tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/communication-1183/articlesCommunication – The Conversation2024-02-16T01:24:19Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234362024-02-16T01:24:19Z2024-02-16T01:24:19ZDrowning in ‘digital debt’? AI assistants can help – but we must use them carefully<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575841/original/file-20240215-22-skcxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C0%2C4143%2C2803&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sleepy-exhausted-woman-working-office-desk-358435634">Stokkete/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent days, the “right to disconnect” has <a href="https://theconversation.com/smartphones-mean-were-always-available-to-our-bosses-right-to-disconnect-laws-are-a-necessary-fix-222738">entered Australia’s legislative agenda</a>. It refers to employees’ rights to refuse unreasonable after-hours contact from their employer.</p>
<p>In a work landscape where employees are constantly available after hours thanks to smartphones and portable devices, and employers are competing in global markets and operating on tight deadlines, concerns about disconnecting from work are valid on both sides. </p>
<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants in the workplace are touted as a potential solution to this “availability creep”. But they may not be the silver bullet, despite what big tech wants us to think.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/flexibility-makes-us-happier-with-3-clear-trends-emerging-in-post-pandemic-hybrid-work-180310">Flexibility makes us happier, with 3 clear trends emerging in post-pandemic hybrid work</a>
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<h2>A crushing digital debt</h2>
<p>“Digital debt”, a term introduced by <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/will-ai-fix-work">Microsoft in its work trend index</a>, fittingly describes the vast volume of communication and coordination tasks that minimally contribute to workplace productivity.</p>
<p>The index surveyed 31,000 full-time <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6283975/">knowledge workers</a> – people who work with ideas, rather than goods – in 31 countries, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and others.</p>
<p>It reveals that 57% of the average workday is spent on communications and 68% of respondents couldn’t find uninterrupted blocks of time to focus during the workday.</p>
<p>The origins of digital debt can be traced back to the “productivity paradox” from the late 20th century, where <a href="https://www.standupeconomist.com/pdf/misc/solow-computer-productivity.pdf">increasing technology investments</a> had led to <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/163298.163309">decreasing workplace productivity</a>.</p>
<p>This paradox has re-emerged (and been renamed) mainly due to the abundance of data that organisations and employees have to manage in the current market.</p>
<p>For communication alone, most employees are having to manage one or two email addresses, calls and chats on Zoom, Slack or Teams channels, WhatsApp and LinkedIn messaging, and multiple diaries to synchronise meetings. This is easily more than 1,000 data points every day. </p>
<p>Left unattended, digital debt accrues “interest”, with damaging effects on both employee and employer. This is the tipping point at which the boundary between work and personal life blurs, and the after-dinner compulsion to tidy up the inbox sets in.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man sitting at his home computer at night looking at files" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">It can be hard to switch off when work is accessible to us at home at all hours of the day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/pensive-man-watching-images-on-computer-screen-in-dark-room-4327409/">Josue Verdejo/Pexels</a></span>
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<h2>AI assistants to the rescue?</h2>
<p>Microsoft – <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/01/23/microsoftandopenaiextendpartnership/">OpenAI’s partner of choice</a> for scaling up its industry-leading AI tech – has somewhat conveniently used the same work trend report to position its AI assistant, Microsoft Copilot, as the bona fide solution to digital debt. </p>
<p>There are obvious financial gains for big tech providing AI tools. But the capabilities of these AI assistants are fittingly at the intersection of digital debt, the deluge of data, and the right to disconnect. So, they warrant further investigation. </p>
<p>In the broadest sense, generative AI (think ChatGPT) produces new and meaningful content in response to prompts from a human operator. AI assistants generalise this capability for goal-oriented complex tasks. There’s no shortage of these subscription-based services now, including Copilot, Google’s Gemini, Amazon Q, Anthropic’s Claude and others.</p>
<p>An AI assistant can summarise all new emails, detect and prioritise those requiring a response, draft responses and highlight gaps that require human input. Then, the assistant can send the emails off and schedule meetings for subsequent chats.</p>
<p>Among other knowledge work tasks, an AI assistant can also draft and revise text for various documents, generate graphs from data in spreadsheets, or generate images for text-heavy presentation slides. </p>
<h2>A needy assistant that needs supervision</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, early <a href="https://practical365.com/first-impressions-as-microsoft-365-copilot-reaches-ga/">user feedback on the technical performance</a> of AI assistants is lacklustre.</p>
<p>This is <a href="https://theconversation.com/snapchats-creepy-ai-blunder-reminds-us-that-chatbots-arent-people-but-as-the-lines-blur-the-risks-grow-211744">primarily because of how generative AI is trained</a>. By learning from past data and not through lived experiences, it lacks factual knowledge of the world. This means it can’t validate the outcomes of the tasks completed.</p>
<p>Therefore, the human using the AI <a href="https://redmondmag.com/articles/2023/06/30/the-potential-hidden-perils-of-relying-on-microsoft-copilot.aspx">must “peer review” all of the assistant’s output</a> to avoid potential errors and misrepresentations.</p>
<p>In most workplaces where we are expected to “do more with less”, such needy AI assistants would create an additional layer of work. It could also easily get overlooked when time pressures kick in. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-and-the-future-of-work-5-experts-on-what-chatgpt-dall-e-and-other-ai-tools-mean-for-artists-and-knowledge-workers-196783">AI and the future of work: 5 experts on what ChatGPT, DALL-E and other AI tools mean for artists and knowledge workers</a>
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<h2>The looming ethics problem</h2>
<p>It is no secret AI also has an ethics problem, and this extends to AI assistants.
The mediocre attitude of big tech AI providers towards transparency and governance, as demonstrated by the sacking and <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-sam-altman-openais-wunderkind-ex-ceo-and-why-was-he-fired-218111">rehiring of the CEO of Open AI</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/13/23638823/microsoft-ethics-society-team-responsible-ai-layoffs">Microsoft’s layoff of its ethics team</a>, are further reasons to be wary of the much-hyped opportunities of generative AI. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/">efforts to regulate AI</a> based on the risks it poses, but the challenge is that the risk itself is dynamic.</p>
<p>For example, menial office tasks could go horribly wrong if politically sensitive, tone deaf or workplace-inappropriate content is produced and circulated by an AI. </p>
<p>Given that large AI models are likely to continue training on live data, organisations must protect their confidential and sensitive information through stringent governance and classification protocols.</p>
<p>In summary, AI assistants can help ease our digital debt and provide after-hours business continuity. This could chart a course towards a right-to-disconnect landscape that is agreeable to everyone.</p>
<p>But this course is riddled with challenges. They include organisational readiness, AI literacy skills, AI governance, accountability framework, mandatory peer review and cost-effective subscriptions. </p>
<p>Against the mounting digital debt and deficit of work-life balance, our investment in AI must be measured and responsible, to ensure the returns are sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223436/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daswin de Silva does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With work at our fingertips at all hours of the day, it can be hard to disconnect. AI assistants may solve the problem – at least, that’s what big tech wants us to think.Daswin de Silva, Deputy Director of the Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159782024-01-24T19:45:38Z2024-01-24T19:45:38ZDisaster communications can be more effective when using different messaging strategies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570543/original/file-20240122-38659-poo8s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5761%2C3837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">During times of crisis, it is important to communicate clearly.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/disaster-communications-can-be-more-effective-when-using-different-messaging-strategies" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In the past two decades, disasters have left a devastating impact, claiming over a million lives and causing nearly US$3 trillion in global economic losses, <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-no-139-strengthening-disaster-risk-reduction-and-resilience-for-climate-action-through-risk-informed-governance/">according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction</a>.</p>
<p>When responding to disasters, disaster relief organizations (DROs) play a crucial role by mobilizing physical resources such as food and water to help impacted communities. During times of crisis, information resources are just as important as these physical resources. As such, DROs use social media to provide information rapidly and broadly to those that need it. </p>
<p>Many DROs post information via multiple social media accounts on a single platform, with each account representing a unique branch like national headquarters and a local chapter. </p>
<p><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/41346962">Crisis communications studies suggest</a> that a DRO’s communication channels or social media accounts follow the strategy of “speaking with one voice” <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00909880600769944">during the entire disaster response</a>.</p>
<p>My research focuses on information management during and after disasters. My colleagues — <a href="https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/profile.html?id=YOOEUN">Eunae Yoo</a> and <a href="https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/profile.html?id=YANLUCY">Lu (Lucy) Yan</a> from Indiana University, and <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/mendoza-directory/profile/alfonso-pedraza-martinez/">Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez</a> from the University of Notre Dame — and I conducted a study that challenges the idea of “speaking with one voice.” We argue that this recommended strategy <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.0121">does not uniformly hold across the disaster management cycle</a>.</p>
<h2>Tailoring messages to audiences</h2>
<p>Audiences for disaster communications include disaster victims, volunteers, donors and other supporters. Sending one consistent message on various accounts and platforms produces messages targeting the same audience when responding to a disaster.</p>
<p>Alternatively and counterintuitively, however, co-ordination may be facilitated by producing messages intended for different audiences. Using Twitter data collected in partnership with the Canadian Red Cross (CRC), our research shows that during the urgent response phase, social media engagement improves by 4.3 per cent from producing convergent content through the match of audiences, while a mismatch or a divergence of audiences yields 29.6 per cent more engagement when uncertainty subsides during the recovery phase.</p>
<p>Our study recommends that DROs take a more nuanced and dynamic approach than prior crisis communication studies suggest, demonstrating the importance of adapting communication strategies to different phases of disaster management.</p>
<h2>Case study: Fort McMurray wildfire</h2>
<p>We looked at communications on Twitter after the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3138183/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-named-canadas-news-story-of-2016/">2016 Fort McMurray wildfire</a>, which was the costliest Canadian natural disaster. The fire reached a size of more than 480,000 hectares in just a few days, and caused estimated insured losses of $3.7 billion. More than 80,000 people were evacuated — the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta — and the fire destroyed the region’s nearby communities, oil sands facilities and infrastructures.</p>
<p>The CRC responded swiftly at both the national and local levels. The local branch that primarily supported the national operations was the CRC in Alberta (CRC-A). Besides supplying and distributing physical resources, the CRC and the CRC-A actively published information on various social media platforms, with Twitter being the most used. </p>
<p>An example of a CRC tweet directed to victims states, “<a href="https://twitter.com/redcrosscanada/status/728951919289438209">Fort McMurray evacuees registration is open, we encourage you to register if you have not already</a>.” User engagement to tweets of this nature helps the swift and wide dissemination of the content, enhancing the CRC’s capacity to respond to disasters. For example, likes and replies to this tweet could have led to more disaster victims seeing the message and registering to receive help.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"728951919289438209"}"></div></p>
<p>A CRC tweet directed to supporters — “<a href="https://twitter.com/redcrosscanada/status/727665472829788160">Donate to help those affected by the fires in Fort McMurray</a>” — may have resulted in more donor aid. In total, the CRC and the CRC-A posted close to 1,800 tweets in the three months after the wildfire broke out. These tweets combined received more than 38,000 retweets and 37,000 likes.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"727665472829788160"}"></div></p>
<h2>Increasing engagement</h2>
<p>Measuring engagement as the total number of likes, retweets, clicks and replies, the team used machine learning techniques to identify the audience (victims or supporters) and then analyzed how audience match between accounts affected user engagement.</p>
<p>Our study establishes that a DRO’s communication strategy may involve either a match or a mismatch of audiences, contingent on the phase of the disaster management cycle. As a result, we demonstrate exceptions to the conventional recommendation from crisis communication theory, which advocates for speaking with one voice across an organization’s channels.</p>
<p>We further find that the changes to engagement resulting from matching content creation decisions are unequal between national and local accounts. A match of content creation decisions during the response phase proves more effective in boosting engagement for local accounts than for national accounts. These findings suggest that local accounts should prioritize matching their audience with that targeted by national accounts. Put differently, local accounts should follow the lead of national accounts regarding the supply of information. </p>
<p>In the recovery phase, however, while both national and local accounts should refrain from matching content creation decisions to enhance engagement, it is particularly crucial for national accounts to adhere to this principle.</p>
<p>Our research findings offer actionable guidelines for DROs’ social media messaging, suggesting that a flexible and adaptive approach to social media communication is essential to meet the diverse needs of those affected by disasters.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215978/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Changseung Yoo receives funding from Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture (FRQ-SC). </span></em></p>Tailoring crisis communications strategies across the phases of the disaster management cycle is a more successful approach and can help co-ordinate disaster responses.Changseung Yoo, Assistant Professor, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2205822024-01-19T13:40:32Z2024-01-19T13:40:32ZStudents in this course learn the art of the apology<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>Sorry: The art and literature of the apology</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>A number of years ago our students and faculty read Eula Biss’ book “<a href="https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/notes-no-mans-land">Notes from No Man’s Land</a>” for our first-year reading program. </p>
<p>It ends with her essay “All Apologies,” which braids together seemingly disparate moments of apology: Biss to her little sister for hitting her, Ronald Reagan’s apology to <a href="https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/redress-and-reparations-japanese-american-incarceration">Japanese Americans for WWII internment</a>, and Bill Clinton’s apologies <a href="https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/17/speech/">for marital indiscretion</a>, to Hawaiians <a href="https://www.hawaii-nation.org/publawsum.html">for the U.S. overthrowing their monarchy</a> and <a href="https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/textonly/New/Remarks/Fri/19970516-898.html">for the Tuskegee syphilis experiment</a>.</p>
<p>I had the opportunity to expand on a discussion of Biss’ book with a class of first-year students. It started me thinking about the significance of the apology in our lives. From politicians and other public figures to friends and family, we often experience the apology given or withheld.</p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>The course explores much more than just the anatomy of an apology and what makes an apology succeed or fail. The course also gets students to consider how apologies can be used to understand historical events, interpersonal relationships and differences in culture and gender. We also discover how apologies provide insight into the nature of celebrity and corporate success.</p>
<p>When former Canadian Prime Minister <a href="https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100015644/1571589171655">Stephen Harper apologized</a> in 2015 on behalf of the government for having forcibly removed Indigenous children from their homes to teach them in residential schools, he repeated “we are sorry” in French, Cree, Anishinaabe and Inuktitut, recognizing the very cultures the forcible removal was meant to erase.</p>
<p>After several people died from <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/tylenol-murders-1982">cyanide-laced Tylenol</a> in 1982, the parent company – Johnson & Johnson – issued a statement that has since become one of most oft-cited examples of an <a href="https://www.ou.edu/deptcomm/dodjcc/groups/02C2/Johnson%20&%20Johnson.htm">effective corporate apology</a>.</p>
<p>When Ellen DeGeneres apologized in 2020 for fostering a toxic workplace, it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egn3CuQRHW8">missed the mark</a> because she tempered it with humor and didn’t take ownership. Similarly, YouTuber Colleen Ballinger, accused of exploiting her fans, failed spectacularly in her apology, not because it was accompanied by her ukulele strumming but because she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceKMnyMYIMo&t=3s">painted herself as a victim</a>.</p>
<p>Assignments include a case study that each student chooses and a short research paper on a related topic, such as shame, confession, guilt, forgiveness and absolution.</p>
<h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>
<p>We are living in a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/05/trump-santos-justice/674023/">post-shame era </a> in which outrageous and offensive behavior is often accepted and even applauded.</p>
<p>For instance, the current governor of Montana body-slammed a reporter while running – successfully – for Congress; entertainer James Corden apologized for berating a hapless waiter but then withdrew the apology; “Real Housewives” throw drinks and flip tables.</p>
<p>The apology itself is often monetized, weaponized or – most often – skipped over. Almost 20 years ago, Aaron Lazare wrote about the growing importance of apology and its power and complexity in his book “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/on-apology-9780195189117?cc=us&lang=en&">On Apology</a>.”</p>
<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>A good apology – that is, an effective one – offers a reset, restoring balance or repairing a rupture. A really good apology might even strengthen the relationship between the offender and the offended. </p>
<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>
<p>Course texts include scientific studies, transcripts of apologies, essays and poetry. The novel <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/sorry-9781741666632">“Sorry” by Australian writer Gail Jones</a> opens a unit on the national apology, the debt to Indigenous people and the case for reparations.</p>
<p>The unit ends with a screening of Mimi Chakarova’s 2023 film on Russell City – <a href="https://www.theapologyfilm.com/">“The Apology”</a>.</p>
<p>Students begin the semester by writing their own personal apologies. I never ask to whom. They are submitted in sealed envelopes. Students revisit their apologies at the end of the semester. I never read them.</p>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>My hope is that by the end of the semester the students will be able to apologize effectively. But like all courses in the humanities, it is meant to teach students to analyze and interpret texts and to appreciate the very best creative expressions of humanity, even when created in response to the very worst actions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220582/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nancy E. Berg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Apologies can easily go awry if they’re not made in a certain way.Nancy E. Berg, Professor of comparative literature, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. LouisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2198072023-12-18T19:09:26Z2023-12-18T19:09:26ZDo dog ‘talking buttons’ actually work? Does my dog understand me? Here’s what the science says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566241/original/file-20231218-26-xks3j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C54%2C5134%2C3389&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Is your dog bothered by something but you can’t work out what? Do you wish they could tell you?</p>
<p>There’s a <a href="https://www.bestproductsaustralia.com/best-dog-talking-buttons?targetid=dsa-469483434121&matchtype=&device=c&campaignid=18074730918&creative=617050046549&adgroupid=143033333449&feeditemid=94269287247&loc_physical_ms=9070871&loc_interest_ms=&network=g&devicemodel=&placement=&keyword=$&target=&aceid=&adposition=&trackid=au_all_top_1_1&mId=407-132-4411&trackOld=true&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsvWrBhC0ARIsAO4E6f_1-Amk1AXOLSVbsEPQYiZU5mviL8Q0wWoDhotFyeyRz8hwcIWjv-QaAk--EALw_wcB">huge range</a> of dog “talking” buttons on the market that now claim to let your dog do this. A very basic kit will set you back about $15, while more sophisticated ones can cost hundreds of dollars.</p>
<p>But is there any evidence these products work? </p>
<h2>How the buttons work</h2>
<p>The idea behind these buttons is simple. You record yourself speaking a word such as “treat” or “outside” into each button, after which the word is played back each time the button is pressed. Your dog can supposedly be trained to understand the words coming from the buttons, and use them to communicate with you. </p>
<p>Talking buttons are an example of <a href="https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/Communication_Hub/Resources/Fact_Sheets/Augmentative-and-Alternative-Communication.aspx#:%7E:text=Types%20of%20AAC&text=These%20include%3A,phones%20to%20help%20you%20communicate">augmentative and alternative communication</a>. To put it simply, they’re a method of communication that doesn’t use speech. In humans, similar devices are valuable for people with autism or intellectual disability, or those suffering from a stroke or other neurological condition. </p>
<h2>Can dogs learn complex communication?</h2>
<p>A dog <a href="https://youtu.be/2qkEyvzcVkc?si=ac1iWCGxfjRrjmx_">could figure out</a> to press talking buttons through a process called <a href="https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/management/reinforcement-theory">operant conditioning</a> – the same process used to teach dogs simple commands such as “sit”. When a dog performs a behaviour and receives something they want, such as a treat, they’re more likely to continue that behaviour.</p>
<p>The idea of dogs “talking” to humans with buttons was started by Christina Hunger, a speech language pathologist who understood the use of augmentative and alternative communication devices. Hunger claims to have taught her dog Stella more than 50 words and phrases <a href="https://www.hungerforwords.com/">up to five-words long</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anxious-dogs-have-different-brains-to-normal-dogs-brain-scan-study-reveals-201775">Anxious dogs have different brains to normal dogs, brain scan study reveals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Alternative explanations</h2>
<p>There are simple explanations for what may seem like complex behaviour in animals. For one thing, animals excel in picking up our body language. As a result, they may appear to understand more than they actually do. </p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans">Clever Hans the horse</a> is the perfect example. Hans <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/d/dehaene-number.html.">gained prominence</a> in the early 1900s for allegedly being able to do mathematics. Even his trainer believed he could count. It was only when the trainer was no longer present that people realised Hans was relying on involuntary cues in the trainer’s body language to “solve” problems, and couldn’t actually count. </p>
<p>Dogs are probably even better than horses at picking up on our body language cues. As the first <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.00103/full#:%7E:text=Dogs%20were%20the%20first%20animal,origins%20and%20events%20of%20domestication.">domesticated species</a>, they’ve spent thousands of years working out what we’re likely to do next. Just think of all the times your dog has rushed to the door even before you’ve picked up their leash.</p>
<p>When we train dogs to use talking buttons, they’re probably learning using operant conditioning to some extent. For example, they learn that pressing a button can lead to a reward. </p>
<p>But in cases where dogs seem to be able to string multiple buttons together to say something advanced, or where they can press the “right” button when asked, they’re likely just responding to their owner’s body language. And they probably wouldn’t be able to replicate the behaviour if a new pet-sitter was making the command. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@whataboutbunny/video/7305801384241138986?is_from_webapp=1\u0026sender_device=pc\u0026web_id=7247360749801375234"}"></div></p>
<h2>We need more data</h2>
<p>Federico Rossan, director of the Comparative Cognition Lab at UC San Diego, is working on a <a href="https://www.theycantalk.org/research">large project analysing results</a> from dogs using talking buttons. </p>
<p>Although <a href="https://fluent.pet/">FluentPet</a> (a business that sells pet communication products) is involved, the study is reported to be independent. That means a person who doesn’t have a conflict of interest will analyse and report the results.</p>
<p>Data collection started in late 2020, but so far no evidence has been published. Until then, the best “evidence” we have for these products is anecdotal reporting coming from dog owners who are probably biased (since they’d like to think their dog is very clever). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-humans-disappeared-what-would-happen-to-our-dogs-218703">If humans disappeared, what would happen to our dogs?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Could it do any harm?</h2>
<p>It matters when we treat our dogs differently depending on what <em>we</em> think <em>they</em> are thinking.</p>
<p>One example is when we assume dogs feel guilty for certain actions. For instance, when you come home and your dog has chewed up your favourite rug, they might look “guilty” as you scold them, but they’re actually just responding to your reaction. Studies have shown dogs can’t experience the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-23/dog-shaming-falls-on-deaf-ears-for-canines/6715932">human emotion of guilt</a>.</p>
<p>That’s why you shouldn’t punish your dog when you come home to a chewed-up carpet. They won’t associate your yelling or smacking with their action from hours earlier. </p>
<p>The reality is some dogs will simply be more interested in interacting with talking buttons than others. There’s no good reason to think these dogs are therefore smarter than others.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@lyndibuttons/video/7079788076142234885?lang=en\u0026q=dog%20talking%20buttons\u0026t=1702878026732"}"></div></p>
<h2>Should I buy talking buttons?</h2>
<p>If you can recognise and account for the potential risks mentioned above, then buying talking buttons won’t do any harm to you or your dog (apart from putting a dent in your wallet). </p>
<p>That said, there are myriad ways to communicate with your dog without needing such a device. Chaser the border collie learned how to retrieve 1,022 toys by name without <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaser_(dog)">an augmentative device</a>.</p>
<p>However you do it, spending time with your dog using positive reinforcement training will benefit both of you. Dogs are amazing, unique animals with whom we can communicate in all kinds of ways, and they don’t need to understand our language for this.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566243/original/file-20231218-21-2ed1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566243/original/file-20231218-21-2ed1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566243/original/file-20231218-21-2ed1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566243/original/file-20231218-21-2ed1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566243/original/file-20231218-21-2ed1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566243/original/file-20231218-21-2ed1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566243/original/file-20231218-21-2ed1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566243/original/file-20231218-21-2ed1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Talking buttons could be harmful if a dog’s refusal to use them changes their owner’s attitude towards them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: this article previously included a line saying human language is “too complex” for a dog to understand. This has now been removed as it doesn’t correctly reflect the state of research on dog communication.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219807/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Hazel receives funding from the Waltham Foundation and is associated with the Dog & Cat Management Board of South Australia, RSPCA South Australia and Animal Therapies Ltd. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eduardo Fernandez receives funding from the Waltham Foundation.</span></em></p>There are simple explanations for what may seem like complex behaviours in dogs.Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of AdelaideEduardo J Fernandez, Visiting Assistant Professor, Florida Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2180302023-12-05T19:23:52Z2023-12-05T19:23:52ZFact-bombing by experts doesn’t change hearts and minds. But good science communication can<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563530/original/file-20231205-30-fhevw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C7%2C2389%2C1577&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/rock-formation-during-night-time-167843/">Pixabay / Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A stir went through the Australian science communication community last week, caused by an article with the headline <a href="https://theconversation.com/science-communicators-need-to-stop-telling-everybody-the-universe-is-a-meaningless-void-215334">Science communicators need to stop telling everybody the universe is a meaningless void</a>. In meetings and online back channels we cried “not ALL science communicators!” </p>
<p>As experts in science communication, we think the article got a few things right but also that this isn’t the whole story. As science communication researchers have <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/23674">recognised</a> for <a href="https://royalsociety.org/%7E/media/royal_society_content/policy/publications/1985/10700.pdf">decades</a>, some people who communicate science don’t really take their audiences into account. Instead they rely on the “<a href="https://oxfordre.com/communication/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-1396">deficit model</a>”, which wrongly suggests you can change people’s beliefs and behaviours simply by giving them facts to fill perceived gaps in their knowledge.</p>
<p>However, this isn’t the norm. Science communicators are not evangelists for the science-only worldview of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism">scientism</a>. Many science communicators think very deeply about what values matter to people, and how to reach their audiences.</p>
<p>Good science communicators put a lot of work into understanding audiences. Sometimes we undertake research programs to understand attitudes, values and worldviews so we can communicate empathetically with audiences, not just transmit information. Yet much of this work is invisible to the public – and clearly it isn’t widely recognised.</p>
<h2>What is science communication?</h2>
<p>Science communication is sometimes characterised as science marketing, but many of us would reject that label. We love to share our passion for science, but we are not uncritical cheerleaders for it. </p>
<p>We see science as part of humanity’s grand project to solve many challenges. We are not ignorant of the broader social context. Most of us do not believe science is everything, and we talk about its limitations. We also recognise the need to provide hope even in the face of catastrophic predictions.</p>
<p>Many of us would agree some science popularisers (we use the term deliberately) should stop telling people their values-based intuitive beliefs are proved pointless by science. For one thing, telling people their beliefs are wrong is a thoroughly ineffective way to communicate science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-key-drivers-of-good-messaging-in-a-time-of-crisis-expertise-empathy-and-timing-135866">especially in a crisis</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563532/original/file-20231205-27-9eemqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of a protest in favour of science" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563532/original/file-20231205-27-9eemqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563532/original/file-20231205-27-9eemqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563532/original/file-20231205-27-9eemqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563532/original/file-20231205-27-9eemqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563532/original/file-20231205-27-9eemqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563532/original/file-20231205-27-9eemqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563532/original/file-20231205-27-9eemqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Science has a crucial role to play in informing the public and decision makers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/group-of-people-with-signages-nKNrOZ5MXZY">Vlad Tchompalov</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most science communicators work behind the scenes, supporting scientists to share their work, or running campaigns to counter misinformation. Some of us are translators, making information more accessible to decision-makers. Others are interpreters, helping define meaning and relevance of scientific ideas. Some of us are professional storytellers of science. </p>
<p>Being influential behind the scenes means we sometimes struggle to be recognised as experts in our own right, to have our qualifications and specialist training valued, and to have a seat at the table when governments and other organisations make decisions involving science communication.</p>
<p>There is some debate over whether science communication is <a href="https://jcom.sissa.it/article/pubid/Jcom0903(2010)C04/">a discipline in its own right</a>. Regardless, we know through practice and research that fact-bombing by experts has never been an effective way to engage communities in science. </p>
<h2>What makes a science communicator?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21548455.2022.2136985">For some</a>, the key to what makes one a competent science communicator lies in education and training in “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_knowledge">threshold concepts</a>” which include</p>
<ol>
<li><p>audience-centred communication (which relies on understanding your audience)</p></li>
<li><p>shifting from deficit model-based communication to engagement.</p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-key-drivers-of-good-messaging-in-a-time-of-crisis-expertise-empathy-and-timing-135866">Three key drivers of good messaging in a time of crisis: expertise, empathy and timing</a>
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<p>Scientists themselves may not have been exposed to these concepts. While some universities teach these skills within science degrees, the depth and orientation of these courses vary. </p>
<p>In Australia, there are only two Masters-level programs in science communication (compared with the Netherlands, which has seven). These programs aim to develop professional skills but are also informed by the history, philosophy and sociology of science, so communicators can reflect deeply and critically on the choices they make. </p>
<p>So-called <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1075547019847484?journalCode=scxb?">values-based communication</a> is central to these programs.</p>
<h2>At the core, it’s about audience</h2>
<p>Values-based communication requires communicators to recognise that audiences have a range of knowledge bases, attitudes, perceptions, experiences and values. All of these influence how they relate to different scientific issues. </p>
<p>A science communication professional will take their audiences’ value systems into account when considering the purpose of their communication.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/god-and-illness-for-some-south-africans-theres-more-to-healing-than-medicine-176180">God and illness: for some South Africans, there's more to healing than medicine</a>
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<p>A science communicator might decide to point out to some audiences that a virus doesn’t care who we are, so as to emphasise personal risk and responsibility. A different approach may be needed for an audience who believe <a href="https://theconversation.com/god-and-illness-for-some-south-africans-theres-more-to-healing-than-medicine-176180">illness is due to the will of a god</a>. </p>
<p>It’s the communicator’s responsibility to balance the potential harm their communication may cause with the benefit in supporting various audiences. One size definitely does not fit all.</p>
<h2>Good communicators understand human values</h2>
<p>Many people working in science communication do not have an education or qualifications in science communication. However, the vast majority do communicate with empathy and transparency about their own values. They acknowledge the limitations of science and its interplay with politics, culture, history and economics. </p>
<p>We reflect deeply on the ethical issues arising from our activities and, for those of us working with particularly controversial or contentious sciences, only time will tell whether we have been effective.</p>
<p>There is no doubt some sections of the science community do communicate without taking people’s values in mind. However, this is counter to current scholarship and best practice. </p>
<p>Most science communication professionals carefully take these things into account. We do it because that is the best way to get better societal outcomes, and to do better science that actually reflects the needs of the communities we live in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218030/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Carruthers is a freelance communications specialist working with clients including Science in Public. He is the co-president of the Australian Science Communicators, and adjunct lecturer in science communication at UWA.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Bray is the Coordinator of the Master of Science Communication at the University of Western Australia and is involved in both teaching and research in science communication. She is a current member of Australian Science Communicators. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Nurse is an associate lecturer of science communication at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at ANU. He has previously received Research Training Program funding from the Commonwealth Government. He is a current member of Australian Science Communicators. </span></em></p>Science communication has to start with values – and most of the time it does.Tom Carruthers, Co-president, Australian Science Communicators, and Adjunct Lecturer, Science Communication, The University of Western AustraliaHeather Bray, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, The University of Western AustraliaMatthew Nurse, Associate lecturer, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2175392023-11-20T18:59:52Z2023-11-20T18:59:52ZDisinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back<p>Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not by accident but as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2875">part of organised political campaigns</a>, in which case we refer to it as disinformation. </p>
<p>But there is a more fundamental, subversive damage arising from misinformation and disinformation that is discussed less often.</p>
<p>It undermines democracy itself. In a recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X23001562">paper published in Current Opinion in Psychology</a>, we highlight two important aspects of democracy that disinformation works to erode.</p>
<h2>The integrity of elections</h2>
<p>The first of the two aspects is confidence in how power is distributed – the integrity of elections in particular.</p>
<p>In the United States, recent polls have shown nearly 70% of Republicans <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/03/politics/cnn-poll-republicans-think-2020-election-illegitimate/index.html">question the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election</a>. This is a direct result of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/donald-trump-and-the-lie/A438DF5A45FE78CB2BC887859EFAB587">disinformation from Donald Trump</a>, the loser of that election. </p>
<p>Democracy depends on the people knowing that power will be transferred peacefully <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3273111">if an incumbent loses an election</a>. The “big lie” that the 2020 US election was stolen undermines that confidence.</p>
<h2>Depending on reliable information</h2>
<p>The second important aspect of democracy is this – it depends on reliable information about the evidence for various policy options.</p>
<p>One reason we trust democracy as a system of governance is the idea that it can deliver “better” decisions and outcomes than autocracy, because the “wisdom of crowds” <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/tops.12610">outperforms any one individual</a>. But the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08913811.2018.1575007">benefits of this wisdom vanish</a> if people are pervasively disinformed. </p>
<p>Disinformation about climate change is a well-documented example. The fossil fuel industry understood the environmental consequences of burning fossil fuels <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0349-9">at least as early as the 1960s</a>. Yet they spent decades funding organisations that <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2875">denied the reality of climate change</a>. This disinformation campaign has delayed climate mitigation by several decades – a case of public policy being thwarted by false information.</p>
<p>We’ve seen a similar misinformation trajectory in the COVID-19 pandemic, although it happened in just a few years rather than decades. Misinformation about COVID varied from claims that 5G towers rather than a virus <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1329878X20946113">caused the disease</a>, to casting doubt on the <a href="https://www.cmaj.ca/content/195/15/E552">effectiveness of lockdowns</a> or the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01644-3">safety of vaccines</a>.</p>
<p>The viral surge of misinformation led to the World Health Organisation introducing a new term – <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014067362030461X">infodemic</a> – to describe the abundance of low-quality information and conspiracy theories.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-almost-like-grooming-how-anti-vaxxers-conspiracy-theorists-and-the-far-right-came-together-over-covid-168383">'It's almost like grooming': how anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and the far-right came together over COVID</a>
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<h2>A common denominator of misinformation</h2>
<p>Strikingly, some of the same political operatives involved in denying climate change have also used their rhetorical playbook <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/organisers-of-anti-lockdown-declaration-have-track-record-of-promoting-denial-of-health-and-environmental-risks/">to promote COVID disinformation</a>. What do these two issues have in common?</p>
<p>One common denominator is suspicion of government solutions to societal problems. Whether it’s setting a price on carbon to mitigate climate change, or social distancing to slow the spread of COVID, contrarians fear the policies they consider to be <a href="http://refhub.elsevier.com/S2352-250X(23)00156-2/sref46">an attack on personal liberties</a>.</p>
<p>An ecosystem of conservative and free-market think tanks exists to deny any science that, if acted on, has the potential to infringe on “liberty” through regulations.</p>
<p>There is another common attribute that ties together all organised disinformation campaigns – whether about elections, climate change or vaccines. It’s the use of personal attacks to compromise people’s integrity and credibility.</p>
<p>Election workers in the US <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/30/politics/rudy-giuliani-georgia-election-workers/index.html">were falsely accused</a> of committing fraud by those who fraudulently claimed the election had been “stolen” from Trump.</p>
<p>Climate scientists have been subject to <a href="https://jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/jspp/article/view/4965">harassment campaigns</a>, ranging from hate mail to vexatious complaints and freedom-of-information requests. Public health officials such as Anthony Fauci have been <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s42738-021-00073-2">prominent targets of far-right attacks</a>.</p>
<h2>The new frontier in attacks on scientists</h2>
<p>It is perhaps unsurprising there is now a new frontier in the attacks on scientists and others who seek to uphold the evidence-based integrity of democracy. It involves attacks and allegations of bias against misinformation researchers. </p>
<p>Such attacks are largely <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/30/jim-jordans-conspiratorial-quest-for-power">driven by Republican politicians</a>, in particular those who have endorsed Trump’s baseless claims about the 2020 election.</p>
<p>The misinformers are seeking to neutralise research focused on their own conduct by borrowing from the climate denial and anti-vaccination playbook. Their campaign has had a chilling effect <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/25/gop-legal-attacks-create-chilling-effect-misinformation-research/">on research into misinformation</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/inoculate-yourself-against-election-misinformation-campaigns-3-essential-reads-193582">Inoculate yourself against election misinformation campaigns – 3 essential reads</a>
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<h2>How do we move on from here?</h2>
<p>Psychological research has contributed to <a href="https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1027/1016-9040/a000493">legislative efforts by the European Union</a>, such as the Digital Services Act or Code of Practice, which seek to make democracies more resilient against misinformation and disinformation. </p>
<p>Research has also investigated how to boost the public’s resistance to misinformation. One such method is <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo6254">inoculation</a>, which rests on the idea people can be protected against being misled if they learn about the rhetorical techniques used to mislead them. </p>
<p>In a recent inoculation campaign involving brief educational videos shown to 38 million citizens in Eastern Europe, <a href="https://safety.google/intl/en_uk/stories/defanging-disinformation-in-CEE/">people’s ability to recognise misleading rhetoric</a> about Ukrainian refugees was frequently improved.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether these initiatives and research findings will be put to use in places like the US, where one side of politics appears more threatened by research into misinformation than by the risks to democracy arising from misinformation itself.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>We’d like to acknowledge our colleagues Ullrich Ecker, Naomi Oreskes, Jon Roozenbeek and Sander van der Linden who coauthored the journal article on which this article is based.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephan Lewandowsky receives financial support from the European Research Council, the Humboldt Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation and the European Commission. He also receives funding from Jigsaw (a technology incubator created by Google) and from UK Research and Innovation. He also interacts frequently with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in an advisory capacity and through scientific collaborations.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Cook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When people are pervasively disinformed, the very foundations of democracy can end up on shaky ground.Stephan Lewandowsky, Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of BristolJohn Cook, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2173022023-11-09T05:54:58Z2023-11-09T05:54:58ZOptus said it didn’t have the ‘soundbite’ to explain the crisis. We should expect better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558549/original/file-20231109-21-f3zvbb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=901%2C280%2C2257%2C1385&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Asked on Wednesday to explain why Optus broadband and mobile services had been simultaneously knocked out for five hours, its chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin blamed a “<a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/optus-ceo-says-no-soundbite-to-explain-phone-outage-20231108-p5eid1">technical network fault</a>”, and then added:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is no soundbite that is going to do it justice, so we want to really bottom-out the root cause, and when we have that very clear and in a digestible form, we will be forthcoming.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are a couple of ways to interpret this statement. Either she didn’t want to indicate what her engineers really thought had happened, or she believed Optus users wouldn’t be able to understand the truth.</p>
<p>Or she might not have been thinking about Optus users.</p>
<p>Her reference to a “<a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/soundbite">soundbite</a>” seems to suggest Optus regards its key audience as the media rather than its customers.</p>
<h2>Optus is baked into too much of what we do</h2>
<p>With more than <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/115786_OPTUS_0.pdf">10 million</a> mobile customers alone, accounting for more than one-third of Australia’s population, the <a href="https://www.singtel.com/about-us/company">Singapore-owned</a> Optus has become integrated into <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/optus-outage-statements-updates-from-affected-companies-banks-hospitals/78306f62-425b-4012-937c-1e16f770019d">almost everything</a> Australia does, from the operation of railways to automatic teller machines, to hospitals to emergency services.</p>
<p>Its customers, both corporate and personal, have become increasingly familiar with technical terms and technical explanations.</p>
<p>Those customers not only know more than they did – understanding many of the terms that apply to both software and hardware – but they expect more from technology, knowing that even some of their own jobs can potentially be replaced by artificially intelligent algorithms.</p>
<p>Many of those customers would be not only be asking “how did this happen”, but also “how could this be allowed to happen, given what technology is capable of”.</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<h2>The golden hour</h2>
<p>Crisis communicators have long spoken of the need to respond within the so-called “<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/golden-hour-crisis-management-why-first-60-minutes-critical-polley">golden hour</a>”, a concept taken from the emergency services where it is important to get to the injured party promptly. </p>
<p>In an increasingly automated world, that’s what Optus ought to have been able to do. Its core business is using technology for communications.</p>
<p>If it couldn’t use its mobile network, it ought to have been ready to use something else, even email.</p>
<h2>Technology firms have built-in intensifiers</h2>
<p>Crisis communications expert Timothy Coombs argues that the damage done to reputations during a crisis can be worsened by “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2046147X21999972#bibr15-2046147X21999972">intensifiers</a>”, such as the organisation’s past history of crises, its track record, and sometimes the severity of damage caused.</p>
<p>Significantly, he finds no “halo effect” from having handled things well in the past, only a “Velcro effect” from having handled things badly.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-crisis-optus-appears-to-be-ignoring-communications-101-217265">In a crisis, Optus appears to be ignoring Communications 101</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>To that I would add that a further intensifier is the extent to which an organisation suffering from a technology failure is itself a technology organisation. </p>
<p>It’s hard to argue you are a victim of something you have put yourself forward as a master of.</p>
<p>Sharing what it knows, on the assumption that at least some of its users will understand it, would be one way of indicating that Optus trusts its customers and is worthy of their trust.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217302/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Roberts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many Optus users, both personal and corporate, are familiar with technology. They appreciate details, even where they can’t take them all in.Peter Roberts, Lecturer, School of the Arts and Media, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2157802023-11-08T13:36:27Z2023-11-08T13:36:27ZNew anti-violence PSA may hit home, but change depends on follow-up and other factors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557144/original/file-20231101-21-lji227.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=132%2C45%2C3598%2C2092&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"Goodbye" is the name of a new PSA that seeks to show the impact of gun violence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://vimeo.com/862137854/928ba36c0e?share=copy">Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>When Erek L. Barron, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/meet-us-attorney">U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland</a>, premiered a <a href="https://vimeo.com/862137854/928ba36c0e?share=copy">60-second video</a> that seeks to show how gun violence devastates families, he said his goal was to create an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/28/end-gun-violence-psa-erek-barron/">innovative public service announcement</a> that would help “turn around violent crime and improve safety in our neighborhoods.”</em></p>
<p><em>Titled “Goodbye,” the <a href="https://vimeo.com/862137854/928ba36c0e?share=cop">video PSA</a> starts with a high school girl, Tasha, getting a surprise visit from the ghost of her brother, “T,” who tells his sister that he won’t be home and that she is now in charge.</em></p>
<p><em>After T disappears, Tasha learns from law enforcement and Barron that her older brother has been shot and killed.</em> </p>
<p><em>While the PSA – released in September 2023 – is heartbreaking, a critical question remains: Will it work? To answer that question, The Conversation reached out to three communication scholars for their perspectives on the effectiveness of PSAs.</em> </p>
<p></p><hr><p></p>
<h2>Jessica Gall Myrick, professor of health communication</h2>
<p><strong>Penn State University</strong></p>
<p>While PSAs can prompt people to talk about a particular topic and keep it front of mind, using PSAs to persuade people to actually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60809-4">change behavior</a> is more difficult.</p>
<p>Some people simply <a href="https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-12.1.38">are not ready to change</a>. They are at what researchers call the “precontemplative stage.” For such people, a PSA can be more persuasive if it just gets them to think about the topic. One strategy to achieve this end is to <a href="https://oxfordre.com/communication/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-324">appeal to people’s emotions</a>.</p>
<p>However, just provoking an emotional response will not necessarily lead to a change in behavior. If audiences are overwhelmed with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2017.1415767">fear</a> or anger, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452218410">often reject the message</a> or discredit its source.</p>
<p>When encouraging audiences to emotionally invest in a topic, too much of any one negative emotion may backfire, while not enough will leave them uninterested, perhaps believing the topic is not very important.</p>
<p>Research suggests that many audiences often respond more favorably to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1422847">messages that offer some hope, at least by the end</a>. Hope is an important emotion because it can boost our confidence in our ability to handle the threat discussed in the PSA.</p>
<p>In the case of a PSA like “Goodbye,” the sadness or sympathy evoked by showing the grief of the little sister may not immediately change anyone’s policy position or attitude about guns. However, it is memorable – it has the potential to keep people thinking about the issue of gun violence.</p>
<p>“Goodbye” also makes the impact of gun violence more concrete – it feels less abstract than a news story filled with statistics about injuries or deaths. </p>
<p>When stories <a href="https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/4824">evoke feelings of empathy and identification</a> with the people directly affected by a social issue, they can help audiences to start to think more, and more often, about the issue’s effects on both themselves and on society more broadly, even if they do not instantly change behavior. </p>
<h2>Holli H. Seitz, professor of communication</h2>
<p><strong>Mississippi State University</strong></p>
<p>When they work, media campaigns – which often include PSAs – can have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730490271548">small beneficial effects</a> on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2015.1095820">people’s behavior and knowledge</a>. However, sometimes PSAs have unintended effects or even harmful effects on behavior. In such cases, the effects are called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2007.00344.x">boomerang effects</a>” because they go in an unexpected direction.</p>
<p>Case in point: From 1998 to 2004, Congress appropriated over <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-06-818">US$1.2 billion for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign</a>. However, an evaluation found that the media campaign <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2007.125849">failed to have favorable effects</a> and may have even <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-06-818">promoted the perception that drug use among others was normal</a>.</p>
<p>Even in cases where the message of a PSA is effective, there are other factors to consider. </p>
<p>For one, a lot of PSA research was conducted before the rise of social media. The changing media landscape may make it more difficult for PSAs to wrestle people’s attention away from whatever else they’re viewing.</p>
<p>Secondly, PSA creators don’t always do enough to ensure that their PSAs reach their intended audience. Getting a PSA into the media platforms that the target audience uses – and showing it frequently – is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15245000214135">key to see effects</a>. The limited effects of past programs, such as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.85.2.183">Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15245000214135">may be attributable to a lack of sufficient exposure</a> to key messages. </p>
<p>To increase the effectiveness of PSAs, we can look to communication research for guidance. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730500461059">Communication scholar Seth Noar</a> says that campaigns are more likely to be effective when campaign creators conduct research with the intended audience to understand the behavior they hope to change and pretest messages for effectiveness. For example, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-019-0430-5">campaign to encourage people in Victoria, Australia, to reserve ambulances for emergencies</a> used audience research to inform their campaign development. An <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-019-0430-5">evaluation</a> of that campaign showed desirable effects on public attitudes toward the appropriate use of ambulances.</p>
<h2>Sara C. Doan, assistant professor of experience architecture</h2>
<p><strong>Michigan State University</strong></p>
<p>I argue that telling a relatable story makes people want to act. By avoiding the lectures, such as <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-just-say-no-doesnt-work/">Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No”</a> anti-drug campaign, and the ironic pictures and quotes from New York City’s <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-citys-new-teen-pregnancy-psas-use-crying-babies-to-send-message/">posters of crying babies to prevent teen pregnancy</a>, Maryland’s PSA invokes a real situation: how families of gun violence victims deal with losing a family member.</p>
<p>This story allows people to bring their own knowledge, experience and social connections to the <a href="https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/the-impact-of-gun-violence-on-children-and-adolescents/#:%7E:text=Gun%20violence%20may%20also%20lead,deaths%20among%20children%20and%20adolescents">problem of gun violence</a>, making people want to act. T tells his younger sister, “You’re in charge right now, Tasha… Just feed my birds for me, alright?” This dialogue feels genuine, without the cheesiness that made people <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.92.2.238">joke about previous anti-drug PSAs</a>.</p>
<p>People <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23448568/">respond better to real images and situations</a> in PSAs, especially when the topic is unpleasant. The “Goodbye” PSA shocked me but doesn’t rely on shock value.</p>
<p>I believe a call to action – whether by a local government, nongovernment organization, or a group of citizen activists – that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12310">shows how people’s actions will matter</a> would make the PSA’s message more powerful. </p>
<p>Actions also need to follow a PSA to change people’s behavior.</p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/click-it-or-ticket">National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s</a> campaign “Click It or Ticket” – <a href="https://ncvisionzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ciot-history.pdf">combined with traffic enforcement</a> begun in the 1990s and still ongoing – has helped raise rates of seat belt use by <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/click-it-or-ticket">8% between 2009 and 2022</a>. </p>
<p>The horrors of gun violence should not be made into a snappy slogan, which, thankfully, Maryland’s PSA avoids. I argue that giving people a concrete action to take – and <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-baltimore-national-intiative-to-reduce-gun-homicides-20230223-hc3fw56hcjfj3cnq6f62vajyd4-story.html">empowering communities to act</a> through funding and support for on-the-ground efforts – would make PSAs more effective.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holli H. Seitz receives funding from the Extension Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has previously received funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Seitz received her PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania where she worked with Dr. Robert Hornik whose research is cited in this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Gall Myrick receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara C. Doan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The US attorney for the District of Maryland recently released a PSA to help stem the tide of violence in the state. But will it work?Holli H. Seitz, Associate Professor of Communication, Mississippi State UniversityJessica Myrick, Professor of Media Studies, Penn StateSara C. Doan, Assistant Professor of Experience Architecture, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2172662023-11-08T04:13:48Z2023-11-08T04:13:48ZOptus blackout explained: what is a ‘deep network’ outage and what may have caused it?<p>Optus customers woke up this morning to find they were unable to get their social media fix, and they weren’t happy. Around 4am AEDT, customers started to report an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-08/optus-outage-live-blog/103076996">inability to access</a> both mobile and home internet services.</p>
<p>Optus advised it was investigating the issue, with <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-news-live-rba-lifts-interest-rates-to-4-35-per-cent-pm-meets-with-chinese-premier-20231107-p5eiag.htmly">reports emerging around</a> midday of some services coming back online. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Optus Help post from X, formerly Twitter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558260/original/file-20231108-25-hgyz4h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558260/original/file-20231108-25-hgyz4h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558260/original/file-20231108-25-hgyz4h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558260/original/file-20231108-25-hgyz4h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558260/original/file-20231108-25-hgyz4h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558260/original/file-20231108-25-hgyz4h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558260/original/file-20231108-25-hgyz4h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Optus Help/X</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Around 12.30pm, Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin told radio 2GB the <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/optus-outage-when-will-it-be-fixed/4b74342e-9b2a-4c0f-8125-a28be7facd83">path to restoration</a> had been found, nearly nine hours after the blackout began.</p>
<p>The outage, one of the largest in Australia’s history, sent alarm bells ringing across the country. With <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/08/optus-phone-and-internet-outage-affects-millions-across-australia">a number of</a> smaller mobile network providers reselling the Optus network, including Aussie Broadband, Amaysim, CatchConnect, Coles Mobile, Dodo, Moose Mobile <a href="https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/mobile_carriers">and more</a>, the impact was felt far and wide.</p>
<p>As the morning progressed, the impact grew. Health and emergency services were unable to communicate, <a href="https://7news.com.au/travel/metro-trains/melbourne-train-network-shuts-down-due-to-optus-outage-for-30-minutes-c-12477906">trains in Melbourne</a> were brought to a halt and small businesses across the nation were unable to use Optus EFTPOS. </p>
<p>Fortunately, Optus users could still use roaming to <a href="https://amta.org.au/calling-triple-zero-from-your-mobile/">call 000</a> if they were within the coverage of other telecommunication service providers. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-crisis-optus-appears-to-be-ignoring-communications-101-217265">In a crisis, Optus appears to be ignoring Communications 101</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is a ‘deep network’ problem?</h2>
<p>Earlier today Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland described the incident as a “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/optus-outage-likely-a-deep-network-issue/103076946">deep network”</a> problem.</p>
<p>Telecommunications networks include three components: the core, transit and access networks. You can think of the <a href="https://www.tatacommunications.com/knowledge-base/network-core-network-explained/">core network</a> as the systems that allow customers’ devices to connect to and access phone and internet services. </p>
<p>The transit network connects the core to the access networks using optical fibre cables. The access networks include the local infrastructure found in suburbs – including the mobile phone towers.</p>
<p>Core network outages can occur when equipment or cables fail, when there is a software fault, or when a cyberattack occurs.</p>
<p>The most common reason for a software fault is when a patch or update is applied and it has an unintended outcome, such as causing one or more of the core network systems to fail.</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<h2>What could have caused this?</h2>
<p>Although Optus hasn’t give any indications as to the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-08/optus-phone-internet-service-down-across-australia/103076700">exact cause of the outage</a>, Bayer Rosmarin <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/08/optus-phone-and-internet-outage-affects-millions-across-australia">said it was</a> unlikely a cyberattack was the cause:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is no indication that it is anything to do with spyware at this stage.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At the same time, experts have noted mobile cell towers are working, and there seems to be no damage to the underlying fibre optic network. This means we can probably rule out an issue in the transit or access networks.</p>
<p>The scale and speed with which the impact hit (and the somewhat specific timing) indicates the culprit was likely a problem in the core network.</p>
<p>It’s very possible a software or system update was responsible. Such updates or changes often happen out of business hours to have minimal impact. They typically involve a short period of downtime – a “scheduled outage” – which goes unnoticed by customers. </p>
<p>It could be, as some <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/fears-optus-outage-was-a-planned-upgrade-at-4am-that-went-catastrophically-wrong/news-story/cd25723a64980982bf70411c75472baa">reports have speculated</a>, the Optus outage was an unplanned consequence of a planned system change, such as a planned update or outage. When these processes go wrong, they can go spectacularly wrong! </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558236/original/file-20231108-19-i63c16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A radio and 5G tower against a blue sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558236/original/file-20231108-19-i63c16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558236/original/file-20231108-19-i63c16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558236/original/file-20231108-19-i63c16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558236/original/file-20231108-19-i63c16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558236/original/file-20231108-19-i63c16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558236/original/file-20231108-19-i63c16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558236/original/file-20231108-19-i63c16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The mobile network distributed via cell towers provides both phone calls and data to customers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/radio-communication-cell-towers-on-blue-1971141260">Daria Nipot/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>As for how such a fault may happen, it is likely due to human error (especially since 4am is a time you might expect engineers to be carrying out patch work). However, it could also be a result of other factors, such as a hardware fault that then causes a software failure. </p>
<p>Another possibility is a fault in an accounting or user management system, such as no longer being able to attribute costs or verify users’ identities properly.</p>
<p>Issues in back-end billing and management systems can generate a cascade of failures throughout the rest of a network. In such cases, a simple bug in the system can impact everyone connected to the network.</p>
<h2>How will this be fixed?</h2>
<p>Optus engineers will be actively investigating the cause of the outage. You might be imagining someone scurrying around with wires in their hands trying to find the one that isn’t plugged in – but in reality this will be a lengthy process that involves examining various systems and software configurations to find the culprit.</p>
<p>For Optus, the hard work will continue after the fix is in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again. And perhaps an even more difficult challenge will be convincing the public this was an isolated incident – one that has once again highlighted how vulnerable our massively connected systems are to (even single) <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/business-spectator/news-story/preventing-the-mayhem-of-a-major-telstra-outage/6b59b91ae3865637490da2813663adc9">points of failure</a>.</p>
<p>Speaking on 3AW Afternoons, <a href="https://www.3aw.com.au/optus-ceo-looking-at-compensating-customers-as-services-are-restored-following-unprecedented-outage/">Bayer Rosmarin said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We are looking at what we can do to say thank you to our customers for their patience.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Optus is likely to pay compensation to customers. For residential customers this may be in the form of a reduced bill. </p>
<p>For business customers, the compensation would be linked with their service-level agreements. In other words, the specific penalties for Optus will be based on individual agreements it has made with various parties using or sharing its services.</p>
<p>Beyond this, it’s highly likely today’s events have dealt a massive blow to Optus’s reputation – especially when considered alongside last year’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-optus-hacker-claims-theyve-deleted-the-data-heres-what-experts-want-you-to-know-191494">Optus data breach</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/optus-says-it-needed-to-keep-identity-data-for-six-years-but-did-it-really-191498">Optus says it needed to keep identity data for six years. But did it really?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217266/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Optus suffered one of the largest telecommunications outages in Australian history today. Here are the factors that can cause such events.Paul Haskell-Dowland, Professor of Cyber Security Practice, Edith Cowan UniversityMark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT UniversityMohiuddin Ahmed, Senior Lecturer of Computing and Security, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136542023-09-26T03:49:06Z2023-09-26T03:49:06ZThe many reviews of the public service miss one vital problem - the language used to communicate ideas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550164/original/file-20230926-29-srjzf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s public service is no stranger to reform. In the past nine years, it has undergone <a href="https://www.apsreview.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/Ahead%20of%20the%20Game%20-%20Blueprint%20for%20the%20Reform%20of%20Australian%20Government.pdf">three</a> <a href="https://www.apsc.gov.au/publication/learning-from-failure">significant</a> <a href="https://www.apsreview.gov.au/index.htm">reviews</a> of its policy advising capabilities, all of which broadly agreed that its policy advice tends towards reticence and needs to be strengthened. </p>
<p>While these reviews triggered reform processes to improve how policy advice is built, a glaring gap remains largely unexplored: the language of policy advice itself. How public servant policy advisers articulate arguments, communicate ideas and influence decision-makers has profound implications for how their policy recommendations land and whether the public interest is served. It’s an area urgently in need of reform.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-robodebt-heres-how-australia-can-have-a-truly-frank-and-fearless-public-service-again-209488">After robodebt, here's how Australia can have a truly 'frank and fearless' public service again</a>
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<h2>Policy advice needs the right language</h2>
<p>Policy advice is not just about data and analyses – it’s about conveying arguments, views and a compelling narrative that resonates with decision-makers and serves the broader public. </p>
<p>This means language wields immense power. It shapes perceptions, frames issues and influences decisions. Yet reviews of the Australian Public Service (APS) have not explicitly focused on the language used in policy advice.</p>
<p>Language can stymie policy. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/08/labor-says-treasury-document-shows-negative-gearing-claims-outright-lies">A convoluted, risk-averse document</a> that avoids uncomfortable knowledge in case it is controversial or requested under Freedom of Information laws almost always obscures the proposal’s merits. This in turn can make it difficult for people to gauge if it is in their interest.</p>
<p>Policy advice serves a dual audience: government decision-makers and the public. The language used to communicate policy directions must understand the needs of these audiences. And advisers must remember that policies are not only shaped by those in power, but are made in the public interest. </p>
<p>Moreover, the public’s ability to access and scrutinise policy advice has expanded dramatically. If policy language remains inaccessible and opaque, public trust erodes – not just in governments but within departments. </p>
<p>A language that shows context, addresses dissent, and provides clear directions fosters understanding and trust. This enables everyday citizens to make informed judgments about whether their interest has been served. Addressing the language used in policy advice is not a surface concern – it is a crucial factor in strengthening democratic participation and accountability.</p>
<p>Rectifying the challenge posed by policy language is not a straightforward undertaking. However, several potential avenues could lead the public service towards resolution. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pezzullo-story-points-to-serious-systemic-problems-in-the-australian-public-service-214253">Pezzullo story points to serious systemic problems in the Australian Public Service</a>
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<h2>How it can be fixed</h2>
<p>As a first step, the importance of language to policy success must be explicitly acknowledged. This might spark a cultural transformation, where language becomes a cornerstone of policy advising rather than the afterthought it so often is. The public service also needs to explore why its language is as weak and ambiguous as it is.</p>
<p>From here, professional development focused on finding and distilling complex ideas into accessible language is also key. However, simply providing resources for plain language writing or increasing the amount of communication misses the mark. As <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2585323/">has been observed</a>, the answer to better policy-advising is not to produce more rigorous, more relevant, less ambiguous, more timely or more appealingly presented evidence. Rather, it is for policymakers to develop a better awareness of how to communicate their ideas. </p>
<p>Finally, interdisciplinary and lateral collaboration could revolutionise policy advising as a fully robust form of knowledge communication. As former Australian Public Service Commissioner Peter Woolcott <a href="https://www.apsc.gov.au/news-and-events/media-centre/speeches/aps-commissioner-peter-woolcott-ao-valedictory-address#:%7E:text=It%20is%20the%20APS%20that,of%20the%20views%20of%20stakeholders.">has noted</a>, policymakers need to “get better at engaging in policy discussions with civil society to ensure a full understanding”. </p>
<p>Following this thinking, collaborations between science communicators, social scientists, citizen experts, organisational linguists and policy advisers could yield innovative approaches to framing and conveying policy ideas. </p>
<p>The public service’s effectiveness hinges on its willingness to stare into the abyss of policy language. The language used in policy advice is not an inconsequential detail, but a pivotal determinant of success. </p>
<p>If it does not address this problem, the public service risks becoming an unwitting participant in its own decline. The path forward demands not just a cursory nod to the issue but a profound shift in policy advisers’ perception and prioritisation of policy language, as well as the culture in which it exists. </p>
<p>Only then can the public service empower its policy advisers to communicate with impact, cultivate public trust and navigate the complex landscape of policy-making in the 21st century.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213654/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christiane Gerblinger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Australian Public Service stands at a crossroads where policy effectiveness hinges on its willingness to stare into the abyss of policy language.Christiane Gerblinger, Visiting Fellow, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2126212023-09-11T20:08:54Z2023-09-11T20:08:54Z‘It’s not fair!’ Kids grumble and complain for a reason, here’s how to handle it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547118/original/file-20230908-29-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C22%2C4883%2C3231&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/W82dYwtQrTk">Hunter Johnson/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Parents have no doubt heard all the classic grumbles from children and teenagers. From “It’s not fair!” to “Not spinach again!” and our personal favourite, “Why do <em>I</em> have to do all the work?” </p>
<p>All children are prone to being disgruntled and complaining in certain situations. But frequent grumbling can stretch adults’ patience and make them see their kids as ungrateful and unappreciative.</p>
<p>If children are grumbling, they are likely doing it for a good reason. So it is important not to just dismiss it outright. It is also important for kids learn to express themselves in more helpful ways. </p>
<p>Learning how to respectfully express dissatisfaction and call out unfairness can support a child’s <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdev.13968">mental health</a>, foster <a href="https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/parent-fact-sheets/staying-safe/">respectful relationships</a> at school, and a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-010-9593-7">positive transition</a> into adulthood. </p>
<p>So, how can we support children to have a voice, while turning their grumbles into more respectful communication?</p>
<h2>Why are kids grumbling?</h2>
<p>Grumbling, whingeing and complaining behaviour is annoying but it means something – children are doing it to communicate. Children <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/parenting/how-children-evolved-to-whine.html">are hardwired</a> from birth to cry to get their parent’s attention. </p>
<p>As they grow up, children’s crying often develops into <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3192404/">whining</a> and grumbling. This generally reduces with age – although, when stressed, adults can still grumble and cry!</p>
<p>To help reduce grumbling, start by observing the patterns and triggers. Does it happen at a particular time of day or around a particular activity? </p>
<p>Children may grumble because they are trying to share their perspective, express a frustration, or address a perceived unfairness. Children may also grumble to seek <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/communicating-relationships/family-relationships/staying-connected-you-your-teen">attention</a> from an adult, or to test limits and boundaries. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/connecting-communicating/communicating/communicating-well-with-children">younger children</a>, grumbling may mean they are tired, hungry, disappointed, frustrated or overwhelmed. They might be responding to changes in their lives, such as a change at school or something different in a <a href="https://ecdefenceprograms.com/modules/course/view.php?id=3">parent’s work routine</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/connecting-communicating/communicating/conversation-skills">older children</a>, grumbling may also be linked to fatigue, stress and boredom. <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/development/social-emotional-development/independence-in-teens">Teenage grumbling</a> can be particularly aggravating if it is accompanied by eye-rolling or shoulder shrugging – which can really <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/communicating-relationships/communicating/conflict-management-with-teen">push a parent’s buttons</a>. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1CG10N429bI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What is good communication?</span></figcaption>
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<h2>A whingey kid is annoying … but</h2>
<p>It can be hard to empathise with grumbling. Adults may question the child’s reason to be upset, feel a problem has been wildly exaggerated, that a child is trying to avoid a job or is just being plain irritating.</p>
<p>Because grumbling is so annoying, especially if it is frequent and done in a whingey voice, adults may be inclined to make it go away by giving in to the child.</p>
<p>The inadvertent long-term effect of this strategy is to teach children their needs will be met through grumbling.</p>
<p>In moments of exasperation, instead of responding crossly or giving in, try and give yourself a break and step away. When feeling calmer, think about what your child is actually trying to say.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stressed-about-managing-your-childs-behaviour-here-are-four-things-every-parent-should-know-104481">Stressed about managing your child's behaviour? Here are four things every parent should know</a>
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<h2>Model positive communication</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A young boy pouts." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">When your child is complaining, they are trying to tell you something.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/search/grumpy%20child/">Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels</a></span>
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<p>Adult-child and adult-teen communication can be tricky, especially if adults focus on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10566-020-09557-2">negative tone</a> rather than the message behind. it. But adults can <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/communicating-relationships/communicating/teen-communicating-relationships">break this cycle</a>. </p>
<p>The key is to <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/connecting-communicating/communicating/talking-and-listening-activity-children-3-6-years">listen calmly</a>. Avoid being dismissive, raising your voice, or labelling children as “whingers”. </p>
<p>Give your full attention, nod to <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/connecting-communicating/communicating/nonverbal-communication">show you are listening</a> and check you understand their concerns and opinions (even if you don’t agree). </p>
<p>Listening <a href="https://ecdefenceprograms.com/modules/course/view.php?id=2&section=4">in this way</a> helps children feel valued, eventually reducing grumbles. </p>
<h2>Here’s how you can respond</h2>
<p>Having listened – and heard – try to formulate a reasonable response, prompting the child to find a potential solution. This is showing your child how to communicate constructively. </p>
<p>For example, a child might say, “I’m alwaaaaays emptying the bins”. This might mean, “I don’t think the jobs are fairly distributed”, or “I’m getting bored doing the same job”. So adults could ask, “How can the jobs be allocated in a fairer way?” This supports independence and problem solving.</p>
<p>A child might also say, “It took me ages to clean that up”. This might mean, “I want to be thanked and acknowledged”. So you might respond by saying how much better the area looks and thank them for their time and effort. </p>
<p>Or you might hear, “Having those chairs in the hallway is dumb”. This might actually mean “I’ve got some ideas about how we organise our house”. </p>
<p>Parents could say they are interested in alternative ideas, but only if they are expressed with respect. Once they speak politely, if a small change is reasonable, you could ask the child to help adjust the space using a mix of both of your ideas (teaching teamwork). This helps them learn they have a right to be heard, but it is <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/communicating-relationships/communicating/negotiating">their responsibility</a> to speak politely. </p>
<p>Parents could also say something like, “It’s tricky, but using kind words means people are more likely to listen and respond to you”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-leave-me-alone-why-staying-connected-to-your-teenager-is-tricky-but-important-208847">'Just leave me alone!' Why staying connected to your teenager is tricky but important</a>
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<h2>Times and places</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A mother speaks to a teenager, sitting on a bed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Adults can encourage children to express their views, but do so politely.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-parent-looking-at-a-young-woman-while-holding-a-condom-6470995/">Cottonbro Studio/Pexels</a></span>
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<p>It’s not possible for adults to respond reasonably to every random grumble. We can teach children and teenagers there are times and places to raise complaints and concerns. </p>
<p>For example, your child might say, “We never get enough TV before dinner” right as you are taking the roast out of the oven. In response, you could say, “I can see this issue is really important to you” (acknowledging their concerns). You could add, “It’s late, so let’s chat about this for ten minutes over breakfast tomorrow” (making a time and setting limits). </p>
<p>Grumbling is a fact of life with children. But shutting down grumbles without addressing the underlying cause is likely to provoke more grumbles, and do little to teach children about useful communication. </p>
<p>However hard it may be for a tired, harassed parent, taking the time to deal with complaints and whinges constructively can be beneficial in the long run.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212621/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marg receives funding from the Commonwealth-funded Manna Institute, which aims to improve place-based mental health research for regional, rural and remote Australia. The Child and Family Resilience Programs project she leads has received funding from The Ian Potter Foundation and the Foundation of Graduates of Early Childhood Studies.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cassy Dittman receives funding from the Commonwealth-funded Manna Institute, which aims to improve place-based mental health research for regional, rural and remote Australia. She holds an Honorary Research Fellowship with the Parenting and Family Support Centre, which is partly funded by royalties stemming from published resources of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, which is developed and owned by The University of Queensland (UQ). Royalties are also distributed to the Faculty of Health and Behavioral Sciences at UQ and contributory authors of published Triple P resources. Triple P International (TPI) Pty Ltd is a private company licensed by UniQuest Pty Ltd on behalf of UQ, to publish and disseminate Triple P worldwide. Cassy Dittman has no share or ownership of TPI, however as an author on Triple P Programs, she receives royalties from TPI.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Govind Krishnamoorthy works for the University of Southern Queensland. Govind receives funding from the Commonwealth-funded Manna Institute, which aims to improve place-based mental health research for regional, rural and remote Australia. Govind has also received research funding from Rotary Health Australia for child mental health research. Govind is a member of the Clinical College of the Australian Psychological Soceity.
</span></em></p>Grumbling children and teenagers can be so annoying. But it is important to try and decode their complaints.Marg Rogers, Senior Lecturer, Early Childhood Education, University of New EnglandCassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), CQUniversity AustraliaGovind Krishnamoorthy, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2121092023-08-31T20:00:39Z2023-08-31T20:00:39ZHow ‘dad jokes’ may prepare your kids for a lifetime of embarrassment, according to psychology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545452/original/file-20230830-27-8bq04m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C0%2C997%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/father-little-son-wearing-superheroe-costumes-1288435297">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This Father’s Day you may be rolling out your best “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dad%20joke">dad jokes</a>” and watching your children laugh (or groan). Maybe you’ll hear your own father, partner or friend crack a dad joke or two. You know the ones:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What is the most condescending animal? A pan-DUH!</p>
<p>Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yes, dad jokes can be fun. They play an important role in how we interact with our kids. But dad jokes may also help prepare them to handle embarrassment later in life.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-lowdown-on-laughter-from-boosting-immunity-to-releasing-tension-56568">The lowdown on laughter: from boosting immunity to releasing tension</a>
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</p>
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<h2>What are dad jokes?</h2>
<p>Dad jokes are a distinct style of humour consisting of puns that are simple, wholesome and often involve a cheesy delivery. </p>
<p>These jokes usually feature obvious wordplay and a straightforward punchline that leaves listeners either chuckling or emitting an exaggerated groan.</p>
<p>This corny brand of humour is popular. There are hundreds of <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a34437277/best-dad-jokes/">websites</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAgYiERRDPY&t=248s">YouTube videos</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mmmjoemele/video/7207443872232770858">TikToks</a> dedicated to them. You can even play around with <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/06/us/dad-joke-generator-trnd/">dad joke generators</a> if you need some inspiration.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/must-love-jokes-why-we-look-for-a-partner-who-laughs-and-makes-us-laugh-98950">Must love jokes: why we look for a partner who laughs (and makes us laugh)</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Why are dad jokes so popular?</h2>
<p>People seem to love dad jokes, partly because of the puns.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0191886922005025">study</a> published earlier this year found people enjoy puns more than most other types of jokes. The authors also suggested that if you groan in response to a pun, this can be a sign you enjoy the joke, rather than find it displeasing.</p>
<p>Other research shows dad jokes work on at least <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.26613/esic.5.2.248/html">three levels</a>:</p>
<p><strong>1. As tame puns</strong> </p>
<p>Humour typically <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797610376073">violates</a> a kind of boundary. At the most basic level, dad jokes only violate <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315731162-7/puns-tacit-linguistic-knowledge-debra-aarons">a language norm</a>. They require specific knowledge of the language to “get” them, in a way a fart joke does not.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1696617762297168008"}"></div></p>
<p>The fact that dad jokes are wholesome and inoffensive means dads can tell them around their children. But this also potentially makes them tame, which other people might call unfunny.</p>
<p><strong>2. As anti-humour</strong></p>
<p>Telling someone a pun that’s too tame to deserve being told out loud is itself a violation of the norms of joke-telling. That violation can in turn make a dad joke funny. In other words, a dad joke can be so unfunny this makes it funny – a type of <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/the-dubious-art-of-the-dad-joke/">anti-humour</a>.</p>
<p><strong>3. As weaponised anti-humour</strong></p>
<p>Sometimes, the purpose of a dad joke is not to make people laugh but to make them groan and roll their eyes. When people tell dad jokes to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.127.2.229">teasingly</a> annoy someone else for fun, dad jokes work as a kind of <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.26613/esic.5.2.248/html">weaponised</a> anti-humour. </p>
<p>The stereotypical scenario associated with dad jokes is exactly this: a dad telling a pun and then his kids rolling their eyes out of annoyance or cringing from embarrassment.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kids-learn-valuable-life-skills-through-rough-and-tumble-play-with-their-dads-119241">Kids learn valuable life skills through rough-and-tumble play with their dads</a>
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<h2>Dad jokes help dads be dads</h2>
<p>Dad jokes are part of a father’s toolkit for engaging with his loved ones, a way to connect through laughter. But as children grow older, the way they receive puns change.</p>
<p><a href="https://psychcentral.com/lib/humor-as-a-key-to-child-development#1">Children</a> at around six years old enjoy hearing and telling puns. These are generally innocent ones such as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Why is six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As children age and their language and reasoning abilities develop, their understanding of humour becomes more complex. </p>
<p>In adolescence, they may start to view puns as unfunny. This, however, doesn’t stop their fathers from telling them.</p>
<p>Instead, fathers can revel in the embarrassment their dad jokes can produce around their image-conscious and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/202203/adolescence-and-the-age-painful-embarrassment">sensitive</a> adolescent children.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545469/original/file-20230830-23-zasd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young woman looking annoyed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545469/original/file-20230830-23-zasd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545469/original/file-20230830-23-zasd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545469/original/file-20230830-23-zasd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545469/original/file-20230830-23-zasd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545469/original/file-20230830-23-zasd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545469/original/file-20230830-23-zasd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545469/original/file-20230830-23-zasd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Dad jokes, funny? As if.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-not-mood-childish-games-portrait-1060150301">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In fact, in a study, one of us (Marc) <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.26613/esic.5.2.248/html">suggests</a> the playful teasing that comes with dad jokes may be partly why they are such a widespread cultural phenomenon. </p>
<p>This playful and safe teasing serves a dual role in father-child bonding in adolescence. Not only is it playful and fun, it can also be used to help <a href="https://www.dadsuggests.com/home/the-best-dad-jokes">educate</a> the young person how to handle feeling embarrassed.</p>
<p>Helping children learn how to deal with embarrassment is no laughing matter. Getting better at this is a very important part of learning how to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01650250143000535">regulate emotions</a> and develop <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.980104/full">resilience</a>. </p>
<p>Modelling the use of humour also has benefits. Jokes can be a useful <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-019-00296-9">coping strategy</a> during <a href="https://psychcentral.com/lib/humor-as-weapon-shield-and-psychological-salve">awkward situations</a> – for instance, after someone says <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuRnsrHEQFg">something awkward</a> or to make someone laugh who has <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-communication/managing-conflicts-with-humor.htm">become upset</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dads-time-to-shine-online-how-laughter-can-connect-and-heal-136243">Dads' time to shine online: how laughter can connect and heal</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Dad jokes are more than punchlines</h2>
<p>So, the next time you hear your father unleash a cringe-worthy dad joke, remember it’s not just about the punchline. It’s about creating connections and lightening the mood. </p>
<p>So go ahead, let out that groan, and share a smile with the one who proudly delivers the dad jokes. It’s all part of the fun.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212109/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dad jokes can help make you a better parent. But that’s only one reason why dad jokes work.Shane Rogers, Lecturer in Psychology, Edith Cowan UniversityMarc Hye-Knudsen, Cognition and Behavior Lab, Aarhus UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2101162023-08-18T12:32:06Z2023-08-18T12:32:06ZHow Ukraine’s savvy official social media rallied the world and raised the bar for national propaganda<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542668/original/file-20230814-17-yifqzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Ukrainian flag is displayed in front of a destroyed house in eastern Ukraine in October 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ukrainian-national-flag-is-displayed-in-front-of-a-news-photo/1243642873?adppopup=true">Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Just days after the Russian military launched a full-scale invasion of <a href="https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine">Ukraine in February 2022</a>, stories of Ukrainian resistance were already circulating with a ferocity all their own. </p>
<p>Part of this was due to the Ukrainian government’s savvy use of social media. </p>
<p>On March 7, 2022, for example, the government <a href="https://twitter.com/Ukraine/status/1500875024386899972">posted a video</a> on Twitter, the platform now known as X, showing clips of Ukrainian farmers using John Deere tractors to tow away disabled Russian tanks and equipment. The image came with a simple message, complemented by a tractor icon: “Don’t mess with Ukrainian farmers.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1500875024386899972"}"></div></p>
<p>This video <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PC8snGEAAAAJ&hl=en">caught my attention</a> – and that of my colleague <a href="https://www.clemson.edu/cbshs/about/profiles/index.html?userid=APYLE">Andrew Pyle</a>, who, like me, studies the strategic use of communication. </p>
<p>We decided to study all of the posts <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102338">that the Ukrainian government</a> and the city of Kyiv posted to their official Twitter accounts during the first days of the Russian invasion. We found that the governments strategically used the platform as a form of crisis communication and public diplomacy.</p>
<p>While Ukraine was battling the Russian army on its land, it was also fighting for the hearts and minds of people following the conflict on social media from afar.</p>
<h2>The process</h2>
<p>We analyzed 163 tweets posted by the <a href="https://twitter.com/Ukraine">verified @Ukraine government</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Kyiv">@Kyiv government</a> accounts from Feb. 1, 2022, until May 1, 2022. We found many examples of Ukraine and Kyiv using the theme of resilience to boost their own image on the platform. Both of the accounts posted almost exclusively about the war during this period, with posts ranging from fundraising campaigns to appeals for users to “<a href="https://twitter.com/Ukraine/status/1496837835743133699">tag @Russia and tell them</a> what you think about them.”</p>
<p>Kyiv’s account, which has 2.1 million followers and describes itself as “the city of courage” on its page, posted an image on March 9, 2022, that depicted a woman breastfeeding an infant against the backdrop of a map of the city’s subway system. The imagery here closely resembles <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/virg/hd_virg.htm">Catholic iconography of the Virgin Mary</a> with baby Jesus.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1501612884094296066"}"></div></p>
<p>Ukraine’s account has 2.3 million followers and the playful description, “Yes, this is the official twitter account of Ukraine.” It posted a similarly religious-themed post about the war on Christmas Eve in 2022.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1606678014426750976"}"></div></p>
<h2>Digital public diplomacy</h2>
<p>Other tweets over the past two years seem directed at strengthening relationships with the United States and other countries that have helped Ukraine defend itself against Russia. </p>
<p>One tweet from Ukraine’s official account in 2022 thanked the U.S. for its support by wishing its “American friends” a happy Fourth of July. It posted <a href="https://twitter.com/Ukraine/status/1676259106884124673">another similar message</a> directed at Americans in 2023, presenting Ukraine as a freedom-and-independence-loving country.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1544025391593144326"}"></div></p>
<p>In this way, Ukraine’s social media approach closely reflects what some scholars <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EcwqBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA89&dq=Americas+selfie:+How+the+US+portrays+itself+on+its+social+media+accounts&ots=2BxHvsCU13&sig=-AjDiYw_XyLgwM38UU4YCHGf2yw#v=onepage&q=Americas%20selfie%3A%20How%20the%20US%20portrays%20itself%20on%20its%20social%20media%20accounts&f=false">have called “selfie diplomacy”</a> – or how a country uses social media to “draw its own self-portrait.”</p>
<p>While scholars have begun to examine the role of social media for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-021-00208-4">public diplomacy</a>, relatively little is known about how countries can use X and other social media platforms to influence how people see them during a time of conflict. </p>
<p>But the broader use of technology to manipulate public opinion about war is far from new. </p>
<h2>A strong historical precedent</h2>
<p>The Woodrow Wilson administration, for example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-woodrow-wilsons-propaganda-machine-changed-american-journalism-76270">enlisted the theorist</a> Edwards Bernays, who is often referred to as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-the-american-mind-edward-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-44393">“father of public relations,”</a> to help its war effort during the 1910s. </p>
<p>Bernays worked with the newly authorized Committee on Public Information, a government agency tasked with <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/how-ww-i-helped-entrench-the-art-of-mass-persuasion-1.2684519">building public support for World War I at home</a>. Experts have also noted that this committee was essentially a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44779771">government propaganda office</a>, which at times engaged in disinformation.</p>
<p>Within months, Bernays and the committee <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-white-house-disinformation-a-century-ago-its-dangerous-to-believe-your-own-propaganda-102155">helped shift public support</a> for a war Americans had initially been reluctant to join by promoting the idea that the U.S. was involved in the fighting to bring democracy to Europe. </p>
<p>In particular, Bernays directed the CPI’s Latin News Service in order to build support for the war among Latin American allies. He enlisted American companies doing business overseas to distribute literature about America’s reasons for entering the war. </p>
<p>Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, knew that the use of symbols and images could sell the idea of war to the public. As Bernays <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/002224294200600303">wrote in 1942</a>, “Arms and armaments are not the only weapons … ideas are weapons too.”</p>
<p>These same principles apply in the case of the Ukraine war today. </p>
<h2>Connecting with people</h2>
<p>Ukraine has been trying to join NATO ever since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. </p>
<p>Throughout the conflict, Ukraine has <a href="https://twitter.com/Ukraine/status/1678677542495027201">made numerous appeals on X</a> to its allies in Europe and North America to accept its application to join the alliance. </p>
<p>It has also relied heavily on interactions with Western social media and culture to connect with people in foreign countries in creative ways. </p>
<p>For instance on Feb. 25, 2022, the Twitter account for the widely popular American television series “The Simpsons” posted an image of the namesake family stoically holding Ukrainian flags. A few hours later, Ukraine replied to the tweet with blue and yellow heart emojis along with a GIF from a “Simpsons” episode.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1497366451837190155"}"></div></p>
<p>While our study does not contain data beyond May 2022, Ukraine and Kyiv’s X accounts have continued to publish content that reflects these general themes of national resilience and diplomacy. </p>
<p>As the war in Ukraine continues, the government’s strategic use of social media could serve as a model, or at least a point of consideration, to other countries also trying to advance their public images – especially during war and other times of hardship.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210116/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brandon Boatwright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An analysis of tweets posted by the Ukrainian national government and the Kyiv city government in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shows a national resilience.Brandon Boatwright, Assistant Professor of Communication, Clemson UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106612023-08-15T21:45:18Z2023-08-15T21:45:18ZHow our complex relationship with heat inhibits climate action<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542843/original/file-20230815-19-xfrs03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5607%2C3732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The heat is preferred by many, and such preferences have hampered effective climate change communications.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-our-complex-relationship-with-heat-inhibits-climate-action" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Humans are a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1001824107">species borne of the heat, as hot and dry temperatures played a key role in our evolution</a>, and <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/survey-says-half-of-canadians-take-a-beach-holiday-to-leave-behind-the-winter-blues-while-others-do-so-to-relax-and-forget-a-regular-routine-670876433.html">many of us in Canada seemingly prefer to be in warm places</a>.</p>
<p>We as a species have known for decades that the carbon-fuelled actions of some nations meant that devastating heat and related extreme weather events were coming.</p>
<p>And yet, most of us did nothing.</p>
<p>The summer of 2023’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/03/climate/ocean-temperatures-heat-earth.html">unprecedented forest fires, floods and rising ocean temperatures</a> are the consequences of collective inaction and while there are many reasons for these failures to act, humanity’s complex relationship with heat is arguably a critical one.</p>
<h2>The comfort, and dangers, of heat</h2>
<p>At a fundamental level, heat is what allows for humans and the Earth’s biological diversity to exist. A stable core body temperature facilitates human survival and the <a href="https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/climate-change/how-does-the-greenhouse-effect-work/">greenhouse effect facilitates all life on Earth</a>. However, while heat may be essential to life, and desirable to many, <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2865/a-degree-of-concern-why-global-temperatures-matter/">too much heat is devastating</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-quick-guide-to-climate-change-jargon-what-experts-mean-by-mitigation-carbon-neutral-and-6-other-key-terms-167172">A quick guide to climate change jargon – what experts mean by mitigation, carbon neutral and 6 other key terms</a>
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<hr>
<p>One <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/briefing/climate-report.html">way to articulate this complex balance has been to use the metaphor of a fever</a>. If a human’s body temperature increases even a couple of degrees, then an illness is likely occurring. If a person’s core body temperature increases only three to four degrees celsius it can be fatal. Likewise, a rise in planetary temperatures above just 1.5 C could be equally fatal.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542842/original/file-20230815-26-m6i6me.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542842/original/file-20230815-26-m6i6me.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542842/original/file-20230815-26-m6i6me.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542842/original/file-20230815-26-m6i6me.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542842/original/file-20230815-26-m6i6me.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542842/original/file-20230815-26-m6i6me.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542842/original/file-20230815-26-m6i6me.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542842/original/file-20230815-26-m6i6me.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An animated overview of the basic principles of the greenhouse effect. While the term greenhouse effect may be useful in some cases, it is generally inaccurate when referring to anthropogenic climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(NASA-JPL/Caltech)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A seemingly easy to understand threshold. However, in practice, communicating a 1.5 C tipping point has been extremely challenging. Humans generally <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190304-human-evolution-means-we-can-tackle-climate-change">struggle with disentangling short-term daily temperatures from a long-term climatic shift</a> and as a result <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-colder-winters-global-warming-polar-vortex">fluctuations in temperature have been easily misunderstood</a>. And confusion over these questions are <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/12/trump-climate-timeline/">readily misused to question the veracity of an anthropogenically induced changing climate.</a></p>
<h2>All under one greenhouse?</h2>
<p>An early attempt at circumventing our innate fondness for heat in climate change communications was through leveraging the term <em>greenhouse effect</em> — a phrase which notably removes heat from the equation altogether.</p>
<p>Knowledge of the greenhouse effect goes back to the mid-19th century. In the latter half of the 20th century, the term <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/ar4-wg1-chapter1.pdf">became an evocative label for what the burning of fossil fuels was doing to the planet</a>.</p>
<p>But the term is inaccurate. </p>
<p>The greenhouse effect is the well-established phenomenon of the Earth’s atmosphere trapping the sun’s radiation and allowing the planet to be a warm and hospitable place. Using the greenhouse effect as a term referring to the warming of the planet due to the burning of fossil fuels <a href="https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.2008v33n2a2017">conflated a naturally occurring and well-established phenomenon with an unfolding anthropogenic disaster to confusing results</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-language-can-turn-down-the-temperature-of-heated-climate-change-discourse-210865">How language can turn down the temperature of heated climate change discourse</a>
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<p>In response to this limitation, <em>global warming</em> increasingly became the terminology of choice for the changing climate — <a href="https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/articles/whats-name-global-warming-vs-climate-change/">phasing out the banal <em>inadvertent climate modification</em> which had also been in use since the 1970s</a>. So much so that by the 1990s, <a href="https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.2008v33n2a2017">it became the single most used term</a>. But this also had challenges. </p>
<p>Warming has a certain coziness and as climate change researchers Julia Corbett and Jessica Durfee highlighted, ‘<a href="https://niemanreports.org/articles/context-and-controversy-global-warming-coverage/">global warming needs a more salient metaphor that emphasizes its seriousness, immediacy and scientific credibility</a>.’</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="London Mayor Sadiq Khan and King Charles III stand at a podium on stage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542840/original/file-20230815-31-szpp0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542840/original/file-20230815-31-szpp0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542840/original/file-20230815-31-szpp0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542840/original/file-20230815-31-szpp0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542840/original/file-20230815-31-szpp0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542840/original/file-20230815-31-szpp0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542840/original/file-20230815-31-szpp0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The term global warming (seen here in use at an event in London) is provocative but also inaccurate and potentially counter-productive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Justin Tallis via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Global warming was also a narrow term, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/warming-makes-droughts-extreme-wet-events-more-frequent-intense">as global average temperature increases would cause a range of extreme weather effects</a></p>
<p>In response to these limitations, the term climate change gradually came to replace global warming as the most widely accepted and used descriptor. Though more recently, this somewhat benign term has been altered again by some to more accurately address the urgency of the situation. </p>
<p>For example, in 2019 The Guardian moved from using <em>climate change</em> to the terms <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/17/why-the-guardian-is-changing-the-language-it-uses-about-the-environment"><em>climate emergency</em>, <em>crisis or breakdown</em></a> in response to climatic effects of ever-increasing severity.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/climate-confusion-content-and-strategies-not-controversy-are-the-biggest-challenges-for-science-teachers/">confused discourse has led to even further confusion</a> and arguably hampered climate change mitigation efforts for decades. </p>
<h2>Too much of a good thing</h2>
<p>Research indicates that in the summer of 2022, over <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02419-z">60,000 people in Europe alone died from extreme heat</a>. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/08/july-2023-worlds-hottest-month-climate-crisis-scientists-confirm">July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded</a> and it is <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/state-of-the-climate-2023-now-likely-hottest-year-on-record-after-extreme-summer/">increasingly looking like 2023 will be the hottest year on record</a>. Heat-related <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/07/the-scorching-summer-of-2023-reaches-mind-blowing-high-temperatures/">deaths are mounting</a> and the heat is <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/climate-change-is-exacerbating-forest-fires-and-vice-versa-experts-say">being exacerbated by raging fires</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/04/oceans-hit-highest-ever-recorded-temperature">extreme ocean temperatures</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Map showing extent and distribution of wild fires in Hawaii" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542838/original/file-20230815-25-tqjzv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542838/original/file-20230815-25-tqjzv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542838/original/file-20230815-25-tqjzv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542838/original/file-20230815-25-tqjzv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542838/original/file-20230815-25-tqjzv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542838/original/file-20230815-25-tqjzv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542838/original/file-20230815-25-tqjzv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The recent wildfires in Hawaii further underline the importance of addressing our planetary over-consumption and fossil fuel use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(NOAA via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Human beings, alongside all life, exist on Earth because of a <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/19/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect/">delicate celestial balance of gasses that trap the sun’s warmth</a>. For millions of years, this greenhouse effect has made Earth a miraculously habitable orb in the coldness of space.</p>
<p>While all human beings have a complex — and often positive — relationship with heat, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2009/03/18/most-like-it-hot/">in the Northern Hemisphere it is something which many of us particularly crave</a>. However, the reckless pursuit of it (among other comforts) through the burning of fossil fuels has turned heat from a source of life to a harbinger of doom for all. </p>
<p>It is only through confronting this complex relationship — by accepting the inherent dangers of <em>more</em> heat — that we can hope to seriously pursue real action on fossil fuel emissions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210661/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Ellen Good does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Humans (particularly those in the Northern Hemisphere) generally prefer the heat, a bias which has hampered effective climate communications for decades.Jennifer Ellen Good, Associate Professor Communication, Popular Culture and Film, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2108102023-08-07T20:01:51Z2023-08-07T20:01:51ZPictures of pain: how a visual chatbot can help people with chronic pain<p>Chronic or persistent pain is the main reason people seek medical care in Australia. Yet, most chronic pain is incurable and relies on education, exercise and other interventions for management, making it a <a href="https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/services/economics/analysis/cost-pain-australia.html">complex, common and expensive health challenge</a>.</p>
<p>The challenge is more pronounced in the treatment of children and people with diverse needs, such as those with language deficits and varying learning abilities. </p>
<p>Our team of researchers from <a href="http://aehrc.csiro.au">CSIRO</a>, <a href="https://recover.centre.uq.edu.au/">RECOVER Injury Research Centre</a>, the <a href="https://metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/rbwh/healthcare-services/persistent-pain">Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre</a> and the <a href="https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/service-queensland-interdisciplinary-paediatric-persistent-pain/">Queensland Interdisciplinary Paediatric Pain Service</a> are exploring how therapeutic chatbots can help improve communication between people with chronic pain and health professionals.</p>
<p>To do this, we built a chatbot called <a href="https://twitter.com/RecoverResearch/status/1394776246525960195">Dolores</a>, with a unique feature: a canvas for users to describe their pain with drawings, sketches and doodles. We found that in this case, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. </p>
<h2>About Dolores</h2>
<p>Dolores’s main function is to help users report data on their own pain and provide personalised education. This can be used to enhance communication between users and health professionals and improve pain management.</p>
<p>Dolores is designed to prompt the user for more information, ask follow-up questions, and generally lead the conversation. </p>
<p>The chatbot tailors its responses to the user. It will respond to children with short answers and a limited vocabulary, and responses will gradually increase in complexity with the user’s age.</p>
<p>As the app often captures sensitive data, it was designed with privacy and ethical considerations in mind.</p>
<p>The technology behind Dolores is very different from the large language models behind chatbots such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-isnt-the-death-of-homework-just-an-opportunity-for-schools-to-do-things-differently-205053">ChatGPT</a>. It works from a knowledge base and conversation flow built by occupational, speech and physio therapists, based on diverse experience with clients of different ages. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/aristotle-and-the-chatbot-how-ancient-rules-of-logic-could-make-artificial-intelligence-more-human-142811">Aristotle and the chatbot: how ancient rules of logic could make artificial intelligence more human</a>
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<p>Dolores’s “brain” was built with help from hackathons and industry experts to ensure its responses are always focused on meeting the needs of users. Importantly, it will not give incorrect information or “hallucinate” responses.</p>
<h2>Pain history</h2>
<p>One thing Dolores is used for is to administer what is called a “pain history interview”. </p>
<p>In this process, Dolores asks questions about the onset, location and duration of the user’s pain. It also asks about the sensations and emotions associated with the pain and its impact on daily life, as well as the user’s understanding of pain and their perceptions of different kinds of treatment.</p>
<p>The user can respond to Dolores by talking, typing or drawing. Dolores then produces a transcript which the user can choose to share with their medical professional. </p>
<p>The transcript below was generated using speech recognition from a conversation with an individual living with chronic pain.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Dolores</strong>: Could you describe or draw what your pain physically feels like?</p>
<p><strong>Client</strong>: Sometimes it’s different … it’s not all the same … then all the days it’s burning tingling </p>
<p><strong>Dolores</strong>: Could you tell me or draw how your pain makes you feel? Physically and mentally.</p>
<p><strong>Client</strong>: Shit makes me feel like shit </p>
<p><strong>Dolores</strong>: And how long have you been in pain for?</p>
<p><strong>Client</strong>: Since I was about 15 years old</p>
<p><strong>Dolores</strong>: Can you tell me or draw how your pain began?</p>
<p><strong>Client</strong>: I am not sure it just began</p>
<p><strong>Dolores</strong>: And how does your pain affect your day-to-day life?</p>
<p><strong>Client</strong>: It affects everything even down to driving, shopping, taking my kids to school. Even just making a cup of tea</p>
<p><strong>Dolores</strong>: What do you believe is the cause of your pain?</p>
<p><strong>Client</strong>: Autoimmune disease and follow on disorders from that</p>
<p><strong>Dolores</strong>: What do you believe are the best treatments for managing your pain?</p>
<p><strong>Client</strong>: Nothing really helps it’s just a matter of learning to deal with it and manage it</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While this example was verbal and detailed, some users – particularly children and adolescents – preferred to doodle. For example, a volcano erupting symbolised a pain flare-up; lightning strikes symbolised sharp, sudden pain; and swirls and waves symbolised cyclic pain. </p>
<p>When asking about the impact of pain on daily life, we received an abundance of stick figures and faces depicting sorrow and loss of identity. </p>
<h2>The future</h2>
<p>In its present state, Dolores can interpret the colours used in a drawing, but not the drawing itself. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25822055/">Research</a> shows red and black, for example, are commonly used when “painting pain”.</p>
<p>So when soliciting more information about a doodle, Dolores might say things like “That’s a lot of red. What is it?” </p>
<p>The next version of Dolores will have sketch recognition, which we believe will give her more insight and provide extended engagement with clients. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/introducing-edna-the-chatbot-trained-to-help-patients-make-a-difficult-medical-decision-150847">Introducing Edna: the chatbot trained to help patients make a difficult medical decision</a>
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<p>Dolores was received positively in cohorts of patients across different age groups. It will soon be used in the broader chronic pain intervention platform, <a href="https://recover.centre.uq.edu.au/pain-roadmap-mobile-app-help-people-chronic-pain">Pain ROADMAP</a>. </p>
<p>Dolores is a step forward in catering for clients and communities whose language may differ from the clinician and for children and individuals with language disorders, who often have <a href="https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/autistic-children-disproportionately-affected-by-chronic-pain/">higher rates of chronic pain</a> and have difficulties communicating about their pain. </p>
<p>We believe a chatbot that identifies and conveys the symbols of pain to a clinician can be an effective tool for enhanced communication, leading to more effective pain management.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210810/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Andrews is affiliated with RECOVER Injury Research Centre, The University of Queensland and the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre, Metro North Hospital and Health Service.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Ireland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A chatbot that lets users express their feelings by drawing may help communication and treatment for people with chronic pain.David Ireland, Senior Research Scientist at the Australian E-Health Research Centre, CSIRONicole Emma Andrews, Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093842023-07-31T12:21:15Z2023-07-31T12:21:15ZCyber governance in Africa is weak. Taking the Malabo Convention seriously would be a good start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538831/original/file-20230723-40270-cicrdz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">African countries are lagging behind in digital advancements.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>_Several African countries are pursuing digital transformation ambitions – applying new technologies to enhance the development of society. But concerns exist over the absence of appropriate policies across the continent to create a resilient and secure cyber environment. </p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/nifeanyiajufo/">Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo</a>, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25741292.2023.2199960">technology law expert</a>, explains the current cyber governance situation in Africa.</em></p>
<h2>What is cyber governance and why is it so important?</h2>
<p>Cyber governance is an important aspect of the international cybersecurity strategy for preventing and mitigating cyber threats. It features oversight processes, decision-making hierarchies and international cooperation. It also includes systems for accountability and responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. In recent years, cyber governance has been prominent in diplomatic and political agendas when regions or countries need to work together.</p>
<p>To promote digital transformation, cyberspace must be made secure and stable, using appropriate governance standards. </p>
<p>Digital transformation offers Africa tremendous opportunities. These include the economic empowerment of citizens, transparent governance and less corruption. But digital transformation can only happen on the continent if its digital spaces are trusted, secure and resilient. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-for-governments-to-help-their-citizens-deal-with-cybersecurity-100771">It's time for governments to help their citizens deal with cybersecurity</a>
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<h2>How are African governments doing on this front?</h2>
<p>Not very well. In 2014, the African Union Commission adopted the <a href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/29560-treaty-0048_-_african_union_convention_on_cyber_security_and_personal_data_protection_e.pdf">African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection</a>. It is also known as the Malabo Convention. It is supposed to provide principles and guidelines to ensure cybersecurity and stability in the region. </p>
<p><a href="https://dataprotection.africa/wp-content/uploads/2305121.pdf#page=2">Only 15</a> out of the 55 AU member states have ratified the convention. These include Ghana, Mauritius, Togo and Rwanda. </p>
<p>Cyber governance has political dimensions. African countries are rooted in historical and cultural contexts that have an impact on politics and governance. Governance mechanisms in the region are further affected by political instability and conflicts. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-south-africa-must-do-to-combat-cybercrime-186089">Five things South Africa must do to combat cybercrime</a>
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<p>The borderless nature of cyberspace presents particular challenges. This is especially so for African states that are accustomed to controlling activities in their territory. </p>
<p>The result of this has been a misunderstanding of cyber governance. This has manifested in internet shutdowns and restrictions of online activities for citizens. We have seen recent examples of this in <a href="https://theconversation.com/senegals-internet-shutdowns-are-another-sign-of-a-democracy-in-peril-207443">Senegal</a>, <a href="https://www.mfwa.org/network-disruptions-how-govts-in-west-africa-violated-internet-rights-in-2022/">Burkina Faso</a>, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/ethiopians-in-social-media-blackout-for-second-month/">Ethiopia</a> and <a href="https://www.mfwa.org/network-disruptions-how-govts-in-west-africa-violated-internet-rights-in-2022/">Nigeria</a>.</p>
<p>African leaders’ views on regulating the digital space vary. This is clear from their reluctance to ratify the Malabo Convention. </p>
<p>Often, international standards collide with the realities of developing states. This is true for states in Africa that are on the wrong side of the digital divide. This means they lack the capacity, skills and infrastructure to govern cyberspace to international standards. Overall, this limited institutional and technical capacity implies that effective cyber governance may not exist in practice for Africa. </p>
<p>There are some good stories, though. Ghana has <a href="https://africacenter.org/spotlight/ghana-multistakeholder-cyber-security/">ratified</a> the Malabo Convention and the <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/cybercrime/the-budapest-convention">Convention on Cybercrime</a> of 2001. It also passed a <a href="http://ir.parliament.gh/bitstream/handle/123456789/1800/CYBERSECURITY%20ACT%2C%202020%20%28ACT%201038%29.pdf?sequence=1">Cybercrime Act</a> into law in 2020 and has developed a robust <a href="https://afyonluoglu.org/PublicWebFiles/strategies/Africa/Ghana%202014%20National%20Cyber%20Security%20Policy%20and%20Strategy-EN.pdf">cybersecurity strategy</a>. </p>
<h2>What needs to happen to bring all countries in line?</h2>
<p>Preserving cyber stability is a collaborative effort. African countries need to find ways to work together to foster appropriate policies or strategies. Adopting the Malabo Convention would show that countries see the importance of cooperation in governing the digital environment. </p>
<p>Greater coordination is also necessary at a regional level. For example, the Southern African Development Community has adopted <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Cybersecurity/Documents/SADC%20Model%20Law%20Cybercrime.pdf">a model law on cybercrime</a>. The Economic Community of West African States has developed a <a href="https://issafrica.org/ctafrica/uploads/Directive%201:08:11%20on%20Fighting%20Cyber%20Crime%20within%20ECOWAS.pdf">directive on fighting cybercrime</a>. Regional organisations have a key role to play in formulating policies and delivering outcomes. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/senegals-internet-shutdowns-are-another-sign-of-a-democracy-in-peril-207443">Senegal's internet shutdowns are another sign of a democracy in peril</a>
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<p>Beyond ratifying the Malabo Convention, African states must also rethink best practices and the value of strategic regional partnerships. These partnerships are important because they create shared responsibility in a borderless space.</p>
<p>Africa must approach diplomacy strategically in this space and seek increased representation at global dialogues. The African Union remains largely absent from the evolving UN processes on cyber governance development. This implies that African interests, realities and domestic capabilities won’t get enough attention in the processes. There is also a need to bridge the institutional and technical gaps that have prevented African states from participating fully. </p>
<p>Committing to the Malabo Convention would provide a framework for united cyber governance norms and standards across the continent. As the international community continues to define these standards, Africa should be included.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209384/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The borderless nature of cyberspace presents particular challenges for African states used to controlling activities in their territory.Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Professor of Technology Law, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1932792023-07-25T12:23:48Z2023-07-25T12:23:48ZLaughter can communicate a lot more than good humor – people use it to smooth social interactions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539054/original/file-20230724-14014-5js0is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=964%2C554%2C7074%2C4796&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A well-deployed laugh can help grease a social interaction, even if nothing is funny.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/three-young-people-sit-around-a-table-and-giggle-as-royalty-free-image/1391836113">Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Laughter is an everyday reminder that we humans are animals. In fact, when recorded laughter is slowed down, listeners <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.03.003">can’t tell whether the sound is from a person or an animal</a>.</p>
<p>We throw our heads back and bare our teeth in a monkeylike grin. Sometimes we double over and lose our ability to speak for a moment, reverting temporarily to hooting apes. And just as hoots and howls help strengthen bonds in a troop of primates or a pack of wolves, laughter <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.07.002">helps us connect with others</a>. </p>
<p>Laughter is <a href="https://doi.org/10.4161/cib.3.2.10944">evolutionarily ancient</a>. Known as a “play signal,” mammalian laughter accompanies playful interactions to signal harmless intentions and keep the play going. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0lV838pvdU">Chimps</a> laugh. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-84UJpYFRM">Rats</a> laugh. <a href="https://www.petalk.org/petalk.org/LaughingDog.pdf">Dogs</a> laugh. Perhaps even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.31.2.2005.187">dolphins</a> laugh.</p>
<p>And laughter is an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JONB.0000023654.73558.72">essential feature</a> of human social interactions. We laugh when we’re amused, of course. But we also laugh out of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.122.3.250">embarrassment</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1993.tb00478.x">politeness</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.39.1.39">nervousness</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000156">derision</a>.</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pdDe_8wAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">psychology researcher who studies</a> how people use laughter to connect, and sometimes disconnect, with others. For humans, laughter has expanded from its original function as a play signal to serve a variety of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12383">social functions</a>.</p>
<h2>Laughter smooths social interactions</h2>
<p>Amused laughter is a response to <a href="https://theconversation.com/science-deconstructs-humor-what-makes-some-things-funny-64414">what scholars of humor call</a> a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000041">benign violation</a>” – a situation that could represent a threat but that the laughing person has concluded is safe. (Psychologists love to ruin good things like comedy by overexplaining them.) </p>
<p>Laughter is a way to communicate that an interaction is playful, harmless and unserious. It’s often not a reliable sign that a person is having a good time, even though people sometimes laugh when they are enjoying themselves. An awkward exchange, a misunderstanding, a mocking joke – all these potentially uncomfortable moments are smoothed over by laughter. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I were curious about whether the tendency to laugh is a trait that is consistent for each person regardless of context or whether it depends on whom they’re interacting with. In one study, we had people talk to 10 strangers in a series of one-on-one conversations. Then we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0187">counted how many times they laughed</a>.</p>
<p>To our surprise, we found that how often a person laughs – at least when talking to strangers – is fairly consistent. Some people are laughers, and others are not. Whom they were talking to didn’t have a strong effect. At least in our sample, there weren’t hilarious partners who made everyone they talked to laugh.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539055/original/file-20230724-17-fu7dml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man smiling sitting beside a woman with an uncomfortable expression" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539055/original/file-20230724-17-fu7dml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539055/original/file-20230724-17-fu7dml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539055/original/file-20230724-17-fu7dml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539055/original/file-20230724-17-fu7dml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539055/original/file-20230724-17-fu7dml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539055/original/file-20230724-17-fu7dml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539055/original/file-20230724-17-fu7dml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Laughter can be a response to an uncomfortable interaction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/awkward-conversation-among-coworkers-man-thinks-hes-royalty-free-image/980443052">corners74/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>We found that the people who tended to laugh more enjoyed the conversations less. If you intrinsically enjoy talking to strangers and feel comfortable doing so, you may not feel the need to laugh a lot and smooth out the interaction – you trust it is going well. However, people felt they had more in common with these big-time laughers.</p>
<p>So in conversations between strangers, laughing a lot is not a sign of enjoyment, but it will make your partners feel similar to you. They will be likelier to agree that the two of you have something in common, which is a key ingredient in social connection. I suspect people borrow and transform the play signal of laughter to influence situations that, on their face, have nothing to do with play. </p>
<h2>Laughter sends a message</h2>
<p>We humans have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.01.002">remarkable control over our voices</a>. Not only can we speak, but we can also alter the meaning of our words by modifying our vocal pitch, vowel placement, breathiness or nasality. A breathy “hello” becomes a flirtatious advance, a growly “hello” becomes a threat, and an upturned, high-pitched “hello” becomes a fearful question. </p>
<p>This got me thinking: Maybe people change the sound of their laughter depending on what they want to communicate.</p>
<p>After all, while some forms of laughter are considered uncontrollable – the kind that leaves you <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(99)80023-3">physically weak</a> and running out of oxygen – <a href="https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/icphs-proceedings/ICPhS2011/OnlineProceedings/RegularSession/Tanaka/Tanaka.pdf">most everyday laughter</a> is at least somewhat under your control. </p>
<p>It turns out that there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.04.005">already</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/ICASSP.2019.8683566">a lot</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.09.002">of studies</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JONB.0000023654.73558.72">looking at</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1524993113">different</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/TAFFC.2017.2737000">forms</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1391244">of laughter</a>. Although their perspectives and methods differ, researchers agree that laughter takes many acoustic forms and occurs in many different situations.</p>
<p>The most popular approach for categorizing the many forms of laughter is to sort them by the internal state of the person laughing. Is the laughter “genuine,” reflecting a true positive state? Or is it the result of embarrassment, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-it-feel-good-to-see-someone-fail-107349">schadenfreude</a> or mirth?</p>
<p>I wasn’t satisfied with those approaches. Laughter is a communicative behavior. To me it seems we should therefore categorize it according to how it influences the people listening, not based on how the person felt while laughing. The word “cat” transmits the same information to a listener regardless of whether the speaker loves or loathes felines. And the effect of a giggle on a listener is the same regardless of how the giggler feels, assuming the giggle sounds the same.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539056/original/file-20230724-29-atdae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="three men talking and laughing in an office setting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539056/original/file-20230724-29-atdae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539056/original/file-20230724-29-atdae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539056/original/file-20230724-29-atdae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539056/original/file-20230724-29-atdae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539056/original/file-20230724-29-atdae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539056/original/file-20230724-29-atdae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539056/original/file-20230724-29-atdae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are different flavors of laughter, and context matters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/co-workers-laughing-together-at-meeting-royalty-free-image/645973081">Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Pleasurable, reassuring or threatening</h2>
<p>With the communicative nature of laughter in mind, my colleagues and I proposed that laughter can be boiled down to three basic <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12383">social functions</a> – all under the cloak of playfulness.</p>
<p>First, there’s reward laughter. This type is most clearly linked to laughter’s evolved role as a play signal. It is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00346">pleasurable</a> to hear and produce, thus making a playful interaction even more enjoyable. </p>
<p>Then there’s affiliation laughter. It conveys the same message of harmlessness without delivering a burst of pleasure. People can use it to reassure, appease and soothe. This is the most common laughter in everyday conversations – people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1993.tb00478.x">punctuate their speech</a> with it to ensure that their intentions aren’t misconstrued. </p>
<p>Finally, there’s dominance laughter. This type turns the nonserious message on its head. By laughing at someone, you are conveying that they are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2016.01.012">not worth taking seriously</a>. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183811">identified</a> acoustic properties of laughter that make it sound more rewarding, friendly or dominant. I have also found that people change how their laughter sounds during conversations that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-020-00022-w">emphasize those three social tasks</a>. The changes are subtle because the context – the situation, the people’s relationship, the conversation topic – does a lot to clarify a laugh’s meaning. </p>
<p>There is no such thing as a fake laugh. All laughter serves genuine social functions, helping you navigate complex social interactions. And because you look and sound so silly while doing it, laughter ensures no one takes themselves too seriously.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193279/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrienne Wood receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Laughter is so fundamental that animals like chimps, rats and dogs share the ability with humans. But in people it serves more serious social functions than just letting others know you’re having fun.Adrienne Wood, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2066092023-06-23T02:45:44Z2023-06-23T02:45:44ZLots of kids are ‘late talkers’. Here’s when to take action<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531068/original/file-20230609-23-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C17%2C5725%2C3811&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/vetYLH9Rnmg">Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a speech pathologist, university lecturer and parent of young children, I often get asked a version of the following: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>My child isn’t talking yet. Is that a problem? And is it my fault? </p>
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<p>There is never a simple “yes” or “no” response, as more information is always needed. But by the end of the conversation, I nearly always end up saying “it’s worth looking into”. </p>
<p>The “wait-and-see” approach for late talkers – those who seem to be lagging behind the spoken communication of their peers – recommended by previous generations has shifted as we learn more about early childhood and how intervention can help. </p>
<h2>Who are late talkers?</h2>
<p><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-25025-000">Late talkers</a> are children who do not speak by the usual time that others are off and chattering. They do not have a diagnosis or “primary cause” such as autism spectrum disorder, an intellectual disability or hearing loss. </p>
<p>Late talking is not an official diagnosis in the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</a> so clinical cut-offs vary. The most common <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031395517301347?via%3Dihub">definition</a> is that late talkers do not have 50 words and/or do not use two-word combinations by two years of age. Others believe this definition is <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/lle15.3.119">inadequate</a>. </p>
<p>Research tends to divide this population into two categories, those children who only have issues using words (that is, they understand words) and those who have issues with both expression and comprehension. </p>
<p>Late talking is fairly common, with <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/1092-4388(2007/106)?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">13–20%</a> of two-year-olds meeting the criteria. Children are generally assessed for late talking between two and three years via observation by a speech pathologist and parent reports. Parents are asked to provide details of any speech or language disorders in the family, how their child communicates and checklists of the words they understand or speak. </p>
<p>This information is then compared to a large sample of children, to see if they fall within the “normal range” for the number of words they know and use. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/talking-to-babies-may-contribute-to-brain-development-heres-how-to-do-it-205692">Talking to babies may contribute to brain development – here's how to do it</a>
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<h2>Will my late talker grow out of it?</h2>
<p>Around <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/1092-4388%282003/044%29">50%</a> of children will “out-grow” their language difficulties. This explains why the “wait-and-see” recommendation has been popular for many years. But there are several problems with this approach. </p>
<p>Firstly, late talkers may not fully catch up. “Late bloomers” have been found to <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/1092-4388%282008/029%29">underperform</a> in language and literacy measures in the later primary school years and beyond. So, while a late talker may improve, they may face ongoing but perhaps more subtle difficulties at a later age, when language skills are critical to <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/applied-psycholinguistics/article/early-productive-vocabulary-predicts-academic-achievement-10-years-later/7920854715472FBA2FDEB61A6EC21FC8">academic success</a> and socialisation. Seeking early <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-21-00168?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">treatment</a> may mitigate this risk.</p>
<p>Secondly, late talking can have negative impacts for the child during their toddler years. A child who has few words may seem frustrated, withdrawn or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0193397318303411">aggressive</a>. Such behaviours are more common among late talkers, likely because they lack the words to express feelings or wants. Parents may feel their children’s participation in family life and school or day care is being limited. <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-16-0310?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">Treatment</a> may help the child to catch up to their peers and/or find alternate ways to communicate, which can improve participation. </p>
<p>Lastly, but most importantly, the presence of early language difficulties is a significant risk factor for ongoing language difficulties, often diagnosed as <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dld-the-most-common-disorder-you-have-never-heard-of-189979">developmental language disorder</a>. </p>
<p>This disorder occurs in at least one in five late talkers and can have substantial lifelong impacts on everyday functioning. <a href="https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12009">Academic performance</a> at school, self-esteem, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002199241000081X">mental health</a> and employment opportunities are all negatively associated with a developmental language disorder diagnosis. </p>
<p>The tricky part is we cannot accurately predict which late talkers will go on to develop typical language skills, and which ones will later be diagnosed with <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-16-0310">developmental language disorder</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531071/original/file-20230609-29-o8jhd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="boy sits in classroom, viewed from behind" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531071/original/file-20230609-29-o8jhd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531071/original/file-20230609-29-o8jhd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531071/original/file-20230609-29-o8jhd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531071/original/file-20230609-29-o8jhd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531071/original/file-20230609-29-o8jhd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531071/original/file-20230609-29-o8jhd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531071/original/file-20230609-29-o8jhd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kids who turn out to have development language disorder may have ongoing issues with learning and communication.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/4nKOEAQaTgA">Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dld-the-most-common-disorder-you-have-never-heard-of-189979">What is DLD - the most common disorder you have 'never heard of'?</a>
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<h2>What are the risk factors for ongoing language problems?</h2>
<p>While is no single predictor that allows us to know for sure which children will face ongoing language problems, potential <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/120/6/e1441/70587/Predicting-Language-at-2-Years-of-Age-A?redirectedFrom=fulltext">factors</a> <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-16-0310">include</a> being born male, a family history of language disorders, socioeconomic status, low birth weight and vocabulary size (both speaking and understanding). Disorders of speech and language cluster in families with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627310008251?via%3Dihub">genetic inheritance</a> a significant factor. </p>
<p>Reading disorders such as dyslexia are often <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/1092-4388(2009/07-0145)?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">associated</a> with language difficulties. Other factors often mentioned by parents, such as a history of <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00005?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">ear infections</a> or having <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089142221300471X?via%3Dihub">older siblings</a> (who might “do the talking for them”) do not increase the likelihood of language disorder. </p>
<p>Socioeconomic status and how parents interact with their children are risk factors found in research, but they are difficult to separate from the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0276562407000467">intergenerational impacts</a> of language disorders. Parents with language problems may interact or communicate differently with their children and pass on an increased likelihood of the same traits. In most cases, not all the children in one family will be late talkers, so the environment may be one part of the puzzle. Parents should feel reassured they haven’t “caused” a language delay by speaking too little to their child. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531073/original/file-20230609-22-esj5ai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Toddler sat on window sill makes face at female carer" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531073/original/file-20230609-22-esj5ai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531073/original/file-20230609-22-esj5ai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531073/original/file-20230609-22-esj5ai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531073/original/file-20230609-22-esj5ai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531073/original/file-20230609-22-esj5ai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531073/original/file-20230609-22-esj5ai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531073/original/file-20230609-22-esj5ai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Early intervention can include teaching parents to recognise attempts at communication.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-child-sitting-on-window-talking-1428828602">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-being-bilingual-can-open-doors-for-children-with-developmental-disabilities-not-close-them-196599">Why being bilingual can open doors for children with developmental disabilities, not close them</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Encouraging early talk</h2>
<p>Speech pathologists now take an active but cautious view: intervene rather than watch and wait. </p>
<p><a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-21-00168?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">Intervention</a> can be very helpful, consisting of training for parents. </p>
<p>Techniques can include: </p>
<ul>
<li>recognising and encouraging the other ways a child might be communicating (such as eye gaze, pointing, vocalising)</li>
<li>following the child’s interest during play </li>
<li>pausing more to notice and encourage the child’s communication</li>
<li>reducing frequent questioning (“What’s that?” “Who’s talking?”) </li>
<li>instead, using more language when interacting, such as describing play (“I’ve got the green playdoh. I might make a snail”). </li>
</ul>
<p>Importantly, a <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-21-00168">recent systematic review</a> examined the results from 34 different intervention studies and found that 93% of them reported improvements in expressive vocabulary for late talkers.</p>
<p>So, when I am asked if late talking is a problem, I stress there is no evidence parents are the cause of their children’s difficulties and there is help available. If your child isn’t speaking as much as other children of the same age, it’s worth looking into it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206609/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne Meldrum is a certified practising member of Speech Pathology Australia. </span></em></p>Around half of toddlers who aren’t chattering by age two will catch up later, but we can’t predict which ones.Suzanne Meldrum, Lecturer, Speech Pathology, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073812023-06-15T09:25:13Z2023-06-15T09:25:13ZSuccession is as much about technology as it is about money, power and family<p><em>Warning: the following article contains spoilers.</em></p>
<p>Technology is key to Succession’s tale of the Roy family media dynasty, with the drama playing out on screens within the show and in the homes of the viewers beyond it.</p>
<p>The final series is no exception. This is best illustrated in episode three, Connor’s Wedding. The siblings, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) – Connor (Alan Ruck), as always, is left out – find out through a phone call with Shiv’s husband Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) that their father Logan (Brian Cox) has suffered a heart attack and that they must say their goodbyes.</p>
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<p>Through technology – Roman’s iPhone and Tom’s Samsung, propped against Logan’s ear – the children share their emotional farewells. This proves one of the more emotional interactions with technology in a series otherwise littered with sterile, often absurd uses of technology. </p>
<p>This includes Kendall pinching to zoom in on a photo of his father’s will, heightening the drama as he seeks to ascertain whether his name has been underlined or crossed out as his successor.</p>
<p>And there are so many memorable tech moments. Gerri’s threat to publicly expose Roman’s “dick pics”. Kendall’s keynote at the Living Plus conference after his father’s death, where doctored footage of Logan haunts his presentation. </p>
<p>Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) stepping in for Tom to lay off ATN employees via Zoom with a brutal lightheartedness. Or PR executive Hugo (Fisher Stevens) being caught out chuckling at the ATN test reel of Kerry (Logan’s mistress), from behind a laptop screen. </p>
<h2>Technology and communication</h2>
<p>In the finale, scenes featuring technology operate in concert with one another. In episode five, Kill List, when the Waystar entourage travel to Norway to finalise the deal with Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), the Swedes mock them in their native tongue, leaving them humiliated but in the dark.</p>
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<p>However, in the last episode, the tables are turned. Matsson and his sidekick are discussing Tom’s potential to replace Shiv as their future American CEO, not knowing that Greg is eavesdropping using a translation app. The tension is ramped up as Greg stares at the dot, dot, dot of the app while it translates sentence by sentence.</p>
<p>In a series where people rarely say what they think and second-guess everybody else, viewers delighted in the real time voice-to-text translation happening as the Swedes conversed. The dramatic irony is exquisite as the previous conversation, in which Tom makes his “pain sponge” pitch to Matsson, plays itself out. </p>
<p>This information bleeds into the subsequent scene in the Caribbean, where Kendall and Shiv have travelled to see Roman, who has retreated to his mother’s villa following his disastrous attempted eulogy at Logan’s funeral. Kendall receives a call from Greg confirming the intel about Shiv’s exclusion.</p>
<p>After confronting her with the news, she immediately phones Matsson, who does not answer. We listen to the dial tone in anticipation – the interface between information being passed and received, between digital and analogue, between Shiv’s potential triumph and her failure to become CEO.</p>
<p>United behind Kendall in their mission to sabotage the merger, the siblings join Connor at Logan’s apartment to claim his remaining possessions. They adjourn to a private room to review a video recording of their late father attending a dinner.</p>
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<p>A few minutes in, CFO Karl (David Rasche) sings Robert Burns’ Scottish folk melody <a href="http://www.robertburns.plus.com/greengrow.htm">Green Grow The Rashes O</a> – an aural symbol of Logan’s heritage, featured prominently in episode six of season two, Dundee. It is somewhat ironic, given Burns’ song’s message is that men who live only to pursue money and status do not live happy lives.</p>
<p>“You’re butchering it”, barks Logan across the table, as the camera pans to him and then back to Karl, capturing the Scotman’s emotional response in handheld camera work reminiscent of the footage of the opening credit sequence.</p>
<p>Teary-eyed, his children watch on. It’s an interface with the past, with the deceased, through a screen in a moment of nostalgia, reflection, commemoration and memory – for the characters and audiences alike.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/succession-and-scotland-logan-roy-and-the-art-of-nation-branding-204962">Succession and Scotland: Logan Roy and the art of 'nation branding'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Succession’s digital culture</h2>
<p>Every episode of Succssion has moments depicting characters interacting with technology such as these. And while technology is, from the start, both the narrative subject and a means of communication, it also plays a key role in forging and involving an online community of fans.</p>
<p>Succession’s digital culture is rife, evidenced by the 89,000 followers of <a href="https://instagram.com/kendallroylookingsad?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==">@kendallroylookingsad</a> on Instagram, viral fan theories on TikTok (such as @gigiontherun’s 2021 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/succession-characters-tom-use-samsung-iphone-android-fan-theories-finale-2023-5?r=US&IR=T#:%7E:text=Some%20%22Succession%22%20viewers%20on%20Reddit,in%20the%20show%27s%20final%20season.">iPhone theory</a>), the analysis of the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SuccessionTV/comments/12i5rut/season_4_poster_significance/">season four promotional poster</a> on Reddit and the <a href="https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/458361243/Kendall-Roy-sad-mic">existence</a> of “sad Kendall” meme generators.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs09uTGNRjr/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>As I watched the series finale, I was constantly wondering which scenes would become memes, or inspire fan theories and new readings. More cynically, perhaps, I couldn’t help but ponder if the finale baited this very culture, whether through Matsson’s laidback “<a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/succession-season-4-episode-5-lukas-matsson-alexander-skarsgard-style#:%7E:text=His%20uniform%20is%20one%20of,less%20Theranos%2C%20more%20Loch%20Ness.">gorpcore</a>” fashion or Tom placing a red-circle sticker on Greg’s forehead as a signal of ownership. </p>
<p>Checking Instagram on my phone the morning after the finale, there was one memorable standout from Instagram’s @kendallroylookingsad account, showing the defeated son looking out over New York harbour accompanied by the caption: “Sad because Kendall has looked sad for the last time.”</p>
<p>The post says it all – a singular example of technology being used to express feelings on a show which is about technology as much as it is about money, power and dysfunctional family. Succession’s spin-off digital culture is ultimately very meta, revealing how technology was not just a central theme of the show, but a means for fans to interact with it, even after its run has ended.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207381/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Samuel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How technology is central to the show’s most dramatic and pivotal moments – and how it might define its legacy.Michael Samuel, Lecturer in Digital Film & Television, Department of Film and Television, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2014182023-03-28T16:38:09Z2023-03-28T16:38:09ZBody language books get it wrong: the truth about reading nonverbal cues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516674/original/file-20230321-26-yxltlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C48%2C3546%2C2656&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Defensive, uncertain, confident, confrontational: can your body language reveal what you're thinking?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-wearing-teal-dress-sitting-on-chair-talking-to-man-2422280/">Pexels/Jopwell</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of us have heard the one about if you <a href="https://www.scienceofpeople.com/arm-body-language/">cross your arms</a> over your chest you’re feeling defensive or if you’re <a href="https://www.elitedaily.com/lifestyle/hair-twirling-playing-touching-psychologist">fiddling with your hair</a> while talking you feel nervous – but is there <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yqx1j8ynGfwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=body+language+research&ots=UgEWIy3m6l&sig=MCo0kkz0X0t4DOFafsMquERFYOo#v=onepage&q=body%20language%20research&f=false">really any truth</a> to some of these <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/spycatcher/202207/debunking-body-language-myths">body language stereotypes</a>?</p>
<p>Reading <a href="https://www.popsci.com/story/science/body-language-analysis/">body language</a> can be a <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110302028/html">useful skill</a> in <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED077060">understanding</a> how someone is feeling or what they might be thinking. But it’s important to remember that it’s <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/youtube-body-language/">not an exact science</a> and there can be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/body-language-around-the-world-2015-3?r=US&IR=T">cultural or individual variations</a> in how <a href="https://neuroclastic.com/autistic-body-language/">people express themselves</a> through body language. For example, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4340785/#:%7E:text=In%20fact%2C%20in%20Japanese%20culture,their%20peripheral%20vision%20%5B28%5D.">eye contact in Japan</a> can be considered an act of aggression or rudeness.</p>
<p>Indeed, you can’t trust everything you read in body language guides. For example, in a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1977-05780-000">book published in 1970</a>, author Ray Birdwhistell claimed that humans have 20,000 different facial expressions. But in the <a href="https://e-edu.nbu.bg/pluginfile.php/331752/mod_resource/content/0/Allan_and_Barbara_Pease_-_Body_Language_The_Definitive_Book.pdf">Definitive Book of Body Language</a> published in 2004 by Allan and Barbara Pease, that number suddenly increased to 250,000.</p>
<p>A quarter of a million different facial expressions – no wonder you need to read a guide on body language to decode those. More recent <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1322355111">scientific research</a> suggests that the real number of facial expressions is actually closer to 21.</p>
<p>There are body language books that promise success in the boardroom, the bedroom, bars and restaurants. They promise success at work and at home along with how to read the “tells” of your friends and neighbours. These popular books have two main aims (apart from making money) – they explain how to “expertly” read body language but also how to fake it for maximum effect.</p>
<h2>Dominant displays</h2>
<p>The Definitive Book of Body Language, for example, tells us that the crotch display (legs open, crotch slightly thrust forward, hand on the belt) is used by “macho men and tough guys”. It’s a powerful sexual signal the authors say and they claim it works. They write: “This gesture tells others, ‘I am virile – I can dominate’ which is why it’s a regular for men on the prowl.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man standing with hands on hips." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A dominant crotch display or just posing with hands on hips? And is his smile even real?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/full-length-body-size-view-nice-1934401475">Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Millions of people buy these books and try to recreate the crotch display or the “catapult” – the seated version of the hands-on-hip pose, with the hands behind the head and the elbows “menacingly pointed out”. The authors say this is an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/books/chapters/0924-1st-peas.html">almost exclusively male gesture</a> “used to intimidate others”.</p>
<p>It’s hard not to find either display a little comical partly because these “secret” meanings have been so widely shared in these bestselling books and partly because they are just inherently ridiculous. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man sitting on an orange beanbag doing the catapult body language position." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is this the catapult or just a shoulder stretch?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/full-size-body-length-happy-elderly-2113243046">ViDI Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These books are full of static images of the body language of effective “communicators” – and that’s one fundamental issue because body language is dynamic: the body is in motion. You can’t stand in a crotch display or sit in the catapult all day.</p>
<p>But that’s not to say body language isn’t important. Its significance is immense, although it’s not 12 times more powerful than verbal communication – <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781351308724/nonverbal-communication-albert-mehrabian">as some have claimed</a>. </p>
<h2>Fake vs real</h2>
<p>In my book <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Rethinking-Body-Language-How-Hand-Movements-Reveal-Hidden-Thoughts/Beattie/p/book/9780415538893">Rethinking Body Language</a>, I argue that to read body language accurately you need to know where to look. There may not be 20,000 different facial expressions, but the face can still be very revealing of underlying emotional states. That is until the person starts to try to control it, for example, by masking emotions with a smile. </p>
<p>So how can you tell a fake smile from a genuine smile? A genuine one involves the muscles around the eyes and fades slowly from the face. A fake masking smile leaves the face abruptly, as the US psychologist, Paul Ekman, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00332747.1969.11023575?">has shown</a> in his pioneering experiments linking emotions and facial expressions. So to decode facial expressions more accurately, you need to focus on what’s going on when the fake smile disappears. It’s very brief but it can be very revealing.</p>
<p>Another problem with the static nature of these body language books is that speech and body language are intimately connected, as US psychologist and expert in psycholinguistics (the psychology of language), David McNeill argued in his 2000 book <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=DRBcMQuSrf8C&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=David+McNeill&ots=jEGX5yuqlm&sig=NLWoRpApXoRDC6P-RYkYDuBHXlc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=David%20McNeill&f=false">Language and Gesture</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman with fake smile." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘I’m happy, honest!’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/put-on-your-smile-young-girl-1344659774">Shutterstock/RomarioIen</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When people talk they often make spontaneous and unconscious hand movements that illustrate the content of what they’re saying. There’s no dictionary for these movements but they’re generated alongside speech itself. My own research <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/semi.1999.123.1-2.1/html">has shown</a> that meanings are expressed in these movements – and when people can’t see these gestures they miss important information. </p>
<p>Sometimes the gestural movement and the speech do not match. A speaker might say “my partner and I are very close” but their hands indicate a significant gap, rather than closeness. Another person says “I have very high ambitions” but their hand doesn’t rise that far, which you would expect if a person really felt that way. </p>
<p>I have argued in Rethinking Body Language that, in cases like this, the unconscious gesture is often the more reliable indicator of the underlying thought. But you need to know what they’re talking about to read the gestural movements.</p>
<p>It’s much easier to lie effectively in speech than in the accompanying gesture because these movements have intricate timings linked to the speech itself. The hand movement starts just before the speech and then the meaningful part of the gesture coincides exactly with the relevant word. It’s hard to get these timings right when lying. Again it’s all in the movement and the timing – and the close and unconscious connection between speech and body language.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201418/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Beattie has received funding from the ESRC for his work on gesture.</span></em></p>Why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover: the limitations of reading body language.Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1942262023-03-22T12:39:57Z2023-03-22T12:39:57ZMoving in with your partner? Talking about these 3 things first can smooth the way, according to a couples therapist<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516748/original/file-20230321-24-vneqip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=489%2C7%2C4692%2C3201&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Before the boxes are packed, you should square your expectations.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-couple-moving-house-royalty-free-image/1351287041?phrase=moving%20boxes%20couple">Tara Moore/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Partners who live together typically come to this significant place in their relationship in one of two ways – what some clinicians call “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00418.x">sliding versus deciding</a>.” Moving in together can just kind of happen without too much thought, or it can be carefully considered and planned.</p>
<p>Some couples may see <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/11/06/marriage-and-cohabitation-in-the-u-s/">living together as a test for future marriage</a>. For others, marriage is not a goal, so living together may be the ultimate statement of their commitment. </p>
<p>I have been a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZeuvLPoAAAAJ&hl">relationship therapist and researcher</a> for over 25 years, specializing in intimate relationships. Based on my research and clinical experience, I recommend that couples discuss the significance of sharing a home before they merge households. Doing so gives partners an opportunity to set realistic expectations, negotiate household roles and practice their communication. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I developed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-021-09594-6">a list of topics</a> partners should talk about before moving in together – or even after, if the moving boxes are already unpacked. These topics are organized into three main categories.</p>
<h2>1. Expectations</h2>
<p>Why do you want to move in together? What is the purpose? Will it lead to marriage? Many relationships struggle with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X08324388">intersection of reality and expectation</a>.</p>
<p>Clients tell me that their expectations of living together are often based on what they grew up with – for example, “My mom had dinner on the table every evening at 6 p.m. I expect the same of my partner.” Expectations also extend to intimacy, such as, “Now that we are sharing a bed, we can have sex all the time.” </p>
<p>Conversations about what this stage of commitment means for the relationship and how it affects each individual’s identity are part of this negotiation. Is moving in together “practice” for marriage? Are we moving into one of our current places, or finding a new home together? How will we split up the household finances? How frequently will we be intimate? Will we get a pet?</p>
<p>Understanding what will and won’t change helps smooth this transition, making space for conversations about the nitty-gritty of living together.</p>
<h2>2. Household roles</h2>
<p>As people launch from their childhood homes, the household rules they grew up with – both the ones they liked and the ones they hated – tend to come along for the ride. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men speak with one another while sitting on a narrow staircase." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Decide who will do what.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/couple-of-young-men-talking-on-the-stairs-royalty-free-image/465964450">lorenzoantonucci/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>It’s important for couples to talk about how they plan to handle mundane day-to-day tasks, such as dishes, trash, cooking, cleaning and so on. My colleagues and I recommend couples start these conversations by stating their strengths. If you like grocery shopping but hate cooking, first offer to do what you prefer. Talk through the different needs of your household – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X13503324">including finances</a>, pets, kids, cars and so on – and try to find some balance in the division of responsibilities.</p>
<p>During these negotiations, remember to keep in mind each person’s obligations outside of the home. For example, if one person stays at home or has summers off, take that into consideration in determining balance.</p>
<p>I once worked with a couple where one partner wanted her spouse “to be less of an asshole.” When we dug a bit deeper, what she really wanted was for him to vacuum. Talking further, they began to understand that their household rules were neither balanced nor accommodating of the ebbs and flows of their lifestyle, family needs and professional demands.</p>
<h2>3. Communication</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most important conversation to have is actually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X02023001004">about communication</a>. How responsive do I expect my partner to be when I text them? How do I tell them I really need alone time? When can I talk to them about my changing needs?</p>
<p>This can be an excellent time to reach out to a couple and family therapist to help negotiate some of these issues. Many times, the <a href="https://drclaudiagg.com/projects">hurtful comments people make to one another</a> are really about expectations, fear and the anxiety of the unknown. Talking about the best way to recognize and meet your partner’s needs and concerns invites collaboration and unity, which ultimately strengthens the relationship. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Couple talking on sofa in living room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Good communication is key to healthy long-term relationships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/couple-talking-on-sofa-in-living-room-royalty-free-image/573103271">JGI/Tom Grill/Tetra Images via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>People and relationships change over time. Everyone is affected by their own life experiences, one of which can be moving in with a partner. Communication and empathy are key as expectations shift and evolve. This continues to be true as couples hit transitions throughout their lives. </p>
<p>Big things like moving, graduating, getting a new job and having children, as well as little things, like choosing which TV shows to watch or trying out a new recipe, are important topics to have conversations about. Developing good communication skills can serve as the foundation for navigating the trials and tribulations relationships bring.</p>
<p>And it’s never too late to start having these conversations – even if you’re already living together.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thank you to co-authors, Brooke Schmidt and Cate Morrow.</span></em></p>Discussing some key topics before – or even after – they move in together can help couples successfully navigate this step.Kristina S. Brown, Professor and Chair of Couple and Family Therapy, Adler UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2019952023-03-21T13:05:03Z2023-03-21T13:05:03ZMatt Hancock leaks: why WhatsApp is a terrible place to conduct important political conversations<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516424/original/file-20230320-2144-92xg5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C35%2C7904%2C5214&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-image-male-hands-using-smartphone-594829253">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The leak of more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages exchanged between former health secretary Matt Hancock and his contacts has finally exposed the central role the messaging app has come to play in official government business. </p>
<p>A selection of the messages published by The Telegraph – a newspaper with an anti-lockdown stance – shows Hancock apparently <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/matt-hancock-considering-all-options-after-allegations-he-rejected-covid-testing-advice-for-care-homes-12822618">dismissing advice on testing in care homes</a> and wanting to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64848106">“frighten the pants off everyone”</a> to ensure compliance with lockdown rules.</p>
<p>The tone of the leaked messages suggests that the politicians involved had not anticipated public scrutiny. Critical political decisions are made in a style that appears flippant, which has been hurtful to many people who suffered during the difficult period of lockdowns. The politicians engage in insults, rivalries, sycophancy and jokes and use what has been described as a <a href="https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Hancocks-humiliation-and-the-end-for-Johnson-Podcast/B0BXRLYBV5">“matey, testosterone-driven”</a> tone. This might reflect on the people involved in the exchanges, but it also prompts us to wonder whether WhatsApp is really the right place for political interaction. </p>
<p>Technologies such as WhatsApp do not determine behaviour. People always have choices as to how they use a particular technology. But these choices are influenced by social factors. We tend to use technologies in the same ways as people around us. We develop habits that become hard to break. </p>
<h2>Trivial and conversational</h2>
<p>Our perception of WhatsApp – no doubt shared by politicians – is shaped not so much by the technology itself but by our habitual use of it for immediate, informal, intimate conversation. </p>
<p>Like all digitally mediated communication, WhatsApp carries some of the features associated with writing and some of the features associated with speech. The messages are undeniably written and, like written words, can be stored and leaked, as Hancock found.</p>
<p>At the same time, however, in our everyday interactions, many of us treat WhatsApp messages as ephemeral, private and inconsequential, like much of our speech. Although the written medium affords planning and editing, we often dash messages off without giving them much thought. Sometimes we are rushed off our feet and send messages in a five-minute break between meetings. Other times we are messaging close friends and family and it feels natural to write in an informal and intimate way. </p>
<p>Some WhatsApp groups even demand flippancy and humour. Other messages deal with the mundane details of life – asking a friend for a lift, telling a partner you are on your way home – and are short and to the point. Many of the things we might once have done by talking to someone, we now also do through written messages. </p>
<p>This blurring of the lines between speaking and writing can have worrying implications for those who try to use WhatsApp to discuss more weighty issues. Politicians have always informally spoken to each other about important political topics, of course. However, we do not expect to see consequential issues being debated in WhatsApp messages in the same way as we would chat about what was for dinner or who should put the bins out.</p>
<p>Mobile technologies also muddle the distinction between work and home. They enable people to check in on family and friends while at work and to liaise with colleagues from home. The challenge for politicians – and others who use their private phones for work purposes – is to effectively maintain workplace conventions, standards and registers while using the same platform for jokey banter. It has become normal to conduct multiple conversations by WhatsApp at once, so that the tone of one conversation bleeds into the other. In Hancock’s case, important political discussions are jumbled up with what appears to be banter and rivalry between friends, at times containing informal expressions and typos.</p>
<p>Part of our difficulty in maintaining this balance is the fact that our phones also blur the boundaries between offline and online. There was a time in the 1980s and 1990s when people had to make a concerted effort to get online. They had to go to their personal computer, plug in the modem, and wait to connect. At that time, there was a sharp disjuncture between “being online” and “being offline”.</p>
<h2>Rarely the focus of our attention</h2>
<p>We might argue that government <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57642791">oversight policies around communications</a> and security still operate on the basis of this outdated set up. But, in reality, the distinction between offline and online has gone. We now carry our phones around with us, share what we are doing online and send messages while commuting, at a party, or in a meeting. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/linguistics/messaging-apps-paying-attention-and-timing-it-right">My own research</a> based on UK-based adults aged from their 30s to 70s suggests that most WhatsApp messages are sent while people are doing something else. Not only that but most people I spoke to were keen to emphasise that they prioritise the people they are with over incoming messages, ignoring them until they can steal a quick moment to respond. Some people engage in what is popularly know as “phadmin” – putting aside time when they check their their phone and respond to multiple WhatsApp conversations in one go. Some put their phone on silent so they are not distracted. Some switch to voice notes so as to continue messaging while engaged in activities that require both hands (such as cooking dinner). Generally speaking, for adults over 30 at least, WhatsApp is not something that warrants undivided attention.</p>
<p>This is, of course, one of the huge attractions of mobile messaging – unlike an in-person conversation or a voice call, we do not have to give it our full attention. This no doubt makes WhatsApp <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/whatsapp-panic-stalks-westminster-after-mass-leak-of-private-messages-matt-hancock/">a crucial tool</a> for busy politicians making real-time decisions in fast-paced unfolding situations. But they may not be giving the political decision-making process their full attention.</p>
<p>WhatsApp does not inevitably lead to bad decisions, but politicians should take the platform more seriously.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201995/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Tagg received funding from the British Academy for some of the research informing this article. </span></em></p>Leaks of thousands of messages show government officials making light of lockdowns and joking about frightening the public.Caroline Tagg, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and English Language, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2008702023-03-20T16:17:56Z2023-03-20T16:17:56ZBallet dancers in sensor suits: new research explores how dance is used as a form of communication<p>Audio guides, maps, traditional and interactive texts help people attending art exhibitions to understand the works in front of them. With dance, however, the audience’s understanding is usually taken for granted.</p>
<p>It’s assumed they will make sense of a performance thanks to the synopsis included in programmes, or reviews published in newspapers and magazines. These supporting materials are optional and do not work during performance. However, the English National Ballet (ENB), for example, has produced <a href="https://www.ballet.org.uk/production/my-first-ballet-sleeping-beauty/">versions of classical ballets for young audiences</a> where dancers perform a shortened version of a well-known classical ballet while a narrator recites the story.</p>
<p>But words cannot translate everything dance expresses. Verbal and movement-based communication can convey similar meanings, but they do so in very different ways. Whereas verbal language is immediately understood, the language of dance can be lost to a general audience.</p>
<p>So how can dance performances become a more accessible source of cultural and social information for people who are not specialists?</p>
<h2>Detecting communication</h2>
<p>Our research group focuses on <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Kinesemiotics-Modelling-How-Choreographed-Movement-Means-in-Space/Maiorani/p/book/9780367641009">Kinesemiotics</a>, the study of meaning made by movement, an area we are developing. Our project, called <a href="https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/fb-10/forschung/institute/bitt/forschung-und-lehre/multimodalitaetsforschung-in-bremen/projekte/kinesemiotic-body">The Knesemiotic Body</a>, is carried out at Loughborough University in collaboration with researchers at the University of Bremen and the ENB.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315621180-9/making-meaning-movement-functional-grammar-dance-movement-arianna-maiorani">The Functional Grammar of Dance</a> (FGD) explains how body parts create meaning by interacting with the space and the people surrounding dancers in a performance. We used it to annotate and interpret data collected from live dance rehearsals.</p>
<p>The FGD draws on linguistics and semiotic theories (how people communicate through signs) and is based on “projections”. Projections are the trajectories designed by dancers when extending their body parts towards meaningful portions of the performance space.</p>
<p>Projections connect extended body parts to surrounding people or objects, creating a meaningful visual interaction. Imagine a dancer moving towards a lake, painted on the backdrop of a stage. They extend an arm forward towards the lake and a leg backwards towards a stage prop representing a shed. That extended arm will mean “going to lake” while the leg will mean “coming from shed”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Junor Souza and Rebecca Blenkinsop wear the black strappy sensors while dancing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514195/original/file-20230308-22-8lce0x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514195/original/file-20230308-22-8lce0x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514195/original/file-20230308-22-8lce0x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514195/original/file-20230308-22-8lce0x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514195/original/file-20230308-22-8lce0x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514195/original/file-20230308-22-8lce0x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514195/original/file-20230308-22-8lce0x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">English National Ballet’s Junor Souza and Rebecca Blenkinsop wearing special movement sensors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">M Zecca / Kinesemiotic Body website</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Projections can also be directed to the audience creating an “involving” effect. This is achieved, for example, when a dancer extends their arms towards the audience while facing them with their face and torso. This looks as if they are addressing them directly, acknowledging their presence and breaking the invisible wall between them.</p>
<p>Projections are like speech bubbles made by movement. Our research captured them through sensor suits that dancers wear during our data collection and we decoded them using the FGD. When we annotate the data produced by the suits, we basically fill those speech bubbles with meaning that people can understand without having background knowledge of dance. Our recordings and annotations capture not only movements, but also the intended meaning behind them.</p>
<p>During our sessions, we worked with two pairs of fantastic dancers: Junor Souza and Rebecca Blenkinsop from the ENB, and school graduates Elizabeth Riley and Jamie Constance.</p>
<p>We have achieved interesting results. By annotating choreography with our system, it is possible to discover patterns of movement-based communication. These patterns may not be immediately visible to the naked eye, but clearly inform the message the audience perceives.</p>
<p>We also found out that it is possible to study how movement patterns work in relation to costumes, which is especially interesting when choreographers experiment with innovative clothing and props. </p>
<p>For example, we worked on the effects of movement combined with elastic cloth that covered a dancer’s body almost entirely. This highlighted how a particular type of costume choice would impact on the expressive potential of movement.</p>
<p>Our data also highlighted how dancers playing the same role can create different versions of the same character according to variations they make in performing projections. For example, one dancer might decide to engage more with the audience than another by performing more projections that directly address the viewers.</p>
<p>We can also check how a dancer manages physical balance during a performance in relation to these projections, which is particularly clear in their legwork and footwork. This type of information can be particularly helpful for physical rehabilitation. </p>
<p>An injury can deeply affect a dancer’s or an athlete’s ability to manage body balance and our annotation highlighted the specific choices a dancer makes when managing it. The information provided by our data annotation can therefore provide valuable information on how a dancer works towards recovery. </p>
<p>In future our work will look at whether specific projections can help audiences with different degrees of familiarity with dance to engage with a dance performance more easily.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arianna Maiorani receives funding from AHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chun Liu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The language of dance is often lost on a general audience. Now new research has used sensor suits to discover patterns of movement-based communication in ballet performance.Arianna Maiorani, Reader in Linguistics and Multimodality, Loughborough UniversityChun Liu, Research Associate, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1889562023-03-13T12:26:33Z2023-03-13T12:26:33ZSmell is the crucial sense that holds ant society together, helping the insects recognize, communicate and cooperate with one another<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513805/original/file-20230306-20-apwc3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1224%2C2696%2C1582&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ants from different colonies will fight based on smell alone.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Howell, Vanderbilt University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ants can be found in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04218-4">nearly every location on Earth</a>, with rough estimates suggesting there are <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29281253">over 10 quadrillion individuals</a> – that is a 1 followed by 16 zeroes, or about 1 million ants per person. Ants are among the most biologically successful animals on the planet. </p>
<p>A surprising part of their evolutionary success is the amazing sense of smell that lets them recognize, communicate and cooperate with one another.</p>
<p>Ants live in complex colonies, sometimes referred to as nests, that are home to <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393067040">a wide range of social interactions</a>. Here, one or more queens are responsible for all the reproduction within that colony. The vast majority of colony members are female workers – sisters that never mate or reproduce and live only to serve the group.</p>
<p>Ants need to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-022-01505-x">defend their colony</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0052219">seek food</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/690840">take care of offspring</a>. To accomplish these tasks some ant species domesticate other insects, while others create agricultural systems, harvesting leaves from which they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/661128">grow edible fungal gardens</a>. Successfully coordinating all these intricate tasks requires reliable and secure communication among nestmates.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PrNrnI8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">We</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=IZUwOQ0AAAAJ">are</a> biologists who study the remarkable sensory abilities of ants. <a href="https://lab.vanderbilt.edu/zwiebel-lab/">Our recent work</a> shows how their societies depend on the exchange of reliable information which, if disrupted, spells doom for their colonies.</p>
<h2>Unique scents</h2>
<p>Human communication relies primarily on verbal and visual cues. We usually identify our friends by the sound of their voice, the appearance of their face or the clothes they wear. Ants, however, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.215400">rely primarily on their acute sense of smell</a>. </p>
<p>An exterior shell, known as an exoskeleton, encases an ant’s body. This greasy coat carries a unique scent that varies from individual to individual and gives each ant a <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674040755">unique odor signature that other ants can detect</a>. This odor signature can communicate important information. </p>
<p>The queen, for example, will smell slightly different from a worker, and thus receive special treatment within the colony. Importantly, ants from different colonies will smell slightly different from one another. The detection and decoding of these differences is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00191">vital for colony defense</a> and can trigger aggressive turf wars between colonies when ants catch a whiff of intruders.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ZFWVCkBcxI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Interactions between nestmates are friendly. But when ants sniff out enemy non-nestmates, there is rapid and deadly aggression. Produced by the Zwiebel Lab, Vanderbilt University, filmed by Stephen Ferguson.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For ants and other insects, receiving chemical information begins when an odor enters the small hairs located along their antennae. These hairs are hollow and contain <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2014.10.006">special receptors, called chemosensory neurons</a>, that sort and send the chemical information to the ant’s brain. </p>
<p>Odors, such as those given off from an ant’s greasy coat, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.215400">act like chemical “keys</a>.” Ants can smell these odor keys only if they are inserted into the correct set of chemosensory neuron “locks.” A neuronal lock remains shut to any odors except its particular key. When the correct key binds to the correct neuronal lock, though, the receptor sends a complex message to the brain. The ant’s brain is able to decode this sensory information to make decisions that ultimately lead to cooperation between nestmates – or battles between non-nestmates. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514327/original/file-20230308-22-8r9eol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Tupperware container filled with ants. Three test tubes with cotton stoppers appear to hold water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514327/original/file-20230308-22-8r9eol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514327/original/file-20230308-22-8r9eol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514327/original/file-20230308-22-8r9eol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514327/original/file-20230308-22-8r9eol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514327/original/file-20230308-22-8r9eol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514327/original/file-20230308-22-8r9eol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514327/original/file-20230308-22-8r9eol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A colony of carpenter ants (<em>Camponotus floridanus</em>) reared in the Zwiebel Lab at Vanderbilt University.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">LJ Zwiebel, Vanderbilt University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Changing the locks</h2>
<p>To better understand how ants detect and communicate information, we use laboratory tools such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.215400">precisely targeted drugs</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.06.051">genetic</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.001">engineering</a> to manipulate their sense of smell. We are especially interested in what happens when an ant’s sense of smell goes wrong. </p>
<p>For example, when we prevent an odor “key” from opening a chemosensory “lock,” it prevents the chemical information from reaching the brain. This would be like plugging your nose or standing in a completely dark room – no scents or sights would register. We can also open all the “locks” at the same time, which floods the neurons with too many messages. Both of these scenarios dramatically compromise an ant’s ability to detect and receive accurate information.</p>
<p>When we messed with ants’ sense of smell – whether shutting down or flooding their odor receptors – we found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.215400">they no longer attacked non-nestmates</a>. Instead, they became less aggressive. In the absence of clear information, ants exercised restraint and opted to accept rather than attack their fellow ant. Put another way, ants ask questions first and shoot later. </p>
<p>We believe this social restraint is hard-wired and gives ants an evolutionary advantage. When you live in a colony with tens of thousands of sisters, a simple case of mistaken identity or miscommunication could lead to deadly infighting and societal chaos, which is potentially very costly.</p>
<p>When ants in our experiments lose their sense of smell, and their ability to detect accurate information becomes compromised, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.06.051">they no longer stick together</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.001">in a cohesive colony</a>. </p>
<p>Not only do they fail to recognize and attack foes, they also stop cooperating with their friends. Without nurses to take care of the young or foragers to collect food, the eggs dry up and the queen goes hungry. </p>
<p>We discovered that without an accurate means of communicating and receiving chemical information, ant societies collapse and the colony quickly dies. Miscommunication or the lack of accurate information <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/miscommunication-blamed-deadly-u-s-mistake-afghanistan">affects other highly social animals, including humans</a>, as well. For ants, it all depends on their sense of smell.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurence Zwiebel currently receives funding from the NIH and Vanderbilt University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Ferguson currently receives funding from the NIH and Vanderbilt University.</span></em></p>Researchers explore what happens when ants can’t properly use smell to detect friend from foe.Laurence Zwiebel, Professor of Biological Sciences and of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt UniversityStephen Ferguson, Postdoctoral Scholar in Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2012972023-03-09T19:04:24Z2023-03-09T19:04:24ZIs the honeybee’s iconic waggle dance learned or innate? New research provides the answer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514392/original/file-20230309-26-tm10ll.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=78%2C78%2C8596%2C5696&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we progress through life, we learn many essential behaviours from more experienced people around us. For example, through observing adults, we go from being babbling babies, to using single words, to speaking in full sentences. </p>
<p>This is an example of social learning. And it turns out it isn’t unique to our species.</p>
<p>Honeybees also have a language, expressed through dance, which they use to communicate the location and quality of food sources to hive mates. This behaviour plays a crucial role in the functioning of a hive, which can sometimes have more than 60,000 bees.</p>
<p>Today, a new study <a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade1702">published</a> in Science reveals honeybees perfect this dance language by learning from more experienced bees. </p>
<h2>What is the ‘waggle dance’?</h2>
<p>In 1973, <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1973/frisch/facts/">Professor Karl von Frisch</a> won the Nobel Prize in Physiology for decoding the dance of the honeybee, termed the “waggle dance”. This dance consists of a series of movements forager honeybees perform to nest mates in a hive.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514383/original/file-20230309-14-9i5qvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514383/original/file-20230309-14-9i5qvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514383/original/file-20230309-14-9i5qvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514383/original/file-20230309-14-9i5qvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514383/original/file-20230309-14-9i5qvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514383/original/file-20230309-14-9i5qvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514383/original/file-20230309-14-9i5qvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514383/original/file-20230309-14-9i5qvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Successful forager bees perform the waggle dance for their nest mates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Heather Broccard Bell</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dance communicates various information about a bee’s foraging trip, including the food source’s distance and direction from the hive, angle from the sun, and the quality of the resource. It’s performed in a repetitive figure eight movement. </p>
<p>The forager positions herself perpendicular to the Sun in the direction of the food source, thereby demonstrating its direction. She also performs a “vibration” through the centre of the figure eight, which demonstrates how far the source is.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Image depicts the dance of a honeybee in a schematic as described in the text." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514338/original/file-20230308-24-jb7f5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514338/original/file-20230308-24-jb7f5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514338/original/file-20230308-24-jb7f5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514338/original/file-20230308-24-jb7f5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514338/original/file-20230308-24-jb7f5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514338/original/file-20230308-24-jb7f5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514338/original/file-20230308-24-jb7f5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The waggle dance is performed by worker bees, which are all female.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scarlett Howard</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This behaviour is an interesting example of a complex, informative and co-operative communication style among insects. But, until now, experts didn’t know the extent to which it is learnt, as opposed to innate.</p>
<h2>Nature vs nurture?</h2>
<p>To find out, a team of researchers from China and the US put some bees to the test. They created hives containing young novice bees (one day old) that had never seen a waggle dance before, and hives containing both novice bees and experienced bees (20 days old). </p>
<p>They placed the hives 150 metres away from a feeder of sugar water: the food source. This placement was important, as it would allow the researchers to assess how accurately the forager bees were dancing to convey information to their hive mates.</p>
<p>The team observed the first dances of novice bees, in both the novice and mixed colonies. Then, after another 20 days, they observed them again. </p>
<p>They found the first dances of bees in the novice colonies overestimated the distance of the food source, were less accurate in communicating direction and were more disordered compared to the first dances of novice bees from the mixed colonies.</p>
<p>After 20 days, when the dancers from both types of colonies were more experienced, the bees in the novice hive had decreased their directional errors and their dances were less disordered. However, they still underperformed compared to their counterparts in the mixed colonies. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6N3nJItYrcw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Source: J. Nieh, from video clips filmed by Dong Shihao.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Early experience sets a bee up for life</h2>
<p>These findings show the waggle dance is indeed innate, since it was performed by novice honeybees that had never seen it before.</p>
<p>However, bees that had undergone social learning from more experienced foragers were more accurate and ordered dancers. Even after gaining foraging and dancing experience, the bees in the novice colonies could not dance as well as those that had undergone social learning. </p>
<p>Therefore, the opportunity to observe experienced bees dancing at a young age will determine a bee’s capability to perform accurate dances for the rest of its <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2527632/">short life</a>.</p>
<p>We know from past studies there are different <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0002365">dialects</a> across honeybee species – and dialects indicate a language has been at least partially learned. This new research strengthens the evidence for <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aag2360?casa_token=kjsN_mpANgwAAAAA%3AfdwABHru0nkhh7iEsrutBT5Ix8bmHZ90uwxT9hnVOVCBmc8_I_dx44Mouvot_zNv0OYNaJ_BU8d8r2jP">social learning</a> among honeybees, prompting interesting new questions about how nature and nurture overlap to form this social insect’s <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/hints-tool-use-culture-seen-bumble-bees">complex</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/07/1161627795/can-insects-have-culture-puzzle-solving-bumblebees-show-its-possible">culture</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/long-lost-letter-from-albert-einstein-discusses-a-link-between-physics-and-biology-7-decades-before-evidence-emerges-160190">Long-lost letter from Albert Einstein discusses a link between physics and biology, 7 decades before evidence emerges</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201297/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scarlett Howard receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and has previously received funding from Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, RMIT University, Fyssen Foundation, L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Young Talents French Award, Deakin University, Monash University, Hermon Slade Foundation, and the Australian Academy of Sciences. She is affiliated with Pint of Science Australia.</span></em></p>The waggle dance is performed by forager bees to convey important information about food sources.Scarlett Howard, Lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.