Wednesday, January 8

Tag: people

Life on welfare isn’t what most people think it is
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Life on welfare isn’t what most people think it is

When Americans talk about people receiving public assistance – food stamps, disability, unemployment payments and other government help – they often have stereotypes and inaccurate perceptions of who those people are and what their lives are like. Statistics can help clarify the picture by challenging false stereotypes of undeserving people gaming the system, but people’s stories about their own experiences can be more memorable and therefore more effective in changing minds. As an anthropologist and folklorist seeking to better understand life on public assistance, I have worked with a team of researchers in North Carolina over the past seven years, recording stories people tell about welfare in America. We’ve talked to more than 150 people and recorded over 1,200 stories and found that...
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Why are white supremacists protesting the deaths of black people?
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IN OTHER NEWS

Why are white supremacists protesting the deaths of black people?

As protests about police violence among black people continue and become more widespread across the U.S., certain individuals and groups have begun to stand out – including anarchists, agitators and members of a variety of far-right groups. With the country’s long history of racist killings, it may be confusing to think that racists and white supremacists are among those objecting to the killing of people of color. But people affiliated with far-right groups aren’t trying to be part of the overall protest movement. Having researched these groups, we think it’s likely that they are attempting to hijack the event for their own purposes. As researchers of street gangs and far-right groups, we see that in this case, they want to stoke a civil war between the races – one they think they can ...
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Why cellphone videos of black people’s deaths should be considered sacred, like lynching photographs
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Why cellphone videos of black people’s deaths should be considered sacred, like lynching photographs

As Ahmaud Arbery fell to the ground, the sound of the gunshot that took his life echoed loudly throughout his Georgia neighborhood. I rewound the video of his killing. Each time I viewed it, I was drawn first to the young black jogger’s seemingly carefree stride, which was halted by two white men in a white pickup truck. Then I peered at Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis, 34, who confronted Arbery in their suburban community. I knew that the McMichaels told authorities that they suspected Arbery of robbing a nearby home in the neighborhood. They were performing a citizen’s arrest, they said. The video shows Arbery jogging down the street and the McMichaels blocking his path with their vehicle. First, a scuffle. Then, gunshots at point-blank range from Travis McMichael’s weapon....
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Bankruptcy courts ill-prepared for tsunami of people going broke from coronavirus shutdown
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IN OTHER NEWS

Bankruptcy courts ill-prepared for tsunami of people going broke from coronavirus shutdown

As more Americans lose all or part of their incomes and struggle with mounting debts, another crisis looms: a wave of personal bankruptcies. Bankruptcy can discharge or erase many types of debts and stop foreclosures, repossessions and wage garnishments. But our research shows the bankruptcy system is difficult to navigate even in normal times, particularly for minorities, the elderly and those in rural areas. COVID-19 is exacerbating the existing challenges of accessing bankruptcy at a time when these vulnerable groups – who are bearing the brunt of both the economic and health impact of the coronavirus pandemic – may need its protections the most. If Americans think about turning to bankruptcy for help, they will likely find a system that is ill-prepared for their arrival. It’s a hard...
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How people react to the threat of disease could mean COVID-19 is reshaping personalities
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COVID-19, TECHNOLOGY

How people react to the threat of disease could mean COVID-19 is reshaping personalities

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic will be “imprinted on the personality of our nation for a very long time,” predicted Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. No doubt in the future people will mourn those who’ve died and remember the challenges of this period. But how would COVID-19 shape people’s personalities – and into what? I am a psychology researcher interested in how people’s minds shape, and are shaped by, their life circumstances. Human beings are born into this world ready to deal with basic problems – forming close relationships, maintaining status in groups, finding mates and avoiding disease. People are adaptable, though, and react to the circumstances they find themselves in. Psychological research suggests that concerns...
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We call workers ‘essential’ – but is that just referring to the work, not the people?
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COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

We call workers ‘essential’ – but is that just referring to the work, not the people?

By this point in the coronavirus pandemic, you’ve probably heard a lot about “essential workers.” They’re the people working in hospitals and grocery stores, on farms and in meatpacking plants. They’re keeping public transit, shipping and utilities running. But is “essential” describing the workers themselves? Or only the work they do? Right now, many don’t feel like they’re being treated like they’re essential, and workers at Amazon, Walmart and other companies have organized strikes to protest unsafe working conditions. There seems to be a disconnect between how some low-wage workers are being described and what they’re experiencing on the ground. As an expert in sociolinguistics, I can’t stress enough the importance of framing – how we emphasize perspectives and priorities through o...
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Videoconferencing keeps people connected while the coronavirus keeps them inside – but privacy and security are far from perfect
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COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS, TECHNOLOGY

Videoconferencing keeps people connected while the coronavirus keeps them inside – but privacy and security are far from perfect

If, before COVID-19, you were concerned about all the data that technology companies had about you, just wait. As stay-at-home orders push more professional and social activities online, it’s becoming harder to remain in control. Look no further than Zoom, which suffered dual security and privacy crises in the past few weeks. Lawsuits alleging data sharing violations and hackers have descended on the software, which has led Google and school districts to ban Zoom for professional use. I’m a researcher who investigates how these concerns affect the use of online platforms. The first thing to understand is that privacy and security are two different things, and they have different consequences for using videoconferencing platforms. Privacy versus security Privacy refers to individuals’ uni...
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The future of work will hit vulnerable people the hardest
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

The future of work will hit vulnerable people the hardest

People living with disabilities, youth, LGBTQ2 people, Indigenous people, certain racialized minorities, immigrants and those with low socioeconomic status, as well as those in some professions, will face complex barriers to entering the workforce in the future. A great deal of attention is being paid to the future of work and its impact on Canadians. Often missing from the discussion is the extent to which different workers will be included or excluded from the changing labour market. The future of work is characterized by a number of rapid and large-scale changes that will affect all industries. Labour market experts point to the growing integration of digital technologies in the workplace, including the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning, automation of job task...
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How SNAP can help people during hard economic times like these
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IN OTHER NEWS, Journalism

How SNAP can help people during hard economic times like these

A record number of Americans are seeing their hours cut or losing their jobs due to the initial economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic. How will millions of newly jobless families keep putting food on the table? They might get some help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The nation’s largest anti-hunger system helped about 35 million low-income people buy groceries in 2019, down from a peak of over 47 million in 2013 in the aftermath of the Great Recession. After repeatedly trying to scale back SNAP the White House recently agreed to Congress’s efforts to ramp it back up. The Families First Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law on March 18, included an additional US$1 billion in funding for other nutrition programs and will let more people enroll ...
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Older people are at more risk from COVID-19 because of how the immune system ages
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COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS, Journalism

Older people are at more risk from COVID-19 because of how the immune system ages

The rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic is taking a particularly harsh toll on older people. Data from the initial outbreak in China and then Italy show that infected people under the age of 60 are at low – but not no – risk of dying from COVID-19. Curiously, young children do not appear to be at increased risk of serious COVID-19 complications, in contrast to what happens with other viruses, like the seasonal flu. However, the statistics get grimmer as the patients get older. Whereas people in their 60s have a 0.4% chance of dying, people in their 70s have a 1.3% chance of dying, and people over 80 have a 3.6% chance of dying. While this may not sound like a high chance of death, during the current outbreak in Italy, 83% of those who succumbed to COVID-19 infection were over the age ...
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