A descendant of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19, is spreading rapidly in England. This has led to concerns that the new variant, called AY.4.2, may be partly responsible for the high rate of infections in the United Kingdom. Based on what we know so far, however, the new variant is unlikely to be the main culprit. Over the past year, the evolution of new, increasingly infectious variants of SARS-CoV-2 has fueled surges in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world. In the U.K., the Alpha variant caused a spike in…
Author: Loknath Das
Abstract Social network sites (SNSs) are increasingly attracting the attention of academic and industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach. This special theme section of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication brings together scholarship on these emergent phenomena. In this introductory article, we describe features of SNSs and propose a comprehensive definition. We then present one perspective on the history of such sites, discussing key changes and developments. After briefly summarizing existing scholarship concerning SNSs, we discuss the articles in this special section and conclude with considerations for future research. Introduction Since their introduction, social network sites (SNSs) such as MySpace, Facebook,…
People opposing vaccine mandates, or COVID vaccines more broadly, have claimed the vaccines violate the Nuremberg Code. They say COVID vaccines are experimental and people have been coerced into vaccination. They say this breaches the ethical code drawn up after the second world war to guide medical research and human clinical trials. But this argument is flawed. Here’s why the Nuremberg Code doesn’t apply, and how to correct this misunderstanding. What is the Nuremberg Code? The Nuremberg Code was a direct response to atrocities Nazi doctors performed in concentration camps during WWII. They perpetrated this so-called medical experimentation on people with no capacity to…
Some users have reportedly been asked by Instagram to provide a video selfie taken from multiple angles to verify their account. According to XDADevelopers, several users have said they were asked to take a video selfie to verify their current accounts. For the uninitiated, the social platform began testing the feature last year, but stopped midway because of technical issues. Instagram has struggled with the issue of bot accounts for a long time, and such accounts usually send spam messages, harass other users and artificially inflate followers. This is the reason why the app is looking to curb the prevalence of bots on the…
Imagine you were compiling a course curriculum for a class on online marketing. What would be your go-to resources? In digging through my bookmarks and starred articles, I noticed a growing list of awesome stories and helpful links. If I threw them all together, it’d make for quite the collection! I’d love to share with you what I’ve got so far, and it’d be awesome if you’d consider adding any personal favorites in the comments. Here is what I’ve bookmarked as my must-read social media articles and content marketing resources. 23 Must-Read Social Media Articles and Content Resources 1. Stock and Flow Robin…
Much research investigating detrimental aspects of social media Use focuses on person characteristics and happens in isolation from each other Currently, nearly four billion people all over the world use platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WeChat or TikTok (Clement, 2020; Wearesocial.com, 2020). Given the impact that social media platforms have on humanity, it is not surprising that important lines of research seek to shed light on the who and why questions in the context of (over-)use of social media [for a comprehensive definition of the term “social media” see (Carr and Hayes, 2015)]. The who-question aims to understand who uses social media, whereas the why-question asks why people are using social…
The impact of plastic banknotes Over the years much have been discussed about the impact of plastic on the environment, with striking images and news of it harming animal and human health. In fact, past research revealed that plastic banknotes are distinctively worse for the planet than cotton-based as they have a high carbon footprint and increase permanent waste at the end-of-life cycle. According to statistics, between 1950 and 2015, more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic were produced worldwide. Not even 10% of this was recycled. The negative environmental impact is also exacerbated by the ongoing problem of counterfeiting plastic banknotes,…
When you’re thinking about creating a social media strategy for your business, a few leading platforms probably come to mind right away: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and maybe YouTube or Pinterest, depending on your industry. However, there are many types of social media sites out there, with new platforms and formats popping up on the regular. Some of them are pretty niche, while others have the potential to become the next Instagram or TikTok. One thing that’s changed since the early days of social media is that many platforms used to focus on one function, such as social networking or image sharing. Now,…
Since early August, the Indian government has imposed a communication blackout on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, slashing telephone, cellular, internet, and television connectivity. The move, a precautionary measure to mitigate any unrest following recent political changes in the region, has left residents cut off from the rest of the world—and scientists unable to do their work. “Research has come to a standstill,” says one Kashmiri scientist, who declined to be named, fearing government retaliation. Following a landslide victory in the general elections in India earlier this year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took the contentious step to…
Digital transformation is crucial to the survival and growth of businesses because of the ever-changing and competitive landscape that all organizations need to contend with. However, when you don’t have the talent in place to support these efforts, transformation and modernization efforts can be a struggle. Nearshore staff augmentation can support and accelerate capacity for the development of your project’s backlog and increase the quality of your delivery. Unosquare is in its 12th year of proven success as a premier software development agency delivering collaborative talent to work on enterprise-level applications. We know what it takes to walk through the process of digital transformation…