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What does the Israel-Hamas ceasefire mean
After 15 months of war Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced Wednesday, January 15, his in the process of receiving approval for ceasefire from his security Cabinet in order to further the truce with Hamas. This ceasefire is not only expected to stop a war that has taken more that 46,500 lives, but also the phased release of dozens of American hostages and hundreds of Palestinians. Reports reveal that the ceasefire may be in effect by the end of the week. How will American citizens respond to what appears to be a resolution to the conflict in the middle east? International relations expert, Dr. Glen Duerr, has been a reliable source on the events occurring in the Middle East. Here are three valuable insights from a recent interview: Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs the support from his security and full Cabinet to receive approval on will be a roughly six-week initial ceasefire phase. The Israel Supreme Court has up to 24 hours to approve The Prime Minister's ceasefire. It is estimated that the ceasefire will take full affect Sunday. What can we expect in the Middle East during the wait of the ceasefire? It was announced that there will be an emergency cabinet meeting held tomorrow renegotiating the deal after Prime Minister Netanyahu's office accused Hamas on reneging on part of the of the ceasefire. However a Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri denied all accusations of Hamas reneging on the terms of the ceasefire. Is the conflict and delay of the ceasefire a prediction to the conflict that is to come? The first stage of the ceasefire will take about 6 weeks, allowing the phased release of American and Palestinian citizens. Hamas is expected to release at least 2 American citizens during the first phase and a a Senior administration official during the second phase. It is expected with each hostage released by Hamas a number of Palestinian detainees will be released. How will the phased release of Hamas hostages affect the culture of Americans? If you are a journalist covering the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, look no further than our experts for valuable insight and expert knowledge. Dr. Duerr is an expert on this subject and is available to speak to media regarding this ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing the war between Israel and Hamas – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview. Or schedule an interview by contacting Mark Weinstein at mweinstein@cedarville.edu
What the 2025 Tax Season May Look Like According to the IRS
The 2025 tax filing season will begin on Jan. 27. The Internal Revenue Service warns it may not be functioning as adequately due to the Republican-controlled congress rescinding IRS designated funding, causing cuts in staffing and potential technological updates to become stagnant. During the Biden administration the IRS was granted extra funding as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, passed exclusively with Democratic votes. The Trump administration has introduced a new scanning technology allowing tax returns to be filed quicker, upon the cut in previous IRS funding. This online filing system will allow taxpayers to file electronically with IRS for free, cutting out any unnecessary third party. There are concerns that the cut in funding may cause Trump's IRS updates to delay. How will the cut in IRS funding affect the 2025 tax season? Economics expert, Dr. Jared Pincin weighs in on the discussion of how fund distribution will look under Trump administration in recent interview. Trump administration has cut funding for IRS from $80 Billion to $60 Billion through 2031. During his campaign for presidency Trump promised a reallocation for funding and distribution. How will we see Trump's policies redistribute funding? Trump's new system, Direct File, is available in 24 states with hopes to make the 2025 tax season smoother than ever. Concerns arise that Trump's cut in funding to reallocate elsewhere may make his system to be come stagnant, causing delays and longer wait times for tax payers. Will Trump's new tax filing system make the 2025 tax season smoother or another nightmare? President-elect Trump promised stricter tariffs on manufacturing industries and more aggressive industrial policies. Rescinding IRS funding is just the beginning of Trump's reallocation of funding. How will we see the change in funding affects businesses? If you are covering the the U.S. economy during the Trump administration and need to know more, let us help with your questions and stories. Dr. Jared Pincin is an expert on economics and is available to speak to media regarding the Trump administration and the economy – simply click on his icon or email mweinstein@cedarville.edu to arrange an interview.
Are Trump's Economic Reforms Obsolete After Biden Administration
President-elect Donald Trump campaigns were filled with promises of economic reform including strict import tariffs, strict immigration curbs, and deregulation. However, reports reveal the current economic state of the US may not be needing the president's aggressive reform. Trends reflect a strong economy with low unemployment rate; prompting concerns that Trumps policies could disrupt the economic growth. Trump will be taking office next week with a much different economic circumstances compared to his first term in 2017. Does the economic changes since Trump's first term make his reforms obsolete or even dangerous? Economics expert, Dr. Jared Pincin weighs in on the discussion of the economy during the Biden administration in a recent interview. There has been an increase of individuals getting second jobs or "side hustles" especially in the Gen Z generation. As the need for an extra income source increased the unemployment rate has decreased. Are the lowered unemployment rates just a reflection of an economy that won't allow citizens to live on one paycheck? Although the economy that Trump will be inheriting show positive changes since his first term in 2017, there are concerns that can not be ignored. Trumps expansionary policies can incite inflation if the economy is not calling for his aggressive reforms. How will Trump's administration reap the benefits of the Biden administration while preventing an economic crisis? The economy appears to be performing well, especially over the past year. These reports come in during Trump's promises of reform. Are these reforms going to strengthen the economy or are they proof of Trumps disconnect with the current economic health? If you are covering the the U.S. economy during the Trump administration and need to know more, let us help with your questions and stories. Dr. Jared Pincin is an expert on economics and is available to speak to media regarding the Trump administration and the economy – simply click on his icon or email mweinstein@cedarville.edu to arrange an interview. Jeff Haymond, Ph.D. is Dean, Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration and a Professor of Economics at Cedarville and is an expert in finance and trade. Dr. Haymond is available to speak with media regarding this topic – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.
Expert comment available - the Government's announcement for the AI Opportunities Action Plan
Expert comment is available on the the Government's announcement for the AI Opportunities Action Plan in which it is aims to roll out AI across the UK. In a speech setting out the government's plans to use AI across the UK to boost growth and deliver services more efficiently, the Prime Minister said the government had a responsibility to make AI "work for working people". The government claims that the AI Opportunities Action Plan is backed by leading tech firms, some of which have committed £14bn towards various projects, creating 13,250 jobs. It includes plans for growth zones where development will be focused, and the technology will be used to help tackle issues such as potholes. Expert comment: "The plan is a necessary step in the right direction with appropriate investment. It should be coupled with a major training programme at business and public levels to bridge the skill gap and develop essential capabilities. "It is important to specify the role that the higher education sector will play in the delivery of such a plan particularly with regards to innovation and knowledge transfer partnerships. "The government used stated that the technology will be used to help tackle issues such as potholes, however AI should be used not only in the detection of potholes, but also in their prediction. Using predictive analytics would significantly reduce the number of cameras that must be deployed to monitor road surface conditions up and down the country." Professor Abdul Hamid Sadka, Professor of Visual Media Technologies, Director, The Sir Peter Rigby Digital Futures Institute, Aston University For further details contact Nicola Jones, Head of Press & Communications (interim) on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk
Image Credit: Petrovich9/Getty Images Plus Although time is a set duration of hours, minutes and seconds, the perception of time can vary dramatically based on the individual and especially during times of high stress and uncertainty such as disasters, recessions and most recently the COVID-19 lockdown. For example, ask anyone when a specific event occurred during the pandemic and they are likely to respond with, “That happened three months ago. Or did that happen three years ago?” While there have been studies on the feeling that there is not enough time or experiencing time as moving too slowly, Baylor University sociologists Matthew Andersson, Ph.D., and Paul Froese, Ph.D., investigated this sense of multifaceted time perceptions during the pandemic and their effects on mental well-being. Their findings – using national Gallup data collected in spring 2021 in the middle of the pandemic – were published in the journal Time & Society. “We know from existing research that people often experience time in altered ways whenever disasters strike, and we wanted to see if that was true during the pandemic as well,” Andersson said. The Baylor researchers found that Americans during the pandemic generally reported some degree of feeling rushed while also perceiving multiple types of time distortion involving slowness, quickness and days and weeks blending together. This disorientation also was frequently reported alongside other pandemic-related stressors, including economic strain, working from home, homeschooling a child and severe household conflict. Together, they complicated how people perceive time by disrupting routines and creating experiences of trauma, adding to the decline in mental well-being and an increase in feelings of loneliness. Time disorientation and mental well-being The top three findings of the study all demonstrate the connection between altered time perception and the mental states of an individual. “If time does not seem to be moving ‘normally,’ it is generally related to lower levels of mental well-being, such as increased depressive, anxiety symptoms or a lessened sense of control,” Andersson said. “We think this is because people tend to feel grounded or calm when they feel like time is moving as it should.” Secondly, the researchers found that individuals can often experience these time disorientations in multiple and contradictory ways, which can be related to even lower well-being. “Feeling rushed and feeling that time is slow are kind of opposites, but they are both related to having this sense of multifaceted blending of time,” Froese said. “We can show very clearly how these new stresses that were brought on by the pandemic created heightened senses of disorientation in terms of time.” More importantly, they found these time disorientations were affected by social, familial, physical and work situations, which created lower levels of mental well-being. “Specific forms of stress we were seeing during the pandemic, such as financial hardship, homeschooling, working from home and severe household conflict, all had relationships to experiencing different kinds of time distortions,” said Andersson. This was more evident in younger people “because it [lockdown] probably upended their daily routines in a much more dramatic way than it would have in somebody who's retired,” said Froese. Experience of time The rushed pace of industrialized society existed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the stressors associated with the pandemic added to the feelings of time being out of control. “Our approach to capturing experiences of time rests on the assumption that individuals relate to time in complex ways,” Froese said. “We found original evidence to suggest that experiences of quickness, being rushed, slowness and indistinct boundaries of days all coincide, and that these multiple disorientations each relate to diminished mental wellbeing, to objective work and family demands, and to widespread exposures to pandemic-related stressors.” The survey was conducted as part of the Baylor Religion Survey, one of the most extensive national surveys of American religious beliefs, values and behaviors that produces unique data concerning religion, health and community in America today. The 2021 data collection by Gallup contained a section devoted to how the pandemic affected Americans’ activities, including how the pandemic changed the emotional lives of Americans. Looking to know more? We can help. Dr. Paul Froese is a professor of sociology and a research fellow for the Institute for Studies of Religion. He has been teaching and researching at Baylor since 2002. Dr. Matthew Andersson’s research focuses on health inequality as it unfolds across the life course. Specifically, he researches educational and socioeconomic inequalities in mental and physical well-being as they relate to childhood, adolescent and adulthood factors. Both experts are available to speak with media about this important topic - simply click on either expert's icon to arrange an interview time today.
Nosferatu - Why Do Audiences Keep Coming Back for an Updated Classic?
It's the latest take on an old classic. Nosferatu took the Christmas box office by storm and might be the first time a vampire movie dominated the traditional holiday cinema season that's usually family friendly and purposely 'PG'. Even the critics agree that this new take on an old classic was worth the 'bite'. An adaptation of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent nightmare (which itself was based on Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula and remade once before, in 1979, by Werner Herzog), Nosferatu recounts the tale of a most devious Count: Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), who strives to reach Europe’s shores by purchasing an aged manor house by way of a deal solidified with real estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult). Yet Orlok isn’t interested in seeing Germany’s tourist sights—his true goal is reuniting with Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), Thomas’ bride, who called out to him as a girl and, in doing so, created a wicked bond that strengthens by the day. As imagined by Eggers and Skarsgård, the vampiric fiend is a towering figure of corruption and carnality who both resembles his predecessors and is a unique monster in his own right, and his reign of terror plays out via a series of lush, hypnotic set pieces that resound with unnerving malice and profane perversity. January - The Daily Beast Horror movies have always had a certain allure for audiences, but there a re a few questions to ask: What does this story have that makes it possible to be remade over and over and still stay entertaining? What is it about vampires in particular that are linked to romance? As well, why do we pay money to be scared and why is this genre so popular and lasting? If you're covering this particular film or movies in general - then let us help with your questions and stories. James Kendrick is a professor and undergraduate program director in the Department of Film & Digital Media at Baylor University, where he teaches about film theory/aesthetics, the history of motion pictures, media and society, the films of Steven Spielberg, violence in the media, and horror film. James Kendrick is available to speak with media. In fact, Nosferatu is James' favorite movie, so simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview time today.
Expert: Meta ditches fact checking, a major loss for the American people
Meta moving away from fact-checking towards a "community notes" model is the equivalent of crowd-sourcing truth, says the University of Delaware's Dannagal Young. This shift in policy is a victory for intuition, common sense and lived experience over data, expertise and evidence. It also stands as another example of media institutions acting preemptively to avoid political and economic fallout under the incoming administration. Young, director of UD's Center for Political Communication and professor of communication, can talk about epistemology (how people understand the world) and how it relates to populism and populist leaders like incoming President Donald Trump. Young can also discuss the following: • The contents of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement video, in which he explains that recent elections mark a "cultural tipping point" in the direction of "free speech." "He's acknowledging that this policy change isn't a principled stance Meta is now taking, as much as a response to what he thinks the public is calling for (a dubious conclusion to draw from a narrow electoral victory)," Young said. • Zuckerberg's new stance, and how it will allow him to curry favor with the incoming administration because it allows Meta to avoid having to moderate Trump-friendly content. • Why content moderation and fact checking are expensive, and how moving away from that model is a "WIN-WIN-WIN for Meta: politically, culturally, and economically. And a LOSE LOSE LOSE for the American people: socially, culturally, and democratically," Young said.
New Year's Resolutions: Why they fail and how we can stick to them
By now, most people have already made their New Year's resolutions and (hopefully) put them into practice. But most people — about 90% — give up on them within the first few weeks of the year. University of Delaware experts dig into the psychology behind why resolutions fail and offer a recipe for success. The timing of New Year’s resolutions also isn’t always ideal. According to Philip Gable, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, a lack of commitment is one reason why many people fail to achieve their goals. “New Year's resolutions sometimes lack in commitment,” he said. “It's just this time of year when people feel like they should make a resolution, as opposed to other times in the year when it's less common but maybe more meaningful, like if you get a doctor's report and realize you need to change that aspect of your life.” In order to be part of the 10% of people who keep their New Year’s resolutions, Gable said to break down big goals into small, achievable steps. “I think a lot of times with goals, people will commit to a very big goal and not realize the smaller steps they need to take to achieve that goal,” Gable said. “If we have too big of a goal, we get emotionally distressed when we can't do it, or we fail because we set too big of a goal. Or maybe we couldn't think through all of the elements required to meet that really big goal. So starting small gives us something achievable, and then that gives you a platform to go to the next thing.” Naomi Sadeh, associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Delaware, said that part of the reason it’s so hard to make long-term changes is that humans are wired to prioritize instant gratification over delayed rewards. In other words, when posed with an option, we tend to pick the easy choice with an immediate outcome to satisfy a need today instead of delaying gratification for a bigger reward — we splurge on items we don’t really need instead of saving money, order takeout instead of cooking a healthy meal, or binge-watch a TV show instead of going to the gym. “With impulsivity and with breaking New Year's resolutions, often it's when people tend to opt for that sooner, smaller reward over the longer, bigger reward,” Sadeh said. “The sooner reward is really tempting, even if it's not as satisfying in the long run as the longer goal or bigger goal that you had.” When people set goals, they tend to feel very motivated for a few days and falsely assume they’re committed to their goal. But as soon as that motivation wears off, they give up. “There's potentially a mismatch in the timing of your goals,” said Rob West, interim chair and professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. “Your goals are immediate, they're conscious, they're volitional. You have those in the moment, and they can be developed and abandoned quickly. But habits take a considerable amount of time and repetition.” To connect directly with Gable, visit his profile and click on the connect button. Interviews with other researchers can be arranged by contacting UD's Media Relations department.
AI Everywhere: Where Artificial Intelligence and Health Care Intersect
Imagine a world where AI doesn’t just support health care providers, but anticipates their next move — detecting diseases faster than human eyes, analyzing patterns and patient data that humans might overlook and revolutionizing health care decision making at every level. Driven by data, AI can identify which patients are most likely to have repeated emergency department visits or thrive from personalized medicine. With the power of robotics enhanced by AI, people with medical needs can gain more independence, managing daily tasks such as taking medication, monitoring their health and receiving personalized care, all from the comfort of their own homes. And this is just the beginning. “AI is transforming – and is going to continue transforming – every industry, especially health care,” said Bharat Rao, a notable figure in the fields of health care, technology and AI. Rao himself has made significant contributions to artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics, particularly in health care innovation. His current start-up, CareNostics, uses AI technology to identify patients at increased risk for chronic disease. “We take this for granted,” he said, “but it’s like what I used to see on Star Trek as a kid. The opportunities are limitless.” Rao was a keynote speaker at ChristianaCare’s inaugural Innovation Summit, a two-day conference at ChristianaCare’s Newark campus in Delaware, in fall 2024. During panel discussions and keynotes, more than 200 attendees heard about current and future health tech from national innovators and thought leaders, as well as technical advice for inventors who want to patent ideas and protect intellectual property in a world where “AI Is Everywhere,” the conference’s theme. Speakers emphasized that it’s not just technologists, but also researchers, clinicians and other health care professionals who play an essential role in implementing AI-based health care solutions. “There’s no AI without HI, which is human intelligence,” said Catherine Burch, MS, CXA, CUA, vice president of innovation at ChristianaCare. “You want to help shape the future, not wait for it to shape you.” How AI helps improve patient care “AI is incredibly good at reducing noise in images,” said speaker David Lloyd, a technical leader at Amazon, who discussed the use of AI in radiology. “It can detect anomalies, and it can automate radiologist reports, which saves time for radiologists.” Data informatics is another example of the power of AI to help health professionals determine which patients are at an increased risk for falls, malnutrition or recurrent asthma attacks, enabling them to optimize patient health and prevent hospitalizations. “Some patients with asthma go to the ER repeatedly because their treatment plan isn’t working,” said speaker Vikram Anand, head of data at CareNostics. When patients have uncontrolled asthma, data-rich platforms like CareNostics can provide treating physicians with guidelines and other support to improve patient care, which may lead to evidence-based medication changes or other therapies, he said. Using robots as part of the health care team in patient homes may sound like science fiction, but speakers discussed the current evolution of consumer robotics, like Amazon’s Astro. Astro follows patients around their home, interacts with them and supports their care. When ChristianaCare tested Astro’s impact on HomeHealth patients, they found that it reduced feelings of isolation by 60%. “Astro is like Alexa on wheels,” said speaker Pam Szczerba, PT, MPT, CPHQ, director of ChristianaCare’s HomeHealth quality, education and risk management, who studied patients’ experiences with Astro. “People like interacting with Alexa, but they can only interact in the room they’re in. Astro’s mobility lets it go to the patient.” Based on early successes, health professionals are assessing robots as an extension of clinicians in the home. Early results show that patients with robots show improved activation with their care plans. This may lead to more widespread distribution of household robots to newly diagnosed patients to help prevent disease complications, avoidable emergency department visits and re-hospitalizations. How AI helps ease provider burden Speakers also discussed the potential of AI to improve health care delivery and patient outcomes by handling more administrative work for health professionals. “We can reduce some of the redundancy of work to free up time for people to be creative,” said speaker Terrance Bowman, managing director at Code Differently, a company that educates and prepares people to work in technology-driven workplaces. “AI should be taking the ‘administrivia’ – administrative trivial tasks – out of your life,” said speaker Nate Gach, director of innovation at Independence Blue Cross. “When you want folks to do the creative part of the job that takes brain power, have ChatGPT respond to easy emails.” Other examples shared included the power of AI to record meetings, create summaries and send participants automated meeting minutes. Benefits can be seen across industries. Specific to health care, eliminating the need for note-taking during visits enables more personalized and attentive provider-patient interaction. With the evolution of ambient speech apps, clinicians are no longer just dictating notes into the electronic health record. Now AI is listening to the conversation and creating the notes and associated recommendations. “The physician is no longer spending ‘pajama time’ doing catch-up work, at home late into the evening,” said speaker Tyler Flatt, a director and leading expert in AI and digital transformation at Microsoft. “Especially as we’re dealing with burnout, it’s better for patient and physician satisfaction.” AI may also help caregivers uncover details that they hadn’t noticed, helping them diagnosis patients with subtle symptoms. “We feed a large quantity of data and have it suggest commonalities about patients,” said speaker Matthew Mauriello, assistant professor of computer and information sciences at the University of Delaware. “Some things are very insightful, but humans miss them.” AI has also been used for patient engagement, including chatbots that can assist with tasks like scheduling clinical appointments or acknowledging patient questions. “One of the things AI is great at is natural language understanding,” said David Lloyd. “You can alleviate a lot of the burden if you have something that can talk to your patients, especially if it’s an administrative task.” Creating new health innovations “The key is to think of something you’ve done that’s original and non-obvious,” said Rao, who holds more than 60 patents in AI. “The process of writing about it will help you flesh it out.” Turning breakthrough ideas into game changers is just the start — protecting these innovations is what ensures they shape the future, rather than fade into the past. “Keeping it secret and internal to your organization until you know what you want to do with it is important,” Greg Bernabeo, partner at FisherBroyles, LLP, said. “Otherwise, the opportunity is lost, and you can’t get the genie back in the bottle.” Benefits of non-obvious thinking People who pursue “non-obvious” ideas are often on the cutting edge of technology in and out of health care, said keynote speaker, Ben DuPont, while discussing innovative ideas with Randy Gaboriault, MS, MBA, senior vice president and chief digital and information officer at ChristianaCare. “Amazon was not founded by a book retailer; Airbnb was not founded by somebody who was in hospitality,” said DuPont, author, entrepreneur, and co-founder and partner at Chartline Capital Partners venture capital fund. “Before Uber, the founders were running around Paris and they couldn’t get a taxi.” Innovative ideas often arise when people consider non-obvious points of view while thinking about solutions, DuPont said. Non-experts have the ability to cut through the clutter and find the frustration, which can lead to innovative solutions, which DuPont explores in his book “Non-Obvious Thinking: How to See What Others Miss.” Health providers, for example, may discover ideas when they move out of their comfort zones. “If you want to be a better doctor, go do something that has nothing to do with medicine,” he said. “Innovation happens at the collision of seemingly unrelated disciplines.” Diversity in the workplace is necessary, “but it’s not just diversity in the way people look: It’s diversity in how people think,” DuPont said. “There are people that think in dramatic and different ways. We need those people around the table. They might say: ‘If we just move this little thing over here’ … and it starts an avalanche that changes the world.” Involving the future generation During the Innovation Summit, students with an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) from St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington, Delaware, competed against one another at ChristianaCare’s inaugural HealthSpark ChallengeTM. Twenty-six high school juniors and seniors were divided into five teams, then challenged to brainstorm ideas for solutions to address the negative mental health effects of social media on teenagers. Each team created a concept poster and pitched their ideas to Summit attendees. The attendees then voted for their favorite solution. The winning solution, Editing Identifiers, is designed to help minimize negative feelings about body image among teens. The solution would use AI technology to identify altered photos on social media. The goal would be to show teens that photos of “perfect” people aren’t real and alleviate the feelings of body dysmorphia. Looking forward Summit speakers highlighted many ways that AI is already incorporated into health care, as well as ways that health tech, AI, and robotics may improve care for patients in the coming years. “We are just scratching the surface,” Rao said. “It’s like laparoscopic surgery – years ago, it was considered experimental or dangerous. Today, surgery is commonly done laparoscopically, with better outcomes and less infection. AI can help identify care gaps and get the right treatment to the right patient. It’s going to be good for the patient.” In a rapidly evolving landscape, the integration of AI into health care not only enhances patient care but also creates opportunities for innovation and collaboration, said ChristianaCare’s Gaboriault. “As AI continues to advance, the health care industry stands on the brink of a revolution, one where the possibilities are as vast as the data that fuels them.”
Is all screen time bad? Experts weigh in on healthy habits for kids and teens.
With the winter holiday season upon us, many children and adolescents will be home from school for break. As with any extended periods of time outside of school, screen time for children will become a topic of discussion for families. "For academic benefits of screens, it isn't only about the screen 'time,' but about the type of activities youth are doing on screens," said Teya Rutherford, associate professor at the University of Delaware. "There is huge variance in the quality of engagement with online games, etc." During the holiday season, children and adolescents have way more time to fall down the rabbit hole of social media and general web surfing. The American Psychological Association recently released guidelines to help parents coach their teens to have healthier relationships with viewing videos online. Some of the findings include limiting screen time, monitoring content and teaching children and adolescents about misinformation. "This finding is in line with the literature on parental monitoring – in that, if parents monitor their adolescents’ use of social media, then outcomes (i.e., academic achievement) are often better for the adolescent, than for the adolescent whose parent does not engage in such monitoring behaviors," said Mellissa Gordon, associate professor at the University of Delaware. Rutherford can speak about creating engaging online environments, the science behind learning in online environments, motivating students to learn in STEM contexts and self-regulated learning. Gordon conducts research on the social mechanisms that influence adolescent and young adult development. In a 2023 Youth and Society study, she found that as middle schoolers’ social media use increased, their academic performance suffered. Both can be contacted by emailing mediarelations@udel.edu.