TOP FOUR

10Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BEAUTY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Dove’s Anti-AI Stance

Dove’s latest ‘Real Beauty’ drive – and why AI will be harder to ditch than it thinks. Beauty brand Dove recently announced it would not use models generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in its advertising campaigns. But is this really an anti-AI stance or merely the marketing of “inclusive” and “realistic” AI-generated images? In other words, is Dove attempting to shape the beauty ideals AI shows consumers, rather than ditching its use entirely? Dove’s owner Unilever is one of the world’s largest multinational, fast-moving consumer goods companies. But the values of the brands it owns vary dramatically, as highlighted by legal action that Ben & Jerry’s brought against Unilever to object to its ice cream being “sold in the occupied Palestinian Territory”. The lawsuit was settled...

Instagram Will Be Removing The Beauty Filters

10Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA, TOP FOUR

Instagram Will Be Removing The Beauty Filters

Instagram has announced it will be removing beauty filters – but the damage is done. Meta has announced third-party augmented reality (AR) filters will no longer be available on its apps as of January 2025. This means more than two million user-made filters offered across WhatsApp, Facebook and, most notably, Instagram will disappear. Filters have become a mainstay feature on Instagram. The most viral of these – which often involve beautifying the user’s appearance – are created by users themselves via the Meta Spark Studio. But the use of beautifying AR filters has long been connected to worsened mental health and body image problems in young women. In theory, the removal of the vast majority of Instagram filters should signal a turning point for unrealistic beauty standards. Howeve...

10Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TELEVISION, TOP FOUR

The Cute Rabbi In ‘Nobody Wants This’

In ‘Nobody Wants This,’ rom-com gets century-old tropes with a new twist – the cute rabbi. Twenty years ago, the television show “The O.C.” invented the word “Chrismukkah.” Main character Seth Cohen, played by Adam Brody, described his interfaith family’s December tradition of “eight days of presents followed by one day of lots of presents.” Today Brody is back, starring in a new Netflix show. But this time, instead of playing the child of an interfaith marriage, he is a rabbi dating a woman “without a Jewish bone in her body” – one who, at times, seems unfamiliar with the basics of American Jewish culture. “Nobody Wants This” is the story of a romance between Rabbi Noah and Joanne, played by Kristen Bell: a blond, non-Jewish woman who hosts a podcast about her dating disasters. The s...

What The Quote “See You In The Funny Papers” Actually Means

10Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIETY, TOP FOUR

What The Quote “See You In The Funny Papers” Actually Means

Have you been wondering what the quote "See You In The Funny Papers" actually means? The phrase "See you in the funny papers" is an idiomatic expression that harks back to the era when comic strips were a prominent feature in newspapers. It carries a playful tone, suggesting that the speaker is expecting to encounter someone again, often in a lighthearted or humorous context. This quote evokes nostalgia for a time when families would gather around the breakfast table to read the daily comics, laughing at the antics of beloved characters. In a broader sense, the expression implies that life is filled with unpredictable moments and that we may often find ourselves in amusing situations reminiscent of comic strips. In contemporary usage, saying "See you in the funny papers" can also sugg...

9Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, TOP FOUR, WHAT'S GOOD

Pumpkin Seeds And Their Health Benefits

Pumpkins were one of the foods the Spanish and Portuguese explorers of the 15th century discovered in the Americas, which they transported back to Europe. The pumpkin fared better than the tomato and potato as regards the suspicions of the Europeans and it was widely cultivated. Most people are unaware of the health benefits of pumpkin seeds and generally remove them and throw them away. However they can be used in soups and sauces as well as a healthy snack. You can roast them yourself after drying them with or without salt and in their shells. Some pumpkin seeds are not surrounded by a husk but mostly you have to take off the ivory-coloured outer husk to get at the dark-green seed inside. In Greece people eat these as snacks and they are called passé tempo. They contain monounsaturated ...

Campaigning To Protect Freedom May Work Better Than Campaigning To Protect Democracy

30Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, TOP FOUR

Campaigning To Protect Freedom May Work Better Than Campaigning To Protect Democracy

Why trying to protect freedom may work better than campaigning to protect democracy. When Joe Biden was the Democrats’ candidate for president in 2020 and again in 2024, he staked his candidacy on being the person who would save democracy from the threat Donald Trump posed. But Kamala Harris has shifted away from that message and toward the idea of protecting and advancing freedom. Freedom has become the theme of many Harris campaign ads and speeches. Her slogan “we are not going back” is meant to invoke concern about freedoms being taken away. As scholars of citizens’ commitment to democracy, we see a few reasons that promoting freedom might be a more effective campaign message than protecting democracy. One is that our research and others’ has found that a lot of Americans aren’t ve...

Changing The Way We Explore The Solar System “CubeSats” The Tiniest Of Satellites

30Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Changing The Way We Explore The Solar System “CubeSats” The Tiniest Of Satellites

CubeSats, the tiniest of satellites, are changing the way we explore the solar system. Most CubeSats weigh less than a bowling ball, and some are small enough to hold in your hand. But the impact these instruments are having on space exploration is gigantic. CubeSats – miniature, agile and cheap satellites – are revolutionizing how scientists study the cosmos. A standard-size CubeSat is tiny, about 4 pounds (roughly 2 kilograms). Some are larger, maybe four times the standard size, but others are no more than a pound. As a professor of electrical and computer engineering who works with new space technologies, I can tell you that CubeSats are a simpler and far less costly way to reach other worlds. Rather than carry many instruments with a vast array of purposes, these Lilliputian-siz...

Americans Get Incorrectly Billed, Especially If You’re Poor, A Person Of Color Or Don’t Have A College Degree — Although Preventive Care Is Free By Law

30Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Americans Get Incorrectly Billed, Especially If You’re Poor, A Person Of Color Or Don’t Have A College Degree — Although Preventive Care Is Free By Law

Preventive care is free by law, but many Americans get incorrectly billed − especially if you’re poor, a person of color or don’t have a college degree. Even though preventive care is supposed to be free by law for millions of Americans thanks to the Affordable Care Act, many don’t receive recommended preventive services, especially racial and ethnic minorities and other at-risk patient groups. The Affordable Care Act exempted preventive services from patient cost-sharing for large chunks of the population. This means that if you receive preventive screening and have private insurance, including through the ACA Marketplace, there should be no copay at time of service, and you shouldn’t get a bill later on. Easy enough, right? Wrong. Our team of health economists has shown that patient...

When They Use AI For Teaching Strategies Teachers Feel Most Productive

30Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION, TOP FOUR

When They Use AI For Teaching Strategies Teachers Feel Most Productive

Teachers feel most productive when they use AI for teaching strategies. Teachers can use generative AI in a variety of ways. They may use it to develop lesson plans and quizzes. Or teachers may rely on a generative AI tool, such as ChatGPT, for insight on how to teach a concept more effectively. In our new research, only the teachers doing both of those things reported feeling that they were getting more done. They also told us that their teaching was more effective with AI. Over the course of the 2023-2024 school year, we followed 24 teachers at K-12 schools throughout the United States as they wrestled with whether and how to use generative AI for their work. We gave them a standard training session on generative AI in the fall of 2023. We then conducted multiple observations, inter...

If There’s A Big Dockworkers Strike In The US Here’s What To Expect — Brown Bananas, Crowded Ports, Empty Shelves

30Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, Journalism, TOP FOUR

If There’s A Big Dockworkers Strike In The US Here’s What To Expect — Brown Bananas, Crowded Ports, Empty Shelves

Brown bananas, crowded ports, empty shelves: What to expect if there’s a big dockworkers strike in the US. Whether you’re buying a can of sardines or a screwdriver, getting products to consumers requires that supply chains function well. The availability of labor is essential in each link of the supply chain. That includes the workers who make sure that your tinned fish and handy tools smoothly journey from their point of origin to where they’ll wind up, whether it’s a supermarket, hardware store or your front door. Amazingly, 90% of all internationally traded products are carried by ships at some point. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hard not to notice the supply chain disruptions. For U.S. ports, there were many bouts of congestion. Demand for goods that were either ...