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Aston University researcher develops method of making lengthy privacy notices easier to understand
It has been estimated it would take 76 days per year to fully read privacy notices New method makes notices quicker and easier to understand by converting them into machine-readable formats Team designed a JavaScript Object Notation schema which allowed them to validate, annotate, and manipulate documents. An Aston University researcher has suggested a more human-friendly way of reading websites’ long-winded privacy notices. A team led by Dr Vitor Jesus has developed a system of making them quicker and easier to understand by converting them into machine-readable formats. This technique could allow the browser to guide the user through the document with recommendations or highlights of key points. Providing privacy information is one of the key requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Data protection Act but trawling through them can be a tedious manual process. In 2012, The Atlantic magazine estimated it would take 76 days per year to diligently read privacy notices. Privacy notices let people know what is being done with their data, how it will be kept safe if it’s shared with anyone else and what will happen to it when it’s no longer needed. However, the documents are written in non-computer, often legal language, so in the paper Feasibility of Structured, Machine-Readable Privacy Notices Dr Jesus and his team explored the feasibility of representing privacy notices in a machine-readable format. Dr Jesus said: “The notices are essential to keep the public informed and data controllers accountable, however they inherit a pragmatism that was designed for different contexts such as software licences or to meet the - perhaps not always necessary - verbose completeness of a legal contract. “And there are further challenges concerning updates to notices, another requirement by law, and these are often communicated off-band e.g., by email if a user account exists.” Between August and September 2022, the team examined the privacy notices of 50 of the UK’s most popular websites, from globally organisation such as google.com to UK sites such as john-lewis.com. They covered a number of areas such as online services, news and fashion to be representative. The researchers manually identified the notices’ apparent structure and noted commonly-themed sections, then designed a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) schema which allowed them to validate, annotate, and manipulate documents. After identifying an overall potential structure, they revisited each notice to convert them into a format that was machine readable but didn’t compromise both legal compliance and the rights of individuals. Although there has been previous work to tackle the same problem, the Aston University team focused primarily on automating the policies rather than data collection and processing. Dr Jesus, who is based at the University’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences said: “Our research paper offers a novel approach to the long-standing problem of the interface of humans and online privacy notices. “As literature and practice, and even art, for more than a decade have identified, privacy notices are nearly always ignored and ”accepted” with little thought, mostly because it is not practical nor user-friendly to depend on reading a long text simply to access, for example a news website. Nevertheless, privacy notices are a central element in our digital lives, often mandated by law, and with dire, often invisible, consequences.” The paper was published and won best paper at the International Conference on Behavioural and Social Computing, November 2023, now indexed at IEEE Xplore. The team are now examining if AI can be used to further speed up the process by providing recommendations to the user, based on past preferences.
Easier Access to Doulas for Mothers on Medicaid
Dr. Martine Hackett, associate professor and chair of Hofstra’s Department of Population Health, was interviewed by Newsday about the New York state health commissioner issuing a standing order that allows all pregnant women with Medicaid access to doula services. In the past, they needed to get an order from their individual licensed health care practitioner. The order removes “a barrier to doula services," said Dr. Hackett, who serves as co-founder of Birth Justice Warrior of Long Island, which advocates for healthier pregnancies and babies. “This is one of many steps being taken to simplify and streamline the process of connecting Medicaid members to community doulas,” she said, noting that the state has been trying to make it easier for doulas to handle the complex billing and claims process. Dr. Hackett's research focuses on public health and health inequities, particularly in the American suburbs and minority communities. She's available to speak with media - simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
Researchers find ‘narrow’ depictions of fatherhood in children’s literature
When children read picture books, they are often greeted with depictions of family and life lessons their young minds soak up. What happens then, when those depictions don’t offer a thoughtful image of gender or family as they have changed over the years? That is one of the questions University of Delaware Professor Bill Lewis and Social Science Research Analyst and UD alumna Laura Cutler explored in their recent paper, published in the quarterly journal Children's Literature in Education. In “Portraits of Fatherhood: Depictions of Fathers and Father–Child Relationships in Award-Winning Children’s Literature,” Lewis and Cutler looked at more than 80 children’s books to analyze how authors and publishers depicted fathers and fatherhood. What they found was that over a span of nearly 20 years, from 2001 to 2020, these books presented "a narrow view of fatherhood," both in what roles fathers have in familial units and which types of fathers are presented. They also noted that these portrayals have remained relatively static over the last two decades. Lewis, a professor in the College of Education and Human Development’s School of Education, broke down what spurred the research and what he and Cutler hope changes as a result of the research in a new Q&A. Contact mediarelations@udel.edu to set up an interview with Lewis.
The 2024 Cision State of the Media Report is jam-packed with all sorts of detailed PR info which can be somewhat overwhelming. But there's an important theme to be found in the data. Kudos to the team at Cision for running this survey that polled over 3,000 staff journalists and freelancers, which is now in its 15th year. The big takeaway for me? Give journalists what they want. Sounds simple enough. Yet, with so many organizations competing for media attention amidst a sea of new AI-enabled platform hacks, many need to focus on the fundamentals of media relations, which this report nicely captures. The media is inundated with pitches. So, the secret to success lies in understanding what jobs journalists have to do and giving them what they need to file their stories…fast. According to the Cision 2024 survey, at the top of the journalists' wish list are: Topical Relevance (68%): Understanding the target audience and what they find relevant. Access to Experts (52%): Connecting journalists with experts and setting up interviews. Credible Data and Research (48%): Providing data and key research. Speed of Response (47%): Responding quickly to inquiries and respecting journalists’ deadlines. In short, journalists want relevant pitches, expert connections, and credible data, and they want it ASAP so they can meet their deadlines. While the Cision report outlines many other best practices that will undoubtedly improve your coverage rate (such as helping journalists quickly source multimedia assets like images), I want to focus on the importance of nailing these first four rules. Rule #1: Pitch Relevant Topics to Journalists Irrelevant pitches not only waste a journalist's time but also damage your credibility. In fact, 77% of journalists in the Cision study cited being spammed with irrelevant pitches as a reason to block a PR professional or put them on the "do not call" list. The study also reported that journalists are "fed up" with follow-ups to unsolicited pitches. Now, only 8% of journalists think it's okay to follow up more than once to check on a story they have pitched. Rule #2: Get Your Experts in Front of Journalists Connecting with credible expert sources is time-consuming. Joint research conducted by ExpertFile and the Associated Press revealed it takes on average, over 2 hours for journalists to secure an expert source for an interview. We can do better than that. As a PR/Media Relations pro, one of your "superpowers" needs to be the ability to spot a story opportunity and get your subject matter experts lined up for the media interview. This is an area where journalists see comms and media pros playing a vital role inside the organization. But if your pitch "sounds like a marketing brochure" the Cision survey shows that 55% of journalists would add you to their naughty list. One of the best ways to avoid this trap and enrich your story is to bring experts and their unique, specialized knowledge to the interview. That means ensuring you are attributing the source of your blog posts to experts in your organization and including links to their expert profile in your pitch. Enclosing a link to an outdated, boring biography on your website or a LinkedIn profile that hasn't been updated since the Yankees last won the World Series (2009), won't score points with journalists. Rule 3: Provide Journalists with Credible Data and Key Research Providing this information not only supports your story but also builds trust. Ensure that your pitches include the latest research findings, statistics, and data from reputable sources within your institution. This evidence-based approach enhances the credibility of your pitches and increases the likelihood of them being picked up by the media. While primary data is best, if you are curating data from other sources, it's critical to cite sources and, ideally, create derivative insights that help the journalist look at the information in a fresh way. For example we have many economists on our ExpertFile network that provide insights regularly on data they didn't gather. But their ability to critically analyze economic data from trusted sources such as the US Census Bureau or the European Union and generate unique, often counterintuitive or provocative insights is what sets them apart from other experts. Rule #4: Help Meet the Journalist's Deadline Journalists often work under tight deadlines and timely responses from PR professionals. Our software has helped organizations handle thousands of media requests every year and if there is one thing we've learned, media is all about speed. If you are a "serious player" you need protocols and processes to quickly respond to media inquiries and get your expert sources lined up to provide the necessary information and insights to meet same-day deadlines. This shows journalists you respect their time and are a reliable source and you will be on speed dial for future stories. Are You Pitching Effectively? Here’s a few tough questions. Answer truthfully. Are You Personally Wasting Time Pitching? How much time do you spend pitching the media vs. responding to inbound media opportunities? Data from Propel Media shows 97% of media pitches fail. While journalists open approximately half of the pitches they receive they only respond to an average of 2.99% of the pitches. Yet the Cision data shows that it's not always your fault. Why? Well, unless you're a gifted psychic, you simply can't know for sure how a journalist is going to react to your pitch. That's why more media departments and their PR agencies are cutting back on spammy pitch activities and moving to more strategic activities that get more traction. With the extra time they save, they can focus on promoting their experts online where journalists are actively searching for credible sources. The result is more qualified inbound inquiries from journalists genuinely interested in interviewing your experts. And that means a lot less anxiety about meeting your media coverage targets. Are You Wasting Journalists' Time? Is your newsroom or media relations page set up to allow journalists to quickly serve themselves 24x7? Can they easily search by specific topics to find an expert within seconds to help meet their deadlines? Or are you expecting them to email or call you for help. (hint: journalists don't have time for that kind of friction). Here's a nice example of how US-based health system, ChristianaCare makes their medical experts available to journalists round the clock while saving hundreds of hours a year for their Comms and Digital team. I'd love to hear more about how you are helping journalists and how that's paying off with increased media coverage. Let me know in the comments below or connect/follow me on LinkedIn or on ExpertFile.
Professors address students' climate anxiety
Professors at the University of Delaware preparing students for careers working on climate change are making sure to consider mental health issues as they send them out into the world. UD's Climate Change Science and Policy Hub, led by director A.R. Siders, is starting a series of initiatives – on campus and in the region – to tackle the challenge of what is known as climate anxiety. This involves traditional trainings but also innovations with creativity, art, video games and play. "Learning about and working on climate change causes climate anxiety, ecogrief, solastalgia – there’s a whole new set of terms being created just to describe the problem," said Siders, also an associate professor in UD's Disaster Research Center and Biden School of Public Policy and Administration. "This is a real mental health concern." This new way of approaching climate education has become even more critical as universities expand climate education – such as new climate schools, degrees, courses and even embedding it in general education courses, Siders said. The U.S. government is supporting a growing climate workforce, and it is expected that more people will work in climate-related careers. To reach Siders and set up an interview, visit her profile and click on the "contact" link. This will automatically send an email directly to her.
Naronda Wright elected President of NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management
Naronda Wright, Ed.D., associate dean of Graduate Student Services in Georgia Southern University’s Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies, was recently elected president of NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management. She is the first African American to hold the role of president in the association. Wright, a seasoned professional in the field of graduate enrollment management, brings more than 15 years of experience to her new role. In her position at Georgia Southern, Wright has been instrumental in implementing innovative recruitment strategies and enhancing student services, contributing significantly to the growth and diversity of the graduate programs. Under her leadership for NAGAP, Wright plans to focus on expanding the association’s reach, enhancing member engagement and advancing the association’s strategic initiatives aimed at supporting its members’ professional development. “I am deeply honored to serve as the president of NAGAP and look forward to working closely with our members across the globe to foster an environment of knowledge sharing and professional growth,” said Wright. Wright’s election comes at a pivotal time as the association seeks to navigate the challenges of the ever-evolving educational landscape and harness opportunities to drive positive change in graduate enrollment practices worldwide. “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Wright as the new president of NAGAP,” said Haley Brust, executive director of NAGAP. “Her extensive experience and dedicated leadership are vital as we continue to support our members and advocate for the importance of graduate enrollment management.” Wright holds a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership from Clark Atlanta University and a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration from Georgia Southern. She has previously served NAGAP as vice president, secretary and conference committee chair. NAGAP is dedicated to the professional advancement and support of individuals in graduate enrollment management. NAGAP offers its members professional development opportunities, cutting-edge research and a community network to foster best practices in graduate education. For additional information about NAGAP and its services, please visit www.nagap.org. If you're interested in learning more or a reporter looking to speak with Naronda Wright - simply Contact Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
From Boring to Brilliant: Writing that Transforms Your Thought Leadership into Must-Read Content
Insights from our Webinar with Author, Rhea Wessel Ask anyone who develops Thought Leadership programs, and they will tell you that experts are essential to a successful program. But experts are busy people. That makes expert engagement strategies a very popular topic with our Comms and Media Relations pros. That’s why we invited Rhea Wessel, Founder of The Institute for Thought Leadership, to join us last week for our ExpertFile webinar. Rhea, a former tech and financial journalist and author of “Write Like a Thought Leader,” has worked with organizations such as Harvard, CFA Institute, Accenture and the Max Planck Institute to help their experts focus on developing unique story angles while getting high-quality work produced. Having seen her in action at last year's IABC Global Conference, speaking to a standing-room-only crowd, I was really impressed by Rhea’s approach. Rhea uses a system that experts and comms teams can use to brainstorm topics and craft story angles that frame expertise and research to make them more compelling. In the session, she showed us how she helps brainstorm and select the best angles for thought-leadership stories using ideas such as “origin” stories, “what if” scenarios, personal-impact stories, and opinion pieces. Experts often have issues with the "dreaded first draft.” The frameworks Rhrea showed us from her book were clever and designed to pragmatically move experts from brainstorming into a writing mode that doesn’t feel forced. Here are some key points I took away from Rhea’s session: Defining Thought Leadership An essential attribute of Thought Leaders is that they share their knowledge for free, using journalistic skills to engage their audience by articulating emerging ideas, steering conversations and influencing others. Finding the Niche Finding and framing thought leadership is not about covering a broad topic. The best topics are often very narrow. And they are best found at the intersection of the expert’s passion, purpose, and big ideas. Think Like a Journalist Write in a conversational tone and include data, quotes & statistics, but not too much. Use short sentences and paragraphs while keeping the story fast-moving. And don’t forget your sense of humor. Spend Time on the Headlines By “thinking like a journalist” and focusing on headlines, one can narrow the focus when examining research and insights to create more clarity. Quoting Author Sean Coyne, Rhea referred to headlines as having the benefit of being an “enabling constraint." "One of the curses of subject matter expertise is that your experts know a lot. They tend to pack a lot [of their knowledge] in, and for a good story, you've got to slice out a narrow bit. That’s the constraint.” Rhea Wessel Time & Place Matters Stories are best anchored in time and place. When you are working with an expert and you want to enrich a story, don’t just think about how they developed their research and insights. Also, think about “where they were” and “when did it happen?” A good origin story explains why an insight is significant for the expert, creating a more emotional, relatable connection for the audience. Frame Your Story Keep it focused on a single yet relevant problem the audience has. Then explain why this matters to your audience and why now. Based on the feedback we received from this session, we'll have Rhea Wessel join us for more conversations on topics related to storytelling. We'd love to know what you think. Details about this session are below: Full Webinar Recording bit.ly/4e9YuWb Presentation Slides To get a copy of the presentation & Templates, just hit the connect button on my profile and let me know. Enjoy!
On this day in 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the first cases of what would later be known as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). This event marks a crucial moment in medical history, heralding the beginning of an epidemic that would profoundly impact millions of lives globally. This topic remains newsworthy due to its lasting implications on public health, medical research, and social stigma. Understanding the evolution of the AIDS crisis provides insights into ongoing challenges in healthcare, policy, and community support. Key story angles that may engage a broad audience include: Historical Overview of the AIDS Epidemic: Tracing the timeline of the AIDS crisis from its early days to the present, highlighting key medical and social milestones. Advancements in HIV/AIDS Treatment and Research: Exploring the breakthroughs in antiretroviral therapies, the search for a cure, and the latest research developments. Public Health Policies and Responses: Analyzing the effectiveness of public health initiatives and policies in managing and preventing HIV/AIDS, including current strategies and future directions. Social and Cultural Impact: Investigating how the AIDS epidemic has influenced societal attitudes, policies towards marginalized communities, and the ongoing fight against stigma and discrimination. Global Perspective: Examining the global impact of HIV/AIDS, comparing responses and outcomes in different regions, and the role of international organizations in combating the epidemic. Personal Stories and Advocacy: Sharing personal narratives of those affected by HIV/AIDS, the role of advocacy groups, and the importance of community support in addressing the epidemic's challenges. These angles provide journalists with a range of perspectives to explore, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the historical, medical, and societal dimensions of the AIDS epidemic. Connect with an Expert about the History of AIDS in America: Dr. Adey Nyamathi Founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Nursing · UC Irvine Petra Molnar Associate Director · Refugee Law Lab, Osgoode Hall Law School Andrea Benoit Assistant Professor (Adjunct) · Western University David J. Hardy Professor of Psychology | Psychological Science · Loyola Marymount University Valerie Earnshaw Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences · University of Delaware To search our full list of experts visit www.expertfile.com Photo credit: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona
Approximately 4,200 degrees conferred during Georgia Southern’s 2024 Spring Commencement ceremonies
In May, approximately 4,200 graduates from Georgia Southern University’s Statesboro, Armstrong and Liberty campuses received associate, baccalaureate, masters, specialist and doctoral degrees in five Spring 2024 Commencement ceremonies. Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero welcomed the graduates and their guests to the ceremonies, held at the Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro on May 7, 8 and 9, and at the EnMarket Arena in Savannah on May 11. “Graduates, I don’t need to tell you about your unique college journey, which has been challenging,” said Marrero to the crowds. “I am very proud of how, together, we have persevered allowing us to have a successful semester and today, our commencement ceremony. This graduation is a momentous occasion for Georgia Southern University, as well as for all of you. Today, you are part of history at Georgia Southern.” Speakers included: Mackenzie Anderson (’07), global director of Corporate Communications at Nike Alton M. Standifer, Ph.D. (’12, ’14), vice provost for Inclusive Excellence and chief of staff to the provost at the University of Georgia (UGA) Kim Greene, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Georgia Power Chris Ahearn (’09), director of research and trade development for the World Trade Center Savannah Candicee Childs, M.D., (’19) an emerging beacon of inspiration in the fields of medicine and literature. At present, she is a resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, the largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, with a focus on child and adolescent psychiatry Anderson opened the graduation ceremonies in Statesboro, following a warm introduction from Marrero, who described her leadership role at Nike. “I’m sure you probably expected me to get up here and say something like, ‘Class of 2024, go out into the world and ‘Just Do It,’” Anderson mused. “But here’s the deal. I don’t have to tell you to just do it because you just did it. You did the impossible by making it through the pandemic. “Today you aren’t just graduating with a degree in whatever is written on your diploma. You’re also graduating with a degree in doing hard things. And today we celebrate you.” She continued, saying that earning a degree in “doing hard things” has no doubt been a challenge, but the graduates will soon find out that this is also their superpower. They produced their own playbook, as unique and rare as they are. How they use the playbook moving forward is up to them — to wit, be curious, be wrong while giving yourself permission to make mistakes, be humble and be persistent. “Launch into the world,” Anderson concluded. “And whether you land just across the street, across the country like me or somewhere around the world, remember where you came from. Today you are etching your name alongside a proud Eagle alumni network of more than 147,000 strong. “It is my honor to be the first to say, ‘Georgia Southern University graduating Class of 2024, welcome to the alumni family.'” Standifer shared his own story as a young man, undecided about going to college while he worked as a cashier. A regular customer, Mr. Paul, continuously asked Standifer about whether he’d attend college, until one day Standifer told him he was going to attend Georgia Southern University. With a wide grin, Mr. Paul congratulated him and handed him a $100 bill. Incredulous, Standifer asked why he’d given him such a large tip. Mr. Paul told him it wasn’t a tip. It was an investment, and he’d continue to mentor Standifer in the following years, and remain a profound influence in his life. “I want to encourage you all to think of the Mr. Paul’s in your life,” Standifer said. “Think of the people who have helped you get to today. And then when you leave here, make the conscious effort that you will be Mr. Paul for someone else.” In Savannah, Ahearn shared his journey of discovery in Georgia Southern’s classrooms where he explored Irish film, an introduction to the United Nations, abnormal psychology, Celtic identity and conflict, psychology and law, and gangs, drugs and criminal justice. “There’s a whole menu of choices for you and experiences for you to choose from to really help you discover who you are, where you fit, what drives you, what gets your creative juices flowing, and what options are out there when you graduate from these key interactions,” Ahearn said. Following, he pursued a master’s in international relations in Ireland that gave him a deeper perspective on how the world operates and how interconnected we all are. Ensuing professional roles in higher education, international networking and fundraising, culminated in his current role at World Trade Center, Savannah. From the stage, Ahearn stressed his key takeaways: network, stay in touch with your classmates, be authentic and perhaps, most importantly, travel. “Go outside your comfort zone,” he encouraged. “Try things you’d never try. Expand your horizons. This is your opportunity to learn about different cultures, to embrace the differences and similarities we share with our fellow global citizens and find common ground.” In closing: “Many of you may stay in the region to leave your impact as this community continues to expand,” Ahearn said. “There are plenty of great employment opportunities at your fingertips. Many of you will leave to follow your careers wherever they take you. But please know that you’re part of this institution’s history. You’ll always be an Eagle, and Georgia Southern will always welcome you home." Interested in learning more about Georgia Southern University? Contact Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
#Expert Perspective: Where did all the medical appointments go?
Dr. Martine Hackett, associate professor and chair of Hofstra’s Department of Population Health, spoke to Newsday about why patients are finding it more difficult to make medical appointments and what options they have. Dr. Hackett noted over the past decade, more people have enrolled in insurance plans and sought a wider array of treatments because of the Affordable Care Act and policies that expanded the reach of Medicaid. The Medicaid and Medicare acceptance rates are plunging raising concerns as doctors tend to drop these insurance plans first because they pay lower rates. Setup is becoming illusive in an industry that has undergone immense changes in recent years, Dr. Hackett added. New Yorkers with Medicaid may want to find federally-qualified health centers, which are designed for Medicaid patients, Dr. Hackett said. People may also be able to get appointments more quickly if they see non-physician providers like nurse practitioners or midwives instead of OB-GYNs, she added. Healthcare is an important topic - and if you're covering, let us help. Dr. Martine Hackett's research focuses on public health and health inequities, particularly in the American suburbs and minority communities. She's available to speak with media - simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.