healthcare News

10 Terrifying Facts about Sleep Paralysis

You might be wondering what exactly sleep paralysis is. Generally, there’s a big difference between the level of alertness versus the body’s muscle tension. One is awake and aware but unable to move or speak. The person experiencing this phenomenon may appear simply awake but very still. 

Experiences reported include difficulty breathing, feelings of panic, and fear. As you can imagine, this is usually considered rather unpleasant. Sleep Paralysis has been a widespread point of fascination for many years. Some have claimed the cause to be stemming from a demon spirit and even part of the alien abduction experience. Supernatural aside, here are ten real-world scientifically discovered features about sleep paralysis to help you understand it better.

One, it happens mostly to adults. It often begins in the teen years, continuing until later life, noted particularly with an increasingly stressful and sleep-deprived lifestyle. While disruptive sleep disorders, sometimes called parasomnias, are a problem for nearly 70 million Americans have varying ages. 

Second, Sleep Paralysis is one that typically affects adults to sleep. The process is when the brain awakens before the muscles wake up. Paralyzed but lucid means your brain is awake before the rest of your body. As we sleep, our brains, with the help of neurotransmitters, GABA, and glycine, turn off our muscles so that we don’t act out our dreams and hurt ourselves or potentially others. Usually, the brain wakes up and turns on the muscles at the same time. When sleep paralysis occurs, it’s like the brain forgets to hit the muscles’ on switch. 

Number three, it happens closer to morning. Too bad mornings are hard enough. Sorry to say. But this susceptibility to episodes of sleep paralysis increases closer to waking up in the morning. It’s easier to snap into mental alertness during these hours while the body is finishing its deep stages of sleep. Health.com says that it’s because deep sleep is more persistent closer to the morning. During this time, there is a higher probability of the brain waking before the body, or it can occur with other sleep disorders. 

Fourth, sleep paralysis is not usually a loner and can be buddies with narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder noted for causing extreme drowsiness or sleep, often at very inconvenient or inappropriate times and places. It’s often visualized in Hollywood, somewhat inaccurately, as the person falling asleep in their bowl of soup, sleeping during normal waking hours. Sounds familiar? Narcolepsy can often, although not always, be a contributing factor to sleep paralysis. 

Number five, episodes may last several minutes. While most sleep paralysis instances are short, lasting a few seconds, some can last up to a few minutes. They can last even longer than this, but with a lower likelihood. 

Six, it is remembered clearly. Because the mind is alert during sleep paralysis, the experiences are remembered. The details are often terrifying, and terrifyingly clear. 

Regular dreams and nightmares are usually forgotten or quickly fade. This is because to the unconscious mind; the details are considered unreal, thus unimportant. Having a waking dream is upsetting because differentiating the real from the unreal is now difficult to add to memory clarity. The sleep process also evokes strong emotions like fear. And we tend to recall subconscious emotions with more clarity. 

Seven, hallucinations are common and often scary. Sorry, no unicorns or rainbows. As if the sleep paralysis concept wasn’t unsettling enough, reports for many sufferers explained that along with this suffocating pressure felt on their chest. They also see an ominous figure like a demon or monster sitting there. Imagine that situation. They’re unable to move. There’s a demon crushing your chest and watching you, and on top of it all, you can’t tell if it’s terrifying. The high level of consciousness occurring during sleep paralysis might be the reason for the hallucinations, causing scary dreams about monsters to seem like visions. 

Eight, it happens in REM sleep. Most of our dreams occur in a stage of sleep called REM Eye Movement, or REM. This stage is generally reached an hour and a half after falling asleep. We cycle through REM sleep a few times over a night, with each time and REM getting longer, which makes it more likely to continue into brain wakefulness, which usually happens closer to morning. 

Nine, it is a genetic movie that odd uncle wasn’t so odd. If you have a family member who has experienced sleep paralysis, your chances of experiencing it are higher. This shows that there may be a link between sleep paralysis and genetics. The Journal of sleep research completed a twin study and concluded that the genetic influence is over 50%.

Ten, it can be prevented. To prevent sleep paralysis from happening, it’s important to know what triggers it: sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, and certain medication types. Several lifestyle habits help to prevent episodes. Some of these include having a consistent sleep and wake schedule and a sleeping environment without uncomfortable extremes. This means quiet, dark, and a moderate temperature. Sweet dreams.

Do you have any experiences of sleep paralysis episodes? Does this help with understanding how to deal with it? If this makes you think of someone who it might help, please share it.