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Ready for takeoff! The Starliner is set for its first mission to the ISS
Since 2011, any American astronaut looking to get to or from the International Space Station (ISS) had to lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. It was the only way to get up into space - for now. It's why almost a decade ago private sector companies Boeing and SpaceX were engaged by NASA to develop a new way to get to the ISS from American soil. All of that is about to change, and all eyes have been on Boeing's Starliner as it readies to take flight with a crew for the first time. Florida's Tech's Don Platt , the Director of the Spaceport Education Center, has also been busy as the media coverage has been intense. “In this case, NASA is truly buying a service and it’s up to the company to get it all right. With just some oversight," said Don Platt, of Florida Tech. Starliner rolled out to Launch Complex 41 in the early morning on Tuesday. It will be positioned atop a ULA Atlas 5 rocket for the planned liftoff on May 6 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As Platt explained, Starliner is a critical second option for NASA. “With all the success of SpaceX has had recently, we can’t simply rely on SpaceX to provide all services to the American space program," Platt said. This is the first flight of Starliner with a crew onboard so it’ll be the first time for it to fly in this configuration. During these test missions, there are always lessons to be learned. “We are all aware of some of the issues the Boeing company has experienced in the last couple of years. And to have a successful test flight here with astronauts onboard is a definite plus from PR aspect,” Platt said. Two seasoned NASA astronauts will be the first to take a ride in Starliner up to the ISS; Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore. They’ll be up there for eight days on this test mission and if all goes well, the first Starliner mission on NASA crew rotation up to the ISS will come next spring. -- April 16 - NBC News Getting to the ISS, Moon and even Mars are getting a lot of attention lately. If you're a journalist look to cover the topic, let us help. Dr. Don Platt's work has involved developing, testing and flying different types of avionics, communications, rocket propulsion systems as well as astrobiology/biotechnology systems and human deep space exploration tools. Don is available to speak with media anytime. Simply click on the icon below to arrange an interview today.
#ExpertSpots: AI, Deepfakes and Elections
The election in November is coming fast. And with voters divided and with what could be a small margin of Americans deciding who wins or loses in the race for the Whitehouse - the worry over misinformation and election interference has never been higher. It's why Dr. Craig Albert is here to break down just how AI and deepfakes might be used against any of the candidates leading up to November 05. Craig Albert, PhD, is director of the Master of Arts in Intelligence and Security Studies at Augusta University. He is a leading expert on war, terrorism and American politics. AI and the upcoming election is a serious topic. Albert is available to speak with media – simply click on his name to arrange an interview today.
Sunday is Cinco de Mayo. Do you know the history behind the day?
Celebrated annually on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. While often associated with festive gatherings and cultural celebrations, Cinco de Mayo also holds significant relevance beyond its historical origins, offering various story angles that appeal to a broad audience. Cultural significance and heritage preservation: Explore the historical context of Cinco de Mayo and its importance in Mexican culture, highlighting the traditions, food, music, and art associated with the holiday. Immigration and identity: Examine how Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in different parts of the world, particularly in the United States, and its role in shaping the Mexican-American identity and fostering cross-cultural understanding. Political implications and national pride: Investigate the political undertones of Cinco de Mayo, considering its significance in Mexican nationalism and its portrayal in international relations. Economic impact and tourism: Analyze the economic implications of Cinco de Mayo festivities, including the boost in tourism, sales of Mexican-themed products, and the commercialization of cultural heritage. Education and historical awareness: Discuss the educational value of Cinco de Mayo in schools and communities, examining how it promotes historical awareness, tolerance, and multiculturalism. Social justice and activism: Explore how Cinco de Mayo intersects with social justice movements, addressing issues such as immigration reform, cultural appropriation, and representation in media and politics. By covering these angles, journalists can provide their audiences with a deeper understanding of Cinco de Mayo beyond its surface-level festivities, fostering meaningful dialogue and engagement with the holiday's historical, cultural, and societal significance. Connect with an Expert about Cinco de Mayo: Margarita R. Ochoa Associate Professor and Associate Chair of History · Loyola Marymount University Timothy Matovina Chair, Department of Theology · University of Notre Dame Rodrigo Vargas Professor, Ecosystem Ecology and Environmental Change · University of Delaware Heather Chiero, PhD Associate Professor of History, Anthropology and Philosophy · Augusta University To search our full list of experts visit www.expertfile.com Photo Credit: Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández
Dr Carl Senior identified two types of smile – affiliative and reward – given by political leaders during the last UK general election in 2019 The eventual winner, Boris Johnson, was found to display the affiliative smile, which acts to align voter behaviour The study is the first to look at how supporters of election losers react to the eventual winner. New research led by Aston University’s Dr Carl Senior has found that the type of smile used by a political leader can influence voters to support them and their political agenda. There are many different types of smile, and the researchers, which also included Professor Patrick Stewart from the University of Arkansas, US, Professor Erik Bucy from Texas Tech University, US, and Professor Nick Lee from Warwick Business School at the University of Warwick, UK, focused on two in particular – the ‘reward’ smile and the ‘affiliative’ smile. They used videos from political leaders from the 2019 UK general election, which was won by the Conservative party, then led by Boris Johnson. The Labour party, then led by Jeremy Corbyn, came second. Jo Swinson was the leader of the third-placed Liberal Democrat party. The ‘reward’ smile is the genuine, or felt smile, associated with joy and enthusiasm. It is the smile most likely to be contagious with onlookers, and has been linked to higher levels of trust. The ‘affiliative’ smile, meanwhile, communicates approachability, acknowledgement, and appeasement. It is associated with an affinity towards the onlooker and is thought to be important for developing cooperative relationships. The researchers selected volunteers professing to be supporters of each of the three main parties and showed them the same video footage of the three leaders – Johnson, Corbyn and Swinson – before and after the 2019 election. The team assessed the emotional response to the different smiles for the candidates, whether positive (happiness and affinity) or negative (anger and distress). When shown footage of election winner Johnson’s affiliative smile after the election, people in all groups showed an increase in happiness and affinity compared to when they were shown the footage before the election. Supporters of the losing parties showed an overall decrease in the negative effect. It was only this affiliative smile which was found to act as a mechanism to align voter feelings and behaviour to the dominant, or winning, political message. The reward smile did not have the same effect. Supporters of Labour showed an increased level of anger and distress when viewing Johnson’s reward smile after the election compared to before it. The effects for Corbyn and Swinson were less marked, showing that they failed to significantly change voters’ responses to them. Their appeal was somewhat fixed and failed to match Johnson’s charm. Johnson tapped into the voters’ feeling of annoyance about the slow Brexit process with his ‘Get Brexit done’ slogan, while Corbyn’s position was ambiguous. Swinson’s party was pro-Europe but lacked Johnson’s performative abilities to link a strong message to his nonverbal communication. Previous work by various researchers has shown that observers judge leadership traits and behaviour, or a lack thereof, from non-verbal cues such as facial expressions. However, there has, until now, been little research outside the US on the effect of facial displays on voter behaviour. Dr Senior said: “The human smile can convey both rewarding and affiliative social intent and thus has significant utility in politics, where the ability to bond with and reassure voters is vital to electoral success. We are in an unprecedented year as there are numerous elections scheduled to take place across several continents. The outcome of these campaigns will have a significant impact on millions of people across vast geopolitical regions. Given that almost all politicians involved in these election campaigns will make full use of broadcast media to reach voters, it is crucial to understand the effectiveness of their non-verbal displays in shifting voting preference.” Professor Lee said: “The individual appeal of party leaders has become increasingly influential. A smile can’t win an election on its own. But Johnson’s personal appeal transcended party policies, connecting with people who hadn’t planned to vote for him. “The upside for today’s politicians is that charisma is not an innate quality. It can be taught. By paying attention to their facial behaviour and ensuring they display the right smile in the right context, they can still leverage the power of emotional responses. It is something leaders of all organisations can learn.” The researchers say more work is required to understand how smiles work together with other verbal and nonverbal displays to generate affinity in voters and convey social dominance to other leaders. PLOS ONE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301113
New book explores minority languages in the digital age
Heritage Languages in the Digital Age. The Case of Autochthonous Minority Languages in Western Europe offers invaluable insights for educators, activists, policymakers and researchers The book describes the challenges faced by minority languages in today's interconnected world and asks whether digital communication could potentially reverse the decline of smaller and lesser used languages A researcher from Aston University has co-edited a book that explores the intricate relationship between technology, language policy and cultural identity, presenting case studies of digital communication in smaller languages such as Breton, Gaelic, Faroese, Frisian, Lombard, Low German, and Welsh. Heritage Languages in the Digital Age asks whether digital communication can help to prevent language loss of smaller languages and offers invaluable insights for educators, activists, policymakers and researchers navigating the challenges faced by minority languages in today's interconnected world. Edited by Gertrud Reershemius, a professor of linguistics and language contact at Aston University, and Birte Arendt from Greifswald University in Germany, the book's central focus is on minority languages which are facing a declining number of speakers and a loss of communicative domains in an increasingly globalising world. As these languages contend with the dominance of majority languages, stakeholders such as teachers, language activists, planners and researchers are re-evaluating traditional media strategies, language policies and teaching methodologies to counteract language shift trends. The book also discusses how online communities influence language usage and cultural exchanges for minority speakers and advocates for adaptive language policies and innovative teaching methods to support minority languages and bilingualism while fostering linguistic pride and identity. Professor Gertrud Reershemius said: “The languages examined in this book are still spoken by a considerable number of speakers and enjoy varying forms of institutional, legal, financial and ideological support. “While the overall numbers of speakers may be declining, their significance in identity construction and cultural commodification processes is undeniably growing. “As the global discourse on language diversity and cultural preservation gains momentum, this book serves as a comprehensive resource for understanding and addressing the multifaceted challenges and opportunities facing minority language communities.” You can purchase a copy of Heritage Languages in the Digital Age here.
The research team asked one group of participants to follow healthy eating accounts and another to follow interior design accounts After just two weeks, participants following healthy eating accounts ate more fruit and vegetables and less junk food Even minor tweaks to social media accounts could result in substantial diet improvements in young adults. Researchers from Aston University have found that people following healthy eating accounts on social media for as little as two weeks ate more fruit and vegetables and less junk food. Previous research has shown that positive social norms about fruit and vegetables increases individuals’ consumption. The research team sought to investigate whether positive representation of healthier food on social media would have the same effect. The research was led by Dr Lily Hawkins, whose PhD study it was, supervised by Dr Jason Thomas and Professor Claire Farrow in the School of Psychology. The researchers recruited 52 volunteers, all social media users, with a mean age of 22, and split them into two groups. Volunteers in the first group, known as the intervention group, were asked to follow healthy eating Instagram accounts in addition to their usual accounts. Volunteers in the second group, known as the control group, were asked to follow interior design accounts. The experiment lasted two weeks, and the volunteers recorded what they ate and drank during the time period. Overall, participants following the healthy eating accounts ate an extra 1.4 portions of fruit and vegetables per day and 0.8 fewer energy dense items, such as high-calorie snacks and sugar-sweetened drinks, per day. This is a substantial improvement compared to previous educational and social media-based interventions attempting to improve diets. Dr Thomas and the team believe affiliation is a key component of the change in eating behaviour. For example, the effect was more pronounced amongst participants who felt affiliated with other Instagram users. The 2018 NHS Health Survey for England study showed that only 28% of the UK population consumed the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Low consumption of such food is linked to heart disease, cancer and stroke, so identifying ways to encourage higher consumption is vital. Exposing people to positive social norms, using posters in canteens encouraging vegetable consumption, or in bars to discourage dangerous levels of drinking, have been shown to work. Social media is so prevalent now that the researchers believe it could be an ideal way to spread positive social norms around high fruit and vegetable consumption, particularly amongst younger people. Dr Thomas said: “This is only a pilot intervention study at the moment, but it’s quite an exciting suite of findings, as it suggests that even some minor tweaks to our social media accounts might lead to substantial improvements in diet, at zero cost! Our future work will examine whether such interventions actually do change our perceptions of what others are consuming, and also, whether these interventions produce effects that are sustained over time.” Dr Hawkins, who is now at the University of Exeter, said: “Our previous research has demonstrated that social norms on social media may nudge food consumption, but this pilot demonstrates that this translates to the real world. Of course, we would like to now understand whether this can be replicated in a larger, community sample.” Digital Health DOI: 10.1177/20552076241241262
How misinformation spreads online and shapes behavior
With the Internet as a font of information, particularly during a major crisis or conflict, a simple Google search can produce a stream of conjecture, conspiracy and alternative facts. Then there’s the firehose of “news” flooding social media feeds. By headlines alone, it’s near impossible to separate wheat from chaff. Coupled with that user frustration is a vulnerability to bad actors who push agendas under the guise of news. Indeed, on its worst days, the internet is a disinformation machine. Understanding that dynamic and its impact on our moods and behavior is NJIT’s Julie Ancis, a behavioral psychologist who’s a pioneer in the field of cyberpsychology. Her research examines how disinformation spreads and shapes how we act online and in person. As she explains on her blog for Psychology Today: “The speed and flow of information online has enabled information to be transferred on a mass global scale, galvanizing social movements such as the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and #MeToo. In short, the ways in which we consume information and communicate with others both locally and globally have fundamentally changed.” To interview Ancis, click on the button below.
Covering Earth Day - Our Experts can Help | Media Advisory
As we commemorate Earth Day, the urgency to address environmental challenges and foster sustainable practices has never been more critical. Earth Day serves as a reminder of our collective responsibility to protect and preserve our planet for future generations. This event matters to the public because it highlights the interconnectedness of environmental issues with our daily lives and underscores the importance of taking action. Here are several sub-topics that could be of interest to a broad audience: Climate change mitigation efforts and their impact on local communities Innovative technologies and initiatives for renewable energy sources Conservation efforts to protect endangered species and habitats Sustainable practices in agriculture and food production The role of businesses and corporations in promoting environmental sustainability Government policies and regulations aimed at addressing environmental challenges Connect with an Expert about Earth Day: For journalists with questions or looking to cover the streaming wars, here is a select list of experts. Bryan W. Brooks, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor, Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies; Director of Environmental Health Science · Baylor University Jase Bernhardt Associate Professor of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability · Hofstra University Saleem Ali Professor of Energy and the Environment Geography and Spatial Sciences; Biden School of Public Policy and Administration · University of Delaware Francis Galgano, PhD Associate Professor, Geography and the Environment | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences · Villanova University To search our full list of experts visit www.expertfile.com Photo Credit:Fateme Alaie
NASA selects University of Delaware’s CubeSat spacecraft for upcoming mission
It’s safe to say that not many students expect to lead a NASA-supported mission during their undergraduate studies. But at least a dozen from the University of Delaware will have done that by the time they collect their diplomas in the next few years. All are part of a team creating Delaware’s first orbital spacecraft, which was selected by NASA for launch in 2026 as part of its CubeSat Launch Initiative. The NASA program, which started in 2011, aims to give students an opportunity to be part of real missions and gain extraordinary experience in what it takes to do space research. CubeSats are small, modular, inexpensive satellites that carry experiments for science investigations and/or technology demonstrations. About 160 CubeSats have been launched in the NASA program over the years, many deployed from the International Space Station (ISS). Delaware’s mission — the Delaware Atmospheric Plasma Probe Experiment (DAPPEr) — will launch its CubeSat spacecraft from the ISS and orbit independently through Earth’s upper atmosphere. The CubeSat will be about the size of a loaf of bread, according to the team’s faculty mentor, Bennett Maruca, associate professor of physics and astronomy. It will gather data about the density and temperature of electrons in Earth’s upper atmosphere, recording changes observed at different latitudes and times of day. This data will inform future research on how the sun affects conditions there. Understanding the sun’s interaction with the Earth’s atmosphere is critical to development of satellite communications networks, global positioning systems (GPS) and national security. But the real objective is educational, Maruca said. The students are the “deliverables.” They’ll emerge from this work with an insider’s view of what it’s like to develop and work on a NASA mission. To arrange an interview with Maruca, contact UD's media relations team at mediarelations@udel.edu.
Covering 4/20? Our experts can help you see through the smoke | Media Advisory
As 4/20 approaches, the spotlight once again turns to the evolving landscape of marijuana legalization and its broader societal impacts. This annual observance not only marks a cultural moment for cannabis enthusiasts but also prompts discussions about the legal, economic, and public health implications of marijuana use in the United States. Here are key story angles for journalists to explore: Legalization efforts and state-by-state updates: Tracking the progress of marijuana legalization initiatives across the country and analyzing the legal frameworks governing recreational and medicinal cannabis use. Economic opportunities and challenges: Investigating the economic impact of the cannabis industry, including job creation, tax revenue generation, and business opportunities, as well as regulatory hurdles and market fluctuations. Social justice and equity in cannabis legalization: Examining efforts to address historical inequities in drug enforcement and incarceration through policies such as expungement, social equity programs, and community reinvestment. Public health and safety considerations: Assessing the health effects of marijuana use, the regulation of cannabis products, and efforts to mitigate potential risks such as underage consumption and impaired driving. Cannabis culture and mainstream acceptance: Exploring the evolving perceptions of marijuana in society, including trends in consumption habits, cannabis tourism, and its portrayal in media and popular culture. International perspectives on marijuana policy: Comparing approaches to marijuana legalization and regulation in other countries and evaluating lessons learned for U.S. policymakers and stakeholders. Connect with an Expert about Marijuana in America: For journalists with questions or looking to cover the streaming wars? here is a select list of experts. To search our full list of experts visit www.expertfile.com Robert Mikos Professor of Law · Vanderbilt University Michael Ostrowsky Professor of Sociology · Southern Utah University Jennifer Whitehill Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management · University of Massachusetts Amherst Daniele Piomelli Distinguished Professor · UC Irvine Almut Winterstein Distinguished Professor · University of Florida Photo Credit: Dylan Mullins