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Wednesday, October 26, 2022

6 Tips for Escaping From the Endless Bad News Cycle How hand gestures alter the perception of your speech

Finally, Scientists Have Figured Out A Key Molecular Mechanism Behind Human HearingScience Alert  - Now do listening.


MakeUseOf: “During tumultuous times in world history, the news plays a critical role in informing people and spread into valuable messages. However, the difference between this digital age and previous periods of significant change is that the 24/7 news cycle keeps us aware of as much bad news as good news at nearly all times. This can cause increased anxiety and mental distress, not to mention constant distractions and worries. Here are some ways to use that same technology to reduce the noise…”



Maggie Farley / ICFJ – “Try this free social listening tool [beta] – or customize it for your newsroom.  It’s useful for tracking politicians or issues in the run-up to the elections, and following contested races afterward. Political Pulse US is a social-listening app supported by ICFJ that allows journalists to monitor and analyze what politicians are posting on social media across several platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It will include YouTube, TikTok, Getter and Telegram in the near future. 
Political Pulse US, is free, open source and customizable and is developed by Sergio Spagnuolo of Nucleo Jornalismo. It can generate an automated daily newsletter highlighting noteworthy trends, topics and links shared. Sergio can help tailor it for your specific use case…”

How hand gestures alter the perception of your speech

BigThnk:

  • “A team of researchers from the Netherlands found that hands gestures, when used strategically, influence how certain words are heard.
  • Participants were 20% more likely to hear and interpret the words being spoken when accompanied by a matching hand gesture, and 40% as likely to hear the wrong word when the gestures did not match.
  • Previous research has suggested that certain hand gestures can signal extraversion and dominance, and that speaking with gestures in general tends to lead to being evaluated as warm, agreeable, and energetic.
  • …The team recorded the volunteers as they viewed the video recordings, questioning the participants afterward about what they had seen and heard. They found that the participants were more impacted by syllables spoken in conjunction with hand gestures: In 20 percent of the cases the viewer was more likely to have heard and interpreted the word being spoken when accompanied by a hand gesture. Interestingly, however, participants were 40 percent more likely to hear the wrong sound when a mismatch between the word spoken and the hand gesture occurred…”


The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (October, 2022). Many believe misinformation is increasing extreme political views and behaviors – “Ninety-one percent of adults say the spread of misinformation is a problem and most believe misinformation contributes to extreme political views and hate crimes, according to a new Pearson Institute/AP-NORC Poll. The poll is being released in conjunction with the 2022 Pearson Global Forum, an event that will bring together researchers and policymakers to develop strategies to prevent and resolve international conflicts. With the midterm elections approaching, significant majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents believe misinformation is a problem. Nearly three-quarters of the public are at least somewhat concerned they have been exposed to misinformation and just under half are worried they have spread misinformation. The public believes misinformation is having serious consequences. 

More than half of adults say misinformation increases political engagement, and about 7 in 10 say misinformation increases extreme political views and hate crimes such as violence motivated by race, gender, or religion. About half also say misinformation decreases trust in government. Given the widespread concerns about misinformation, majorities of adults report engaging in behaviors at least some of the time to avoid consuming or spreading misinformation such as checking multiple sources or even deciding not to share content on social media at all…”