struggle

20May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

CELEBRITIES, TOP FOUR

A Feverish Legion Of Followers Struggle To Achieve Online Fame – Inspired By Kim Kardashian

When Kim Kardashian “broke the Internet” with her nude selfie, it was the stunt by a socialite who's an object of fascination in our celebrity-obsessed culture. While some deride her as being “famous for being famous,” I see someone who works intensely hard at what I’ve termed glamour labor. Glamour labor is a phenomenon of the Internet age. It means investing time and effort into editing the body and self to appear as fascinating and polished in person as in one’s highly scripted, filtered and manipulated online life. It means shaping the body (by going to the gym or the salon), while simultaneously crafting one’s online image – all to appear to have achieved an elusive ideal of attractiveness. Those who epitomize the ideal are rewarded by large followings (Kim Kardashian has more than ...

Widows Of COVID-19 Struggle To Get Benefits As Social Security Offices Remain Closed

1Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

Widows Of COVID-19 Struggle To Get Benefits As Social Security Offices Remain Closed

The day after her husband’s funeral, Rondell Gulick called Social Security. Now alone with their nine children, the stay-at-home mom faced what would become a months-long process of claiming the benefits she was counting on to keep her family afloat. Gulick, like many people trying to access benefits, is at the mercy of phone calls. Across the country, Social Security Administration offices have been closed since the start of the pandemic and with nearly 900,000 additional deaths caused by coronavirus, there are thousands of people seeking Social Security survivors benefits, some who know little about the process. The majority of people seeking survivors benefits, by far, are women. In December 2021, the most recent month of data, about 92 percent of those seeking young survivors benefit...

Middle-Aged Americans In The US Are Stressed And Struggle With Physical And Mental Health – Other Nations Do Better

11Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

CULTURE

Middle-Aged Americans In The US Are Stressed And Struggle With Physical And Mental Health – Other Nations Do Better

Frank J. Infurna, Arizona State University Midlife was once considered a time to enjoy the fruits of one’s years of work and parenting. That is no longer true in the U.S. Deaths of despair and chronic pain among middle-aged adults have been increasing for the past decade. Today’s middle-aged adults – ages 40 to 65 – report more daily stress and poorer physical health and psychological well-being, compared to middle-aged adults during the 1990s. These trends are most pronounced for people who attained fewer years of education. Although these trends preclude the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19’s imprint promises to further exacerbate the suffering. Historical declines in the health and well-being of U.S. middle-aged adults raises two important questions: To what extent is this confined to the...

Drivers Struggle To Enforce Mask Mandates On Public Transit

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Drivers Struggle To Enforce Mask Mandates On Public Transit

Many U.S. metropolitan areas report that at least 90% of public transit passengers wear masks while on buses to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, some passengers still wear their masks incorrectly. And some refuse to wear them at all, threatening the health and safety of others on board. Staff at many transit systems have already faced the difficult task of enforcing passenger compliance with local and state mask mandates. Now, staff and passengers of public transit systems must also comply with federal orders, issued in January and February. Passengers who violate the federal mask orders may face penalties of US$250 for a first offense and up to $1,500 for repeat offenses. In addition to driving, public transit drivers are now responsible for preventing unmasked passengers ...

The Latest Country To Struggle Against Foreign Influence On Journalism, Australia Fighting Facebook

19Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

The Latest Country To Struggle Against Foreign Influence On Journalism, Australia Fighting Facebook

Facebook has barred Australians from finding or sharing news on its platform, in response to an Australian government proposal to require social media networks to pay journalism organizations for their content. The move is already reducing online readership of Australian news sites. Similar to what happened when Facebook suspended Donald Trump’s account in January, the fight with Australia is again raising debate around social media networks’ enormous control over people’s access to information. Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, says his country “will not be intimidated” by an American tech company. My research in the history of international media politics has shown that a handful of rich countries have long exerted undue influence over how the rest of the world gets its news....

Many students with the potential to excel in STEM fields struggle in school

29Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Many students with the potential to excel in STEM fields struggle in school

The big idea Students who have the kinds of talent scientists and engineers need to solve problems by visualizing how objects could be rotated, combined or changed in three dimensions often struggle at school. These students, whose strong spatial talents allow them to imagine new technological innovations, generally fare worse than their classmates who excel at English and math. In addition, as we observed in an article recently published in the British Journal of Educational Psychology, there’s some evidence that spatially gifted and talented people are less likely to go to college. And, if they do enroll, they’re less likely to get their degrees. After looking at three major databases that are representative of the U.S. population and that span six decades, we estimate that between 2 mi...

Black deaths matter: The centuries-old struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Black deaths matter: The centuries-old struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism

In an open lot just a block or so from where George Floyd was killed while being detained by officers, 100 plastic headstones were carefully placed. Created by artists Anna Barber and Connor Wright, the “Say Their Names Cemetery” sprung up in south Minneapolis in early June, as protests over police brutality prompted a more wide-ranging conversation over the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States. Each headstone documents a victim of police violence – their name, age, date and location of death. Accompanying the biographical information reads a simple epitaph: “Rest in Power” – a reworking of “rest in peace” that has gained popularity among Black Lives Matter activists and supporters to commemorate the dead. #SayTheirNames The cemetery forms part of a wider #SayTheirNames camp...

Deaf Christians often struggle to hear God’s word, but some find meaning in the richness of who they are

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Deaf Christians often struggle to hear God’s word, but some find meaning in the richness of who they are

For years, my husband would say after we returned from the church, “I thought the sermon was good.” To that, I would reply, “I didn’t hear the sermon, as usual.” As a person with a severe to profound hearing loss, I nearly left the church out of frustration and anger. In addition to hymns, spoken readings and testimonies, Christian worship focuses on the spoken word. As scripture says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I am not alone in feeling discouraged by so much focus on the word of God and spoken words in Christian tradition. Many people with hearing loss leave or disengage from their Christian faith. But that doesn’t have to happen. As a theologian, I study how adults with hearing loss worldwide engage with their Christian faith thr...

27Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Dear White Women, Try On Our Struggle Instead of Our Looks

Last week, the story of a young Swedish woman in “Brown skin” went viral. Emma Hallberg, an Instagram model, says she identifies as White and never claimed to be anything other than, so no we don’t have another Rachel Dolezal here. But Black and Brown women took to social media with their disapproval. Some called it “blackface” and “cultural appropriation.” Turns out the young Swede is not the only White woman “blackfishing.” That is overly tanning themselves or literally spray-painting their bodies darker, in some cases wearing traditionally Black hairstyles and appearing to have augmented their bodies (lips, butt) to resemble that of Black and Brown women, and posting their photos on Instagram. Although I understood the upset and offense felt by many, I initially didn’t find the is...