social – Page 5

Looking Beyond The Bare Numbers Of Racial Diversity In Social Accounting

1Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Looking Beyond The Bare Numbers Of Racial Diversity In Social Accounting

From time to time, The Conversation asks leaders in America’s colleges and universities to address some of the most pressing issues in our nation. Here we ask Earl Lewis, director and founder of the University of Michigan’s Center for Social Solutions, and Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Rutgers University – Newark, a diverse, urban public research university, about how numbers and statistics matter when examining institutional racism, the Capitol riot and Black Lives Matter. How has media reporting on numbers and statistics affected the public’s view of race? Nancy Cantor. Rutgers University - Newark, CC BY-ND Nancy Cantor: Society’s accounting of the summer of 2020 through Inauguration Day 2021 demonstrates the hard way numbers play into a long-standing history of racism and white privilege....

MacKenzie Scott’s $5.8 Billion Commitment To Social And Economic Justice Is A Model For Other Donors

18Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

MacKenzie Scott’s $5.8 Billion Commitment To Social And Economic Justice Is A Model For Other Donors

The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced on Dec. 15 that she had given almost US$4.2 billion to hundreds of nonprofits. It was her second announcement of this kind since she first publicly discussed her giving intentions in May of 2019. In July 2020, Scott revealed that she’d already given away nearly $1.7 billion to 116 organizations, many of which focused on racial justice, women’s rights, LGBTQ equality, democracy and climate change. All told, her 2020 philanthropy totals more than $5.8 billion. Scott directed her latest round of giving to 384 organizations to support people disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She made dozens of gifts to food banks, United Way chapters, YMCAs and YWCAs – organizations that have seen increased demand for services and, in...

Parler The Social Media Platform Attracts Millions Of Trump Supporters, Bringing Together Mainstream Conservatives, Anti-Semites And White Supremacists

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA

Parler The Social Media Platform Attracts Millions Of Trump Supporters, Bringing Together Mainstream Conservatives, Anti-Semites And White Supremacists

Since the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Parler has caught on among right-wing politicians and “influencers” – people with large online followings – as a social media platform where they can share and promote ideas without worrying about the company blocking or flagging their posts for being dangerous or misleading. However, the website has become a haven for far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists who are now interacting with the mainstream conservatives flocking to the platform. As the three highest-profile social media companies – YouTube, Facebook and Twitter – continue to take action to mitigate the spread of extremism and disinformation, Parler has welcomed the ensuing exodus of right-wing users. It has exploded in popularity, doubling its members to 10 million during the mo...

Preschool Parents Worry Their Kids Are Missing Out On Critical Social Skills During The Pandemic – Not Just ABCs

25Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Preschool Parents Worry Their Kids Are Missing Out On Critical Social Skills During The Pandemic – Not Just ABCs

As COVID-19 cases once again spike across the country, parents in school districts like New York City and Detroit face another weeks long stretch of remote learning. This often includes preschool parents, whose children range in age from 3 to 6 and are often too young to manage virtual learning on their own. Many of these parents worry their children are missing out on important parts of the preschool experience – particularly opportunities to develop social, emotional and behavioral skills through interactions with teachers and other children. As researchers who study children’s educational development, we know that preschool helps children develop important academic and social skills they will need for later school success. In April, we surveyed 166 parents of preschool children to exa...

Venmo and Cash App – The Rise Of Digital Handouts, What It Says About Our Fraying Social Safety Net

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Venmo and Cash App – The Rise Of Digital Handouts, What It Says About Our Fraying Social Safety Net

A college student pleading for grocery money. A driver in need of an unexpected car repair. A worker out of a job because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A single mom who needs to pay the internet bill to support her kids’ distance learning. In all of these cases, people turned to Twitter to ask for financial support during the pandemic. Not thousands of dollars. Just a few bucks. Whatever online followers could spare. As a consumer sociologist, I study digital culture and social media. I’ve noticed an uptick in these requests on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram, which are made possible by the growing popularity of peer-to-peer payment platforms like PayPal, Venmo, Cash App and Zelle. This diverges from traditional crowdfunding in which official online campaigns are set up for lofty fundraising ...

Rural Health Cooperatives Are Innovating But Are Challenged By Connectivity And Social Distancing

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS, VIDEO REELS

Rural Health Cooperatives Are Innovating But Are Challenged By Connectivity And Social Distancing

Rural areas are seeing some of the fastest spread of the COVID-19 in the U.S., taxing already stressed rural health care systems. Researchers Tanisa Adimu and Amanda Phillips Martinez head the Community Health Systems Development team of the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University, providing and evaluating technical assistance to rural health care providers and organizations around the country. Over the past months, they surveyed around 120 rural health care providers about the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they are adapting to meet those challenges. Tanisa Adimu and Amanda Philips Martinez talk about the challenges rural health providers are facing. New ways to get health data There has been a drop in the number of patients making in-person vi...

TikTok is a unique blend of social media platforms – here’s why kids love it

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA

TikTok is a unique blend of social media platforms – here’s why kids love it

TikTok, a social media platform targeted at young mobile phone users, was the second-most downloaded app in the world in 2019. It was the most downloaded app in July 2020. It’s also become a geopolitical football. Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok has been banned by India along with 58 other Chinese-owned apps in July in response to escalating border tensions between the two countries. The Trump administration issued an executive order banning TikTok and Chinese-owned messaging platform WeChat from engaging in transactions in the United States beginning on Sept. 15. The company sued the Trump administration in August in response to the ban. As a political scientist who studies social media, I’ve looked at what makes TikTok unique and why young people have flocked to it. In short...

Honey bees can’t practice social distancing, so they stay healthy in close quarters by working together

3Apr

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ENVIRONMENT, VIDEO REELS

Honey bees can’t practice social distancing, so they stay healthy in close quarters by working together

As many states and cities across the U.S. struggle to control COVID-19 transmission, one challenge is curbing the spread among people living in close quarters. Social distancing can be difficult in places such as nursing homes, apartments, college dormitories and migrant worker housing. The complex interactions that maintain group health inside a bee hive offer lessons for humanity during pandemics. Rachael Bonoan, CC BY-ND As behavioral ecologists who have studied social interactions in honey bees, we see parallels between life in the hive and efforts to manage COVID-19 in densely populated settings. Although honey bees live in conditions that aren’t conducive to social distancing, they have developed unique ways to deal with disease by collectively working to keep the colony healthy. Ra...

3 ways to promote social skills in homebound kids

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

3 ways to promote social skills in homebound kids

With the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic getting worse in most of the country, a growing number of school districts from San Francisco to Atlanta have determined that a return to daily in-person instruction isn’t yet safe or viable. They aim to to stick with remote learning as the school year gets underway. Based on my research about the psychological effects of digital technology, I’ve seen that when children and teens spend a great deal of time isolated at home and gazing at screens their social skills and self-esteem can suffer and they may become lonelier. Fortunately, there are ways to lower those risks while young people spend way more time than usual at home. 1. Practice paying attention to other people One important social skill is the ability to pay attention to another person ...

5 takeaways from MacKenzie Scott’s $1.7 billion in support for social justice causes

3Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

5 takeaways from MacKenzie Scott’s $1.7 billion in support for social justice causes

The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has announced that she’s disbursed nearly US$1.7 billion to 116 organizations, since first publicly discussing her giving intentions in May of 2019. Most of the organizations aim to advance racial, gender and economic equity, are dedicated to dealing with climate change, support democracy or are tied to other generally progressive causes. In the public blog post she wrote to break the news, Scott encouraged donors of all financial means to join her. Previously known as MacKenzie Bezos, before her divorce from Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the philanthropist also announced that from now on she’ll be using her middle name as her new last name. She left it up to the causes she’s funding to reveal precise totals for each gift. Howard Universi...