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Listen: Widespread use of Ozempic for weight loss could change how we view fatness

Retrieved on:

Thursday, June 22, 2023

As the use of Ozempic, a drug for diabetes, slams into the mainstream as a weight-loss method, will the drug’s use impact our concept of fatness?

Key Points:

As the use of Ozempic, a drug for diabetes, slams into the mainstream as a weight-loss method, will the drug’s use impact our concept of fatness?
In Canada, Ozempic costs around $300 a month and in the U.S., the price is about $1,000 a month.
While many rely on health insurance for prescriptions, insurance for the most part does not cover Ozempic for non-diabetic use.
Here’s everything you need to know about diet supplements
Read more: Is it true the faster you lose weight the quicker it comes back?

Bad art friends – Jen Craig may be the best Australian writer you've never heard of

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Review: Wall – Jen Craig (Puncher & Wattmann) Wall is the third short novel Craig has published over the past 13 years.

Key Points:

Review: Wall – Jen Craig (Puncher & Wattmann) Wall is the third short novel Craig has published over the past 13 years.
I only managed to get a copy when her agent Martin Shaw noted on Twitter that Craig herself would individually mail copies to interested readers.
Craig even managed to secure an interview on Michael Silverblat’s KCRW radio show Bookworm – the on-air Valhalla of contemporary experimental novelists.
Read more:
In Bon and Lesley, Shaun Prescott has written an Australian horror story of uniquely local proportions

Whirling monologue

The unnamed narrator is an Australian artist,
who moved to London in the late 1980s to escape her difficult, estranged family in Sydney.
Teun holds strongly critical views – at least, in the narrator’s account – of her family and old friends.
The plot is more complex than it seems at first, because virtually all of its major events occur in the background and are reported second-hand in the narrator’s anxiously whirling monologue.
She ultimately protests a public lecture by Lord, staging a “splattered body intervention”, which seems to be a decades-delayed response to the undergraduate happening.
Read more:
Enraged, tragic and hopeful: Alexis Wright's new novel Praiseworthy explores Aboriginal sovereignty in the shadow of the anthropocene

Trans-generational effects

Craig’s exegetical writing on her own work is about anorexia, trauma, and trauma’s durational and trans-generational effects.
For these characters, past trauma lives in the present and can only be repeated and responded to.
This becomes clear when Eileen (yet another punning name) disappears and the narrator visits her family to track her down.
It also invokes material that recalls, but does not quite replicate, the key scenario of Since the Accident.

Social media still a closet for too many LGBTQIA+ employees

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 19, 2023

Prejudice, Male, IBM, Posture, Face, Professional, Intersex, Workplace, Homosexuality, Deloitte, ML, Research, Privacy, Human, Social media, Google, Observation, Nightclub, Marketing, Facebook

Social media has revolutionised how we relate to our colleagues and higher-ups, offering us opportunities to showcase different aspects of our lives.

Key Points:

Social media has revolutionised how we relate to our colleagues and higher-ups, offering us opportunities to showcase different aspects of our lives.
Currently, three out of four employees are connected with their coworkers via social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
We also consider the diverse audiences and how they will interact with our content when determining our online behaviour.

When professionalism equals heteronormativity

I found that LGBTQIA+ employees adjust their social media use to align with the platforms’ functions and their professional lives.
Many individuals I interviewed reported feeling that the traditional notion of professionalism, which favours heteronormativity, affects their online self-representation.
As a result, some employees feel compelled to employ exhausting tactics to hide or regulate their sexuality.
The latter can broadly be divided in three main strategies: Fabrication, or the use of social media to create counterfeit straight relationships.
She was a friend who accompanied Gabriel and his same-sex partner to social events and frequently appeared in pictures with them.

When professionalism and homosexuality co-exist

While some individuals strive to conceal or manage their homosexuality on social media, some of my participants feel that being openly gay and professional is feasible.
This can be achieved by engaging with colleagues via comments, posts, and likes.
Expressing opinions and engaging in gay discourse is less crucial for those who prioritise SNSs as a means of community support.
Ravi (32, marketing executive) recognised the potential impact of being open about his sexuality on his LGBTQIA+ peers:
“I’m adopting a more activist posture.
Mario could see that Ravi expresses his homosexuality online and decided to talk to Ravi when he heard he had been promoted.

Testing the waters across different social media channels

Instead, employees adapt their online behaviour based on workplace experiences and external feedback, constantly "testing the waters” to strike the right balance.
As social media audiences evolve, LGBTQIA+ employees may shift their self-representations to align with the new norms of popular platforms.
For instance, Twitter might be perceived as a more “niche” social media channel today.

FTC Policy Director Issues Statement Commending Maine’s Repeal of Certificate of Public Advantage Law

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 19, 2023

Department, Agriopas, Human services, Policy, Public, Maine Department of Transportation, Goal, COPA, Federal Trade Commission, Patient, Division, FTC, Certification, Paper, Hospital, News, Legislation, Nursing, Facebook

Maine Governor Janet Mills signed the bill on April 24, 2023.

Key Points:

Maine Governor Janet Mills signed the bill on April 24, 2023.
In response to this news, the FTC Office of Policy Planning Director Elizabeth Wilkins issued this statement:
“We are heartened to learn that Maine has repealed its Certificate of Public Advantage law, and that the FTC’s COPA policy paper was influential in this outcome.
FTC staff has spent significant time and effort studying the effects of COPAs in healthcare markets.
Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

FTC Policy Director Issues Statement Commending Maine’s Repeal of Certificate of Public Advantage Law

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 19, 2023

Maine Governor Janet Mills signed the bill on April 24, 2023.

Key Points:

Maine Governor Janet Mills signed the bill on April 24, 2023.
In response to this news, the FTC Office of Policy Planning Director Elizabeth Wilkins issued this statement:
“We are heartened to learn that Maine has repealed its Certificate of Public Advantage law, and that the FTC’s COPA policy paper was influential in this outcome.
FTC staff has spent significant time and effort studying the effects of COPAs in healthcare markets.
Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Listen: Why preserving Indigenous languages is so critical to culture

Retrieved on:

Friday, June 16, 2023

This is especially true if you have had your language forcibly removed from you, like the thousands of Indigenous children who survived Canada’s colonial assimilation project.

Key Points:

This is especially true if you have had your language forcibly removed from you, like the thousands of Indigenous children who survived Canada’s colonial assimilation project.
Last year, the United Nations acknowledged the importance of Indigenous languages by declaring the decade ahead to be the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
But long before the UN declaration, First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples have been pushing to revitalize more than 70 Indigenous languages across Canada.
They tackle the issue of disappearing Indigenous languages and delve into how much more needs to be done to revitalize them and why doing so is critical.

Listen: Why preserving Indigenous languages is so critical to preserving culture

Retrieved on:

Thursday, June 15, 2023

This is especially true if you have had your language forcibly removed from you, like the thousands of Indigenous children who survived Canada’s colonial assimilation project.

Key Points:

This is especially true if you have had your language forcibly removed from you, like the thousands of Indigenous children who survived Canada’s colonial assimilation project.
Last year, the United Nations acknowledged the importance of Indigenous languages by declaring the decade ahead to be the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
But long before the UN declaration, First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples have been pushing to revitalize more than 70 Indigenous languages across Canada.
They tackle the issue of disappearing Indigenous languages and delve into how much more needs to be done to revitalize them and why doing so is critical.

What is the 'splinternet'? Here's why the internet is less whole than you might think

Retrieved on:

Saturday, June 10, 2023

“Splinternet” refers to the way the internet is being splintered – broken up, divided, separated, locked down, boxed up, or otherwise segmented.

Key Points:

“Splinternet” refers to the way the internet is being splintered – broken up, divided, separated, locked down, boxed up, or otherwise segmented.
But recent developments are likely to enhance segmentation, and have brought it back into new light.
Read more:
Meta just copped a A$1.9bn fine for keeping EU data in the US.

The internet as a whole

The core question is whether we have just one single internet for everyone, or whether we have many.
This applies to the internet, too.
A large portion of the internet is what’s known as the “deep web”.
The internet changes, too – connections go live, cables get broken or satellites fail, people bring their new Internet of Things devices (like “smart” fridges and doorbells) online, or accidentally open their computer ports to the net.

A fractured internet poised to fracture even more

Today, we can see the unified “Internet” has given way to a fractured internet – one poised to fracture even more.
Surveillance isn’t the only barrier to internet use, with harassment, abuse, censorship, taxation and pricing of access, and similar internet controls being a major issue across many countries.
Nonetheless, these national regulations lead to a splintering of internet experience depending on which country you’re in.
Indeed, every single country has local factors that shape the internet experience, from language to law, from culture to censorship.

We’re already on the splinternet

In 2021, Facebook shut down Australian news content as a protest against the News Media Bargaining Code, leading to potential change in the industry.
Before that, organisations such as Wikipedia and Google protested the winding back of network neutrality provisions in the US in 2017 following earlier campaigns.
The splinternet isn’t that different from what we already have.
Read more:
Tim Berners-Lee's plan to save the internet: give us back control of our data

From being mildly late to sucking on people's tears – what is a 'beige flag' on TikTok?

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 5, 2023

Food, ByteDance, Tears, Thought, Disaster, LGBTIQ, Boredom, Social media, Video game, Entertainment, Creative industries, Film industry, Guardian, TikTok, Facebook

The newest trend to hit TikTok from a relationship trend perspective: beige flags.

Key Points:

The newest trend to hit TikTok from a relationship trend perspective: beige flags.
For those unfamiliar with the platform, TikTok, is a video-sharing social media platform originally released by ByteDance as “Douyin” in China.
As of February 2021, TikTok was downloaded over 2.6 billion times worldwide, and boasts approximately one billion monthly average users.
A trend which allows for both discussion and change in the relationship space but may also reinforce pre-existing boundaries and norms.

What is a “beige flag”?

In essence, the person wasn’t a “red flag” but a “beige flag” – for boredom.
The TikTok beige flag definition refers to the odd quirks your partner may have – which bother you, but you are willing to accept.
Those developing the content around beige flags are usually in a long-term relationship and the post is framed as satirical or humorous.

Romance on TikTok

In this case, and via TikTok, users are playing into a well-known, white, western storyline: the romantic masterplot, and in particular the rom-com format.
Indeed, many of these relationship reels on TikTok rely on humour to entertain audiences, through beige flags or other intimacy trends, which are usually exaggerated for comedic effect.
By presenting these scenarios in a humorous way, TikTok can both entertain audiences and also help to normalise the idea that dating and relationships are processes fraught with potential missteps and pitfalls.

Sites of struggle and negotiation

Academic Martin Nakata argues online spaces – such as TikTok – can be understood as digitally mediated “sites of struggle over the meaning of [our] experience”.
Meaning that they are spaces where users can discuss, share opinions, contest and form new ways of thinking.

The 'truther playbook': tactics that explain vaccine conspiracy theorist RFK Jr's presidential momentum

Retrieved on:

Friday, June 2, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a self-described vaccine sceptic, announced his candidacy to run for president as a Democrat in April.

Key Points:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a self-described vaccine sceptic, announced his candidacy to run for president as a Democrat in April.
Our new study on the rhetorical techniques used to spread vaccine disinformation partly explains Kennedy’s appeal to voters.
We examined the strategies of RFK Jr and American osteopath Joseph Mercola, two prominent members of the “disinformation dozen”.

1. Identity and belonging

COVID truthers offer their followers access to an exclusive in-group identity.
They adhere to a dualistic belief system that divides the world into good and bad actors, light and dark forces.
For COVID truthers, it is not simply that their opponents have acted through ignorance or error – they frame them as corrupt and evil.

2. True knowledge and enlightenment

Figures such as Kennedy and Mercola capitalise on this, appealing to those disillusioned with the government’s official narrative.
They present themselves as having access to privileged knowledge and understanding.
They do this by revealing alternative “facts” that contradict the official narrative, and that they claim have been concealed from the public.

3. Meaning and purpose

COVID truthers provide their followers with meaning, offering a reason to believe in a greater purpose.
This can take the form of New Age spirituality, suggesting that humanity is undergoing a “shift in consciousness”, or a more secular commitment to truth, freedom and justice.
Kennedy frequently deploys the language of social justice in his posts and newsletters, as a rallying call to unite his followers.

4. Leadership and guidance

Kennedy’s campaign contrasts the power of corrupt government institutions, corporate cronyism and nefarious media elites with the powerlessness that the disenfranchised public feels.
As a consequence, he positions himself as an incorruptible leader with the capacity to “clean up government”, restore civil liberties, and speak truth to power.

Why this matters

Filings with charity regulators show that revenue for Kennedy’s organisation more than doubled in 2020, to US$6.8 million.
In our current post-truth era, where opinions often triumph over facts, influencers and celebrities can achieve authority.