Family

Saturday June 17, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday June 17, 2023

Reflecting on Father’s Day and the Importance of Taking a Break from the News

May 13, 2023

Father’s Day serves as a reminder to appreciate the important people in our lives and cherish the moments spent with loved ones. In a world filled with doom and gloom, taking a break from the constant barrage of negative news can be crucial for our well-being. Recent events, such as climate change-induced wildfires in Canada, the tragic Manitoba bus accident, rising interest rates, and the ongoing political polarization, highlight the overwhelming amount of negative information that bombards us daily.

It’s no secret that journalists tend to focus on negative news, and political coverage often adopts a cynical or pessimistic tone. This trend has only intensified over time, leading to a decline in trust in the media and an increasing number of individuals avoiding the news altogether due to its detrimental impact on their mood. This negativity bias, rooted in human psychology, causes people to pay more attention to negative information than positive news. Both news consumers and journalists are influenced by this bias, and it poses a challenge for the media landscape.

Fortunately, there are signs of improvement. The rise of diverse media outlets has created a market for good news, catering to those seeking positive stories. However, platforms like Facebook, with their algorithmic structures, can inadvertently reinforce negativity biases, leaving news consumers torn between their desire for positive news and their immediate attraction to negative stories. Striking the right balance between catering to immediate preferences and providing long-term well-being is a challenge faced by news outlets and social networks alike.

Study: Bad News: Negativity Increases Online News Consumption  

November 1, 2022

A study published in Nature Human Behaviour shed light on the influence of negative news headlines. It revealed that negative words in headlines increase click-through rates, while positive words decrease them. This research suggests that people are more likely to consume negative news, particularly in the realms of politics and economics. Although this bias is not solely the fault of journalists and editors, it raises ethical concerns and contributes to audience anxiety. The online news environment, with its fierce competition for attention, and the optimization of headlines for engagement further perpetuate the prevalence of negative news.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the trajectory of news media sentiment, researchers have compared the sentiment and emotional undertones of news content over different time periods. A research project analyzing 23 million headlines from popular news outlets in the United States between 2000 and 2019 found that mainstream news media headlines have gradually become more negative over time. Headlines with negative connotations have become more prevalent, while those with positive undertones have decreased. This shift in sentiment is noticeable across various news outlets and can be partially attributed to ideological leanings, with right-leaning media consistently portraying more negative headlines.

Emotional undertones in headlines have also experienced a notable change. The proportion of anger and fear has nearly doubled, while sadness and disgust have seen a smaller increase. Emotionally neutral headlines, on the other hand, have become less common. Interestingly, the increase in anger-inducing headlines is more prevalent in right-leaning outlets, while the surge in fear and decline of emotionally neutral headlines are observable across media outlets regardless of their ideological leanings.

Essay: I Thought I Was Fatherless. Then I Realized What a Father Was.  

June 5, 2012

The reasons behind this phenomenon are multifaceted. Financial pressures to maximize click-through rates, driven by declining revenue in the media industry, likely contribute to the increasing negativity and emotional intensity of headlines. Additionally, crafting headlines to serve political agendas, veering away from fact-based objectivity, may also play a role. While the higher occurrence of negative and angry headlines in right-leaning media is noteworthy, the exact causes are open to speculation and require further research.

It is undeniable that news consumption can be disheartening in today’s world, and the extent of negativity depends on what sources one follows. As researchers continue to delve deeper into the impact of negative news content on readers and democratic institutions, it is essential for individuals to recognize the toll it can take on their well-being. Father’s Day serves as a reminder to prioritize spending time with loved ones, creating warm and positive moments that provide respite from the constant influx of negative information. By finding a balance between staying informed and nurturing our personal relationships, we can foster a healthier and happier mindset. (AI)

 

Saturday May 13, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 13, 2023

Happy AI Mother’s Day

April 15, 2023

Anyone looking to celebrate Mother’s Day with a personal touch can now turn to Moonpig, the online customised greetings card retailer, for assistance. The company is testing the use of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by OpenAI, to create personalised messages or poems for loved ones. ChatGPT has quickly become an essential tool in many industries since its beta version was released a few months ago. Estate agents in the United States use the tool’s automation to write property descriptions, recruiters prepare for an influx of AI-written cover letters and CVs, and media companies utilize the tool to write articles, albeit with concerns of alleged plagiarism. 

May 13, 2017

While the use of AI for generic text, such as greeting cards, may be the future, experts believe that it could also trigger a new renaissance in the value placed on personal emotions. However, some social media watchers are concerned about the cost to human connection and relationships over a lifetime. It’s important to think more deeply about the impact that AI has on our lives and how we live, cautions Andres Guadamuz, a reader in intellectual property law at the University of Sussex. Academics and teachers are already adapting assessments for the use of tools like ChatGPT, while others are advocating for co-creation with the model. Despite this, Guadamuz believes that society is not prepared for the ubiquity of AI-generated things in our lives, which may even extend to personal assistants, writing emails, doing taxes, or ending relationships. 

May 10, 2008

With ChatGPT, Mother’s Day can be marked with a unique, personalized greeting card, but it’s important to consider the role of AI in our lives and how we can best use it for our benefit. (AI)

 

Saturday March 25, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 25, 2023

When the Rain Cloud of Affordability Strikes

March 23, 2023

The cost of living is a complex issue that affects people from all walks of life. It’s not just about the price of goods and services, but also about the availability of affordable housing, healthcare, and education, among other things. Unfortunately, for many families, the cost of living has become a dark cloud that hangs over their heads, threatening to rain down financial ruin.

To illustrate this point, let’s imagine a satirical scenario where a family is out for a leisurely walk on a sunny day, only to be suddenly caught in a downpour. As the rain pours down around them, they realize that they’re completely soaked through and shivering. Looking up, they see a dark cloud hovering over their heads, representing the affordability crisis that has made their lives so difficult.

The family looks at each other in dismay. They know that they can’t afford to go home and change their clothes, let alone buy a new set of rain gear to protect themselves from future storms. They’re stuck, cold and wet, with no way out.

As they trudge through the rain, they notice other families in the same predicament. Some are huddled under awnings, trying to stay dry. Others are frantically trying to find a way to get home without getting even more soaked. But there’s no escape from the rain, and no relief from the financial pressure that is bearing down on them.

January 31, 2023

In this scenario, the rain represents the constant financial stress that families face in the face of rising costs and stagnant wages. The dark cloud symbolizes the looming sense of uncertainty that hangs over their heads, making it difficult to plan for the future or feel secure in their present circumstances.

As the family finally makes it home, they realize that they’ve been lucky to make it through the rain without any major mishaps. But they also know that they can’t keep living like this forever. They need real solutions to the affordability crisis, not just band-aid fixes that will only delay the inevitable.

LINK: Ontario unveils biggest-ever $204B budget, but one with little to ease daily affordability issues (CBC) 

It’s time for society as a whole to take a serious look at the cost of living and work together to find solutions that will benefit everyone. Whether it’s through policy changes, community initiatives, or individual actions, we can all play a role in helping families weather the storm of financial hardship and find a path towards a brighter, more secure future. (AI)

 

Thursday January 5, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 5, 2023

Ottawa is passing the buck on this holiday season’s air travel chaos

December 23, 2022

Over the past couple of weeks, air travellers have experienced what will likely be remembered as the most difficult Christmas travel peak in recent memory. For Canadians, it was a sad repeat of the challenges they faced last summer. While much of the chaos air travellers experienced this Christmas can be chalked up to bad weather, those travelling with Southwest Airlines and Sunwing, in particular, saw their plans upended by challenging recoveries in the days that followed.

Both airlines saw their operations turned upside down, leaving thousands of customers affected. But that is where the similarities end. The response of the respective airlines, as well as that of the senior-most transportation official in each country, couldn’t have been more different.

Southwest made the difficult but ultimately correct decision to reset their severely disrupted operations by cancelling upwards of two-thirds of their flights for much of the week following Dec. 23 to get aircraft and crew back in place. By Dec. 30, Southwest resumed near normal operations and started its recovery.

April 23, 2014

Sunwing, on the other hand, correctly, however belatedly, leased aircraft from other carriers to deal with their stranded customers but also was forced to cancel flights until February, including all its flights out of Saskatchewan. While the airline confirms that most stranded travellers have now returned to Canada, the longer-term cancellations make it clear that the airline marketed and sold flights which they did not have enough resources to operate. Where Southwest took the “short-term pain for long-term gain” approach, Sunwing decided that extending and spreading the pain well into the winter season made more sense.

While U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on virtually every major network news program, Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra took to Twitter to voice his concern.

Against this backdrop of air travel chaos, several key lessons can be drawn. The first and most important lesson is to be pro-active.

Many of the issues faced by travellers were not only predictable, they were predicted. The problems travellers encountered during the summer peak became self-evident by spring yet nothing was done. With its sprawling bureaucracy, it should not be too much to expect Transport Canada to better monitor operational performance so that trends can be more easily identified and appropriately addressed. 

May 25, 2022

Mr. Alghabra spent 2022 playing catch-up rather than leading. He should be the last person in Canada surprised by anything happening at airports during his watch, yet feigning surprise or being firmly in denial, was his and his department’s modus operandi. By being pro-active, he could have helped alleviate some of the long lines at airport security and customs that plagued airports last summer and could have been in a stronger position to encourage Sunwing to repatriate its stranded customers in a more timely fashion. (Continued: The Globe and Mail) 

 

Saturday July 2, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday July 2, 2022

The misery of waiting overnight in line in hopes of getting a passport

May 25, 2022

After two days and one night lining up outside the passport office at downtown Vancouver’s Sinclair Centre, Kris Hansen still hadn’t made it inside, still hadn’t spoken to a single Service Canada official. The 50-something school principal spent a Thursday night last week under a blanket on the sidewalk on Hastings. There were no security guards outside. No Porta Potties. No signage. No one in line had any idea when – or if – they would be seen.

After sitting cross-legged on the concrete for hours on end, Mr. Hansen had bought himself a canvas camping chair. He was trying to renew his son’s passport. The boy wants to see his dying grandfather in Japan one last time. He is desperate to say goodbye.

“I have no choice,” Mr. Hansen said, shaking violently from the bitter, pre-dawn cold. “I know how much this means to him.”

A few minutes later, a kind soul began handing out blue plastic ponchos, to help cut the north wind coming off the Burrard Inlet.

“I’m just so tired,” Mr. Hansen said, his eyes filling with tears. “I haven’t slept. I’ve had to cancel classes. There are so many better ways this could be handled. This is lacking all logic. All common decency.”

For the past five months, this is how people in B.C.’s Lower Mainland have been applying for – and renewing – their passports. A surge in demand is creating massive backlogs across the country. The wait times at the Surrey passport office are just as bad. The office in Richmond doesn’t have a printer able to create passports. Last week, police had to be called to the Montreal passport office to help with large crowds.

A week earlier, the federal government rolled out a new “triaging” system to deal with the passport crisis, which began ahead of March break: Those flying out in less than 48 hours are now given priority access, explained Karina Gould, Minister of Children, Families and Social Development, whose portfolio is responsible for the passport office.

So, people began immediately booking tickets for fake trips that they won’t be taking, to increase their odds of actually setting foot inside a Service Canada office.

Julie Scott-Ashe, a GIS mapping analyst with the B.C. government, managed to secure an appointment at a Saskatoon passport office. Saskatoon and Regina are the only two passport offices in the country with appointments before August. Since it would cost $1,200 to fly to Saskatchewan from Vancouver, she is planning to book a cheap flight to Edmonton, then rent a car and drive the rest of the way.

She needs to renew her daughter’s passport, so their family in Europe can reunite for the first time since the pandemic began.

Five months into the crisis, Canadian passport offices still close for weekends and holidays. They still shutter at 4, every afternoon. Last week, the Vancouver office had just half the 15 staff that normally work there.

Why hadn’t Ottawa asked bureaucrats to temporarily help staff passport offices, Ms. Scott-Ashe wondered. Before B.C. began rolling out COVID-19 vaccines, she noted, the province encouraged its civil servants to volunteer to work on the project. (The Globe & Mail)