Monthly Archives: April 2020

What happens to coworking communities when they cant be physically close to one another? The theories are being put to the test as people practice physical distancing.

Like many people-focused industries, coworking has been forced to put its regular activities on hold, at least temporarily, while the world adapts to physical distancing measures.

Here at Allwork.Space we choose to refer to these measures as physical distancing rather than social distancing, as we believe that social experiences can (and should) continue even while we keep physically distant from one another. We are human after all, and we thrive on social contact. Its a natural part of our wellbeing, and while many people around the world are living and working in near-isolation, we need each other more than ever.

Amy Banks for Psychology Today explains the thinking behind physical distancing vs. social distancing as acknowledging that the virus has no power over our ability to support and nurture one another in this time of extraordinary threat.

Advocating for re-naming the national strategy as physical distancing, Banks says that this change emphasises the need for human connection so we can remain safe, but also hold onto the heightened need we all have for one another right now.

Giving our need for connection a workout

Banks noted that we all need our connections during this extraordinary time.

Perhaps now more than ever we must be intentional about giving our neural pathways for connection a workout.

And thats exactly what the coworking world is doing.

Coworking was born out of our need for person-to-person contact, connections, and collaboration. Thousands of shared hubs and communities have mushroomed across the world in the past decade or so, driven by our natural desire to be close and interact with other people. Thats why millions of people, even those who can do their work remotely, choose to work from a coworking space every day.

So what happens when that physical place is suddenly removed?

Some coworking owners have always said that the physical space doesnt matter, that communities can move, and will move, with you. That theory is being put to the test during the health crisis as coworking spaces take their communities online.

Virtual coworking

Last week, Cat Johnson hosted a Coworking Convo dedicated to virtual coworking, how it works, whats working, and whats not.

Virtual coworking brings workspace communities together in a digital space. This usually involves a scheduled video call using a platform such as Zoom, to which displaced coworking members can log in and work or socialise (or both) with their coworkers.

Suggested Reading: Virtual Coworking: Keeping Members Connected During Lockdown

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Some sessions are structured, and may involve a work sprint or a workshop with an expert speaker. Other times, the sessions are open and flexible, enabling people to join for a little while and simply enjoy being around other people.

More than 170 participants joined Cats online discussion, which shows just how important this activity is at the present time.

Attendees shared some of the things that are working for their online communities, and the challenges they have faced over the past few weeks.

Here are some of the takeaways from the Convo (find out more about future Coworking Convo events here):

If youre looking for inspiration for virtual coworking events, take a look at Cat Johnsons list of 25 virtual activities for coworking communities.

How is virtual coworking working for you? How are you keeping your community engaged? Get in touch and share your ideas with us.

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Virtual Coworking Is Giving Our Need For Connection A Workout - Allwork.Space

Only about 14% of Native American people attend college, and many often dont graduate. TaraJean Yazzie-Mintz, currently the CEO of First Light Education, has spent decades trying to lower the many barriers facing Native young people as they try to access higher education.

On the Harvard EdCast, Yazzie-Mintz stressed how higher education needs to focus more on creating a welcoming environment, particularly for Native people. In higher ed institutions, it's not enough to say the doors are open, because if you're not authentic about opening the doors [it] creates a whole other series of questions around the relationship," she says. "How do you build that once people walk through the door? If you're not thinking about that question, the institution has the ability to push out people who will feel they're not welcome. And that tends to be a sentiment that is voiced or named or spoken, is that Native students don't belong in these institutions.

Yazzie-Mintz highlighted some of ways that college campuses can create more intentional belonging and support for their Native students.

Jill Anderson: I am Jill Anderson. This is the Harvard EdCast. Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz knows about the many barriers facing Native people in getting to college. She spent the past few decades working across the sector, creating better access to education. Still, there's this invisibility that's unique to Native people she says. Only about 14% of Native Americans attend college and many often leave. I asked Tarajean about the struggles facing young Native people trying to access higher education in America.

Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz: For people from Native communities to make their way to college, the conversation has happened at an early age. Our schools that are preparing young people for that opportunity need to have that conversation. So the way in which we flow into institutions of higher education is one area that we can look and understand what's going on in terms of college access for American Indian, Alaskan Natives in the United States. That's one line. There's a whole another way to think about lifelong learning and career opportunities. And so the flip side of that is that we don't ask what are Native families, Native individuals engaged in if they don't go to college? And it's not as if nothing's happening, there's a lot of other kinds of opportunities that people might take advantage of. Become entrepreneurs, work within our tribal governments and work within school systems at levels where they may not need a college education.

There's two sides to that question. There is, when we get to just focus on the college question though, the idea of helping Native students stay in college and graduate, persist and graduate. It's a whole different conversation when you're talking about institutions made for, that weren't developed by Native communities. So we have a whole system out there called tribal colleges and universities. Those are higher ed institutions that were developed by tribal communities or tribal nations. Those kinds of institutions are different than say going to a state college or community college or a place like Harvard. Different purposes for how they were built as institutions and different strategies for what a student might get in those institutions. In terms of support, emotional, social support, academic support, opportunities for career pathways. So all of those pieces come together and I think it's a really important question for institution of higher education to think about, what are we offering in terms of a holistic model to students who historically this has not been their path to gaining a higher education, gaining other pathways to different kinds of careers that require a college degree.

What does that look like? I think is really critical to think about.

Jill Anderson: Would you be willing to share some of your own story because clearly you've gone very far with your own education?

Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz: Well, I think my story may match with some Native individuals out there, but it's also very, I think, unique. I am a daughter of educators, so I grew up in a family where both of my parents had master's degrees. And if you can imagine that already sets you up for a particular kind of experience in life and knowledge about what all the different opportunities along the way might be in terms of education. And I also had the opportunity to go to a private preparatory school for high school away from my home community. So I grew up in the Navajo nation and when I got to high school I went to a Quaker boarding school outside of Philadelphia. And that experience opened up the world for me in terms of thinking about college in a different way, because college was always a conversation in our family because my parents went to college, earned their graduate degrees.

All of those things, if you can imagine credit stacking up on top of each other over time and experiences, the trajectory that I've had is coming out of that environment growing up and then each of those networks then grows upon itself. So I eventually went to Arizona State University where a different kind of experience was going there and being educated again with other Native students. Because when I went to my preparatory school, I was the only Native student other than my sister who was also there for one year while I was going to school. And so going from a predominantly non-Native educational context into college where then I got to reconnect with other Native students who are also going to college, it just shifted what my experience was like in a state university. And then that flipped again when I went and came here to Harvard to work on my doctorate, coming to a predominantly White institution and being one of maybe three people who are working on a Ph.D. at the time.

And then one of maybe I think we could count ourselves as something like 30 something students at the time that I was here, Native students across the entire system of college all the way up to the PhD programs. Now today I think we're over a hundred maybe even 200 here at Harvard I think. My experience is always been backed up by the fact that both of my parents were educators, deeply rooted in this idea that education is a critical component to helping our communities change. And they were engaged, my parents were engaged in that change on a daily basis. And it's something that just runs through my veins. My brother is a teacher, my sister is a professor at a university. The idea of ending up being teachers in some level or another was like you just blossom, you grow into that role.

Jill Anderson: What would you say is the more typical experience of a Native person on the reservation, a young person, I guess we should say with education?

Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz: Well, this one's a hard question because I think those that didn't have my experience of preparatory education, having opportunity to be mentored by other Natives as well as Native faculty. Others are as successful as I have been, so there's that. But I think when you refer to that composite of the statistics that we see, those students, those individuals are going through educational systems that are challenging and they can fall into different categories of K-12 education. So it could be a state public school, could be a tribally controlled school, or it could be a federally funded federally controlled school, or it could be a school that is run by a religious organization or be a religious institution. There's a lot of different kinds of education happening in Native communities across the US. So if you imagine those students in these institutions that I think the biggest disconnect is, what are all of the structures between home and school that elevate or support Native students?

And I would say that they're not all there for that composite, that picture, that demographic that shows up in the statistics that we see. It's not just that the education is not of high quality, there's something else going on I think in terms of the opportunities that these students see both within their family, their community and schools. So there's a place, if you can imagine a Venn diagram and there's that little middle point where these circles of support or education for young people, they need to intersect and sometimes they're not intersecting. So home and school's not intersecting or home and community or home and school, they're not intersecting. And when you get the right intersection, I think that that's where you're going to see opportunity for success. When you see a disconnection of those pieces, I think what you're going to see are students who are disconnected from education, disconnected from learning opportunities. There's a couple of different kinds of studies that are out there that look at the status of education.

The K-12, the National Indian Education Study uses NAEPE scores and takes an intersection of American Indian, Alaskan Natives and takes a look at what's going on with this group of students. That measures only their ability to read, engage in science, math, and then there's certain indicators about what success looks like under those components. There's other ways in which we could be looking at success that we haven't been really successful at doing. For me, being more of a qualitative researcher, I'm very interested in the intersections between what students get in terms of support and socio-emotional, more holistic composite of success. And that's a different way to look at what's happening in Native communities for these students. It's not a perfect system, I definitely would agree that it's a very challenging context for Natives to move through and then make their way into a post secondary education experience.

Jill Anderson: One of the things that often comes up is this need to create access and open their doors, but do you think that's really even enough? When hearing you talk, it feels like it's less about just opening the doors and more about going and meeting Native people where they are.

Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz: This is going to sound really strange, but the idea of institutions opening their door, it makes me think of hosting. Institutions have to be serious about the idea of hosting people into their spaces in ways that are authentic. And what I mean by that is, I don't know how to say it differently, but it's like if you have your own home and you're inviting someone in, what are all the things you need to do to prepare for that person to be comfortable in your home if you're a good host? If you're a good host, you're going to be thinking about what do they need? Do they have food allergies? Do they have ability issues around walking up the stairs? I mean all these different things come into your mind when you're preparing to be a good host to a guest. And in higher ed institutions, it's not enough to say the doors are open, because if you're not authentic about opening the doors and opening the doors then creates a whole another series of questions around relationship. How do you build that once people walk through the door?

If you're not thinking about that question, the institution has the ability to push out people who will feel they're not welcome. And that tends to be a sentiment that is voiced or named or spoken, is that Native students don't belong in these institutions and they at some point or another may articulate that and then leave. There's another side of that that I try to think about the way that I, I'll say survived, was I understood to a pretty good degree what predominantly White institutions were. And I didn't expect that everything would be easy for me and I didn't expect for them to know everything about my background as a Native person. I struggled through, but I figured out what were the resources that I needed to be successful and I focused very strongly on academic preparation. What were the tools that were offered on campus to help me learn what I needed to learn academically?

I felt very strongly grounded in my cultural and social foundation that that's not what I needed when I was in this institutions. I had a very strong understanding of who I am as a Native woman, as a Native college student, I knew who I was, where I came from, who my parents were, and I understood the challenges that my family, cousins went through to be who they are. So to me, to be in these institutions was a luxury. And that for me, contextualizing it that way meant that I could survive going through some of the hardships of the kinds of doubting about feeling you're ready to be there or that you had the right skills and knowledge to succeed. And yeah, I wasn't going to be the A student, I might be the barely passing student. But I was going to stay in it and sometimes that could potentially be good enough.

Jill Anderson: What would make an institution a better host for Native people?

Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz: I can only answer it in parts that probably don't link together very well right now. Being a very observant and planful host means that you know who's coming to your institution, that you've spent some time thinking about what were these young people's experiences coming to us and they might be diverse. My experience coming in to the ed school would be very different than when, a couple of my colleagues who had different experiences coming in and different support systems. And so knowing what that is, Harvard has the Harvard University Native American Program and that was critical, it was a critical physical space as well as a cultural space. And in all these different institutions, there is a need for a space, a physical space where Native students can go and it provides you that break from all that other stuff that you're trying to motor through. I think one of the other things about universities and institutions of higher learning is, there is a disconnect between what faculty you're engaged in and in terms of their teaching and what they're engaged in in their research.

And what I've seen and observed both as a student and then later as a faculty member at any university is faculty's attention and their worth is determined by their research that they produce. Which takes away from them actually focusing in on the students that they're trying to teach. It's not just within the institutions I've worked in, but talking with students across the country, with those that are Native students and students who are not White. They experience this, their education is not being taken seriously by faculty members. So in institution of higher learning, it's a big call to faculty to reconnect with the art of teaching and being connected with the art of teaching means that you pay attention to who you're teaching. Who's in your courses, how do you help them learn, not just to push them off onto a teaching assistant teaching fellow, but to care. Those are things that I know higher ed institutions as an entity have a very difficult identity to overcome. And some of the structures within higher ed institutions create that inability to connect with students who are learners, who are coming to these institutions.

And I think about it this way, when I was teaching, I thought about my students as this are the students who need to change the world and I'm going to give them 100% of my time when I'm teaching them. That was a very different philosophy than some of my colleagues in my same department or even my same school of education. Very different way of thinking about how we spend our time and how we invest in the next generation of educators who are going to ultimately be in these classrooms teaching babies all the way up to PhD students. They all need to be taken care of and a really good host, being a really strong teacher is so central in this question about success. If you're a good teacher, you're going to know what's going on with the students that are sitting in your classrooms.

Jill Anderson: Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz is founder and principal consultant of First Light Education. I'm Jill Anderson, this concludes the spring season of the Harvard EdCast produced by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Look for special episodes of the Harvard EdCast coming this summer. Thanks for listening.

In the complex world of education, we keep the focus simple: what makes a difference for learners, educators, parents, and our communities

The Harvard EdCast is a weekly podcast about the ideas that shape education, from early learning through college and career. We talk to teachers, researchers, policymakers, and leaders of schools and systems in the US and around the world looking for positive approaches to the challenges and inequties in education. One of the driving questions we explore: How can the transformative power of education reach every learner? Through authentic conversation, we work to lower the barriers of educations complexities so that everyone can understand

Find the EdCast on iTunes, Soundcloud, and Stitcher.

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Harvard EdCast: Improving College Access for Native People - Harvard Graduate School of Education

After last nights announcement of the three 2019-2020 Halls of the Year, the Hall Presidents Council Executive Board would like to provide background about the year-long process of promoting resident life in our halls, up to and including the award determination. The year has shown tremendous community development for each of Notre Dames 31 halls. Especially during this unprecedented year where we are unable to celebrate these halls on campus in person we believe in the integral component dorms play in the life and education of students at Notre Dame. We see this every day still in the Zoom hall councils and online community building that hall executives are doing during our time away from campus.

We, the Hall Presidents Council, are a group of 31 sets of Hall Presidents and Vice Presidents that serve our individual halls and collaborate to bolster the Notre Dame community. Our Executive Board consists of six former Hall Presidents and Vice Presidents: Co-Chairs Tom Walsh and John Desler, Athletics Chair Gracie OConnell, Social Chairs Amanda Bono and Maddie Heyn and Finance Chair Frank Dijak. Our purpose is to foster a community of friendship and learning for all the halls. We coordinate programming among residence halls, provide a forum in which our members can represent their constituents in discussing matters of resident life, and disseminate information to the hall communities. In short, we hope to ensure that students of Notre Dame are developing personally, as members of the hall community, and as members of the community beyond the hall. Hall Presidents Council also allocates funding for Signature Events, an important part of campus culture and hall identity. In the 2019-2020 academic year, there were an intended seventy residence hall Signature Events.

This year, the Hall of the Year calculation included 50% Rockne submissions (taking the average score of seven monthly submissions) 45% Hall of the Year Presentation and a 5% discretionary allotment, which is updated each year to represent matters deemed important to the campus community by our executive board. Constitutionally the 5% that normally is a grade of a hall council was added to the presentation weight as we were not able to complete all of them before the cancellation of in-person classes. This year, the five percentage points were allocated for developing the GreeNDot program in hall communities and growing the participation in hall events open to the campus community. Midway through the first semester we sent benchmarks for both of these that the halls would have to pass to get the allotment. The GreeNDot benchmark was 400 points, following a system based on an allocation for percentage trained and events held by halls that the executive board and director of GreeNDot agreed upon. Participation was a benchmark of 50% of the dorm headcount checking in at a qualifying dorm participation event. Both of these benchmarks were then adjusted down to compensate for the lost time. 338 points for GreeNDot based on the days experienced vs expected and 22.58% because only 14 out of 31 qualifying events were able to occur. Using these measures as a lens, the Hall of the Year Review Board was able to evaluate the degree to which hall communities flourished this year.

The 2019-2020 Mens Hall of the Year was awarded to Dunne Hall. This hall exemplified a lot of characteristics that the hall of the year award works to encourage halls to move towards, but most importantly this year we were continuously impressed with this dorms authenticity and constant endeavor to improve their events and community. It was important to this community that they craft a strong identity to serve as a foundation for the men of Dunne Hall for years to come. Their leadership made hard choices about cutting events that were not reaching their community in the way they were intended and worked with commissioners to make the events they kept around to be the best they could last for the years to come. This year in particular they started a new mens group to share in their faith and made a stronger presence for themselves with other dorms with several joint hall councils and intercommunity building events. Within their own dorm they worked with their commissioners to improve their retreat and dance. Their hall councils reached record attendances and kept them up with new fun traditions. In true spirit of community, in their Rocknes and presentation they gave credit to the hard work of their commissioners and residents.

The leadership of Dunne Hall strived to create a home for their residents, despite the hall not having many traditions of its own. Popular signature events such as the DunneDance Film Festival and the Dunne Funne Runne made a name for this hall on campus, which this year is especially impressive considering they still received submissions and were able to hold their film festival on Zoom during quarantine. However, they did not just focus on improving their established events; the hall held a slew of inaugural events throughout the year. They held new events such as their very first parents weekend and a mentorship meet and greet for their First Years. At the beginning of their term, the leaders of this hall established a traditions committee to plan events that would build a sense of hall identity and last for years to come. Taken from one of their Rocknes about their SYR, This event is one of the longest standing traditions in [this hall] (it has been around about 4 years). Even though seeing 30 guys dressed up as a beloved celebrity during a football game is already a pretty successful tradition, the men of this hall never settled and continued to build up their community throughout the year. Congratulations to president George Lyman and vice presidents Nick Spitzer and Carson Richter on an excellent year.

Womens Hall of the Year for 2019-2020 was awarded to Flaherty Hall. This womens hall started the year strong ready to improve and strengthen their community. They were intentional in their widespread collaborations with other halls, student groups and community partners. They reached the GreeNDot and hall participation allocation threshold with 449 points and 76% participation. They encouraged programming that included all types of residents and brought back old favorite events such as a holiday week, study abroad socials and an annual hype video. They strengthened their tie with Beacon Childrens Hospital throughout the year with fundraising, supply drives and DVD collections. Their focus on sustainability included creating a textbook exchange program, helping clean Saint Marys lake and collecting seven pounds of pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House.

Flahertys hall leadership team developed heart, mind and spirit for their fellow residents. They encouraged self-confidence through Grace & Gratitude, and created a safe space for difficult but much needed conversations surrounding mental health, sexual assault and female empowerment. Their fighting spirit extended beyond successful signature events and they inspired healthy lifestyles with pilates on the patio and a yearly retreat. This hall builds community and skills in many other ways such as balancing two food sales services along with Bear-BQing indoor and outdoor with other dorms. Their support for many causes such as the Boys and Girls Club of South Bend and Center for the Homeless show how eager they are to bear the load for others and support one another with enthusiasm and passion.

Their final presentation was structured like a resume. But like any recruiter at the career fair, we took a quick glance at it and threw it away. Because residential life at Notre Dame is not just about checking things off the list. That spirit that you hear about during Welcome Weekend, that spirit is not something you can point to, but rather something you can feel. This hall was always passionate about fostering community, within and between residence halls, and that is the mission of Hall Presidents Council.

Finally, the 2019-2020 Hall of the Year is Carroll Hall, led by President Aidan Cook and Vice President Jacob Stellon. When we first met these two, they had clear eyes set on one goal: winning Hall of the Year. Now, most of our hall presidents and vice presidents have this nominal goal in mind somewhere in their consideration of how they will approach their time in office, but what made Aidan and Jacob stand out was the way they interpreted this goal. They saw it as the natural culmination over the course of the year, we saw the tremendous growth of community and spirit, characterized by a culture of small acts guided by family and familiarity. Carroll, more than any other hall, represented a place of inclusivity and hall spirit, where all Vermin are welcome and loved. This atmosphere allowed for a fluid development of events that catered to every member of the community.

They had the perfect intersection of small events encompassing every conceivable aspect of life at Notre Dame. This programming included many lake cleanups, third-floor ab workouts with new partner dorms, lots of support for their brother/sister dorms and a new Carroll Cares volunteer program. None of these events seemed forced on their part, as they had terrific participation in most of these events. The frankly absurd Lime Week that has become a smash hit among the residents even with the untimely demise of Lime Bikes speaks to the fun community that is flourishing on the side of the lake. They have become a true family, bonded as they say by their 13-minute walk to Debart. Especially impressive was the large number of events collaborating with other dorms and unwavering participation in events across the campus even with their small numbers. They won the Dorm-Based Athletic Attendance Contest, easily had the most student participants in the Kelly Cares 5k, even though it was during the early morning of a football game day and knocking our own hall event participation out of the park.

We could continue to list the multitude of events Carroll put on a mens group, speaker series, etc. but its almost endless. What we really cared about was their genuineness in their actions, as everything they did helped the residents of their dorm. Aiden and Jacob wanted to put Carroll on the map and change the perception of the dorm. Instead of someone telling a freshman they are sorry they got put in Carroll they wanted that person to congratulate them and say how lucky they were instead. We believe Carroll Hall has done just that.

A huge congratulations to these three halls and the remaining twenty-eight, each of which we are extremely proud of for providing an inclusive, unique, and fun home for Notre Dame students. Our campus community will soon welcome one new residence hall in Baumer Hall as well as see the girls of Pangborn officially become the amazing community of Johnson Family. We cannot wait to begin Fall 2020 as 32 homes under one Dome. Thank you to all who helped make Hall Presidents Council 2019-2020 term a terrific one and helped us leave our mark on Notre Dame.

Hall Presidents Council

Tom Walsh

co-chair

John Desler

co-chair

Maddie Heyn

social chair

Amanda Bono

social chair

Frank Dijak

finance chair

Gracie OConnoll

athletics chair

Apr. 28

The views expressed in this Letter to the Editor are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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Hall Presidents Council: Hall of the Year award winners - Observer Online

Newspaper with missing coverage | photo: Adobe Stock

Huddled around a small, makeshift table in the local library, a group of African American women lamented problems affecting their community. Various challenges were making it difficult for black students to get a solid education in their school district. Kids lacked organized activities, which the women believed was fueling an opiate use epidemic. And people didnt have enough information about how to get Medicare benefits.

These issues, however, were rarely discussed by local media. The women struggled to remember when they had been interviewed by journalists. One, a business owner, had never been the subject of a profile, despite its long tenure in the community. These women felt local media had little concern about what was happening within the African American community. They felt invisible. Nobody knows what were thinking, because no one is asking us. No one cares how we feel, one said.

Another group, of Latinx community members, met in another room in the same library. They detailed how local media served little purpose to the communitys many Spanish speakers: Despite the rise in the Latinx population, no local news was printed in Spanish. When there are social events, this Hispanic community doesnt find out, said one participant. They dont want to take us into consideration.

Nationally, pundits and journalists work to understand why different demographic populations make specific political decisions. This is especially true of Democrats, as analysis of what demographic groups support what presidential primary candidates has come to dominate political coverage. Scholars and journalists across the nation have increasingly become concerned with understanding how media can better serve communities of color; this includes recent work from the authors of this piece. In our November 2019 piece, we argued that local news narratives too often marginalize the voices of people who are socially distant, but geographically near the journalists who cover them. In that case, we made the assessment of Proviso Township Illinois, a predominately black suburb of a racially diverse city, Chicago. We have also looked at issues affecting communities of color in Philadelphia, specifically the citys predominately-black Germantown neighborhood.

Yet as these pundits and researchers try to understand the voting and information needs of communities of color, they routinely ignore a large segment of the black and brown population. The women described above are all residents of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a town in Central Pennsylvaniaa largely rural, heavily conservative part of a swing state. For this reason, the authors of this study, along with a reporter from WHYY, an affiliate of National Public Radio based in Philadelphia, decided to travel to Chambersburg ahead of the 2020 election to better understand the needs and concerns of residents of color within this rural location. We partnered with WHYY to produce a series of stories and studies focused on the community, which is in the heart of a region that overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

With support from Facebooks Journalism Project , WHYY produced two stories focused specifically on racial and cultural issues in Chambersburg, including one about the communitys Latinx population.

For our part, we held a series of focus groups with different constituent groups in Chambersburg. Our goal was to understand residents information needs, and how storytelling networks operate. We facilitated four focus groups segmented by demographicsAfrican American, Latinx, white, leaders of community organizations. We wanted to see how local media served their information needs, and how they shared information on important topics from within their community. Finally, we also sought to find out what potential interventions could be made to better serve their communication needsa question of increasing importance today during the Coronavirus pandemic.

As discussed in his classic study of American journalism, scholar Herbert Gans identified small-town pastoralism as an enduring value within American newsrooms. Small towns, Gans argued, provide a stereotypical respite for people longing for a romanticized world where traditional values reign, and where community bonds are strong. Thus, when any news takes place that seems antithetical to this view, such as crime, development or other forms of change, newsroom storytellers construct narratives that frame such incidents as abnormal, or destructive to the wholesome ecosystem of such communities. Moreover, in defining the small town, Gans made it clear that there was a demographic element to nostalgia in such communities. Small towns represent white racial and ethnic enclaves, and maintenance of such homogeneity is key to the ability of such communities to retain the good life, as described by Gans.

Chambersburg was subjected to such reductionism by conservative commentator David Brooks in The Atlantic in 2001. To assess the differences between red America and blue America, Brooks selected Chambersburg, the seat of Franklin County, as his paragon of white rural conservatism. In the piece, which, filled with tropes about life in rural Americaurban residents are certainly not as happy as we areBrooks worked hard to frame life in Chambersburg as a pastoral paradise where people get along, work together, and share common values. Such values, Brooks argued, were reflected within the pages of Franklin Countys newspapers.

People place tremendous value on being agreeable, civil, and kind. They are happy to sit quietly with one another. They are hesitant to stir one anothers passions. They appreciate what they have. They value continuity and revere the past. They work hard to reinforce community bonds. Their newspapers are filled with items about fundraising drives, car washes, bake sales, penny-collection efforts, and auxiliary thrift shops.

Absent from his analysis, however, are any discussions of the communitys racial and ethnic diversity. While Chambersburg, and Franklin County as a whole, are largely white, communities of color have long existed within this area.The town has a sizable African American population with a long history. Chambersburg was the childhood home of 19th century civil rights activist Martin Delany, and briefly the childhood home of late journalist Gwen Ifill. It should also be noted that one of the authors, Letrell Crittenden, is from Chambersburg, having graduated from the Chambersburg Area Senior High School in 1996.

In 2001, when Brookss article was published, Chambersburg had a sizable population of color: In 2000, the Hispanic population within the borough of Chambersburg stood at 6.3 percent, while the towns black population was 7.6 percent.

Today, Chambersburg boasts an even larger population of color. By 2010, the boroughs Latinx population had more than doubled to just over 15 percent. Chambersburgs African American population also increased to 9.3 percent. Today, the most recent U.S. Census estimates place the boroughs black population at just under 11 percent, while the towns Latinx community represents over 17 percent of the tally. Inclusive of all categories of racial minorities, Chambersburgs nonwhite population represents more than 30 percent of the boroughs residents.

As noted in an article published by the Washington Post, several school districts in Central Pennsylvania saw rapid increases in the number of students of color they serve. No institution within Chambersburg better reflects the level of racial change than the school district, which has gone from 91 percent white in 1995 to 65 percent white in 2017.

Very quietly, places like Chambersburg have become just as diverse as major cities like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And, as noted in an article published by CJR in October of 2019, Pittsburgh has had its own problems covering and engaging communities of color as a media ecosystem. If things are problematic in Pennsylvanias second largest city, how are the information needs of residents of color being served and in areas that have historically been seen by the press through a more pastoral lens? What problems are such communities having with local media, and how are they attempting to communicate concerns with each other and the larger community?

What are some of the major concerns for people in Chambersburg? We asked this question during each focus group. Across all four groups, universal concerns emerged. Transportation was a major issue in all four groups: Chambersburg does not have a mass transit system, nor does it have any regional transportation offerings.Many, especially working-class people without vehicles, must spend money on rideshares, or walk long distances, on a routine basis. This challenge was discussed during the community leaders group as one participant detailed one mans struggles to search for a rental property. I want to cry sometimes, because he walks literally 14 blocks almost just to see if he can get this rental, and from there, he has to go to the agents office to fill out paperwork, the participant said. Hes walking and doing all of this. Its a really big thing.

The lack of transportation augments a second issue: portions of the borough are food deserts. Chambersburgs primary grocery options are largely located in the eastern end of the borough. Other parts of town, notably the west end, lack any accessible grocery options besides drug and discount stores.

When it came to the towns changing demographics, the discussion was much more siloed. Issues related to race or demographic change were not mentioned as a concern within the white focus group. But when posed to the Black, Latinx, and racially-diverse community leader groups, concerns over race and demographic change were discussed in heavy rotation. And in each case, the Chambersburg Area School District took center stage.

From the perspective of African Americans participating in the focus group, this rapid change in demographics, in conjunction with the 2016 election, heightened racial tensions within the school district and led to an increase in bullying of African American students. Several focus group members told stories of racial harassment and unequal punishment for fighting. We had racism in schools, but not as bad as it is now, because now the white kids think they can say anything to the black kids, and the black kids think they can beat their butts, one participant offered in a blunt analysis of the tension. Then the black kids are expelled, and the white kids are not.

One racial incident involving the Chambersburg Area Senior High School did garner some regional attention. In September of 2017, an online threat against African American students led to the district cancelling a football game. Several days later, the school district held a community meeting to discuss racism affecting the high school. As noted in an article about the incident, school officials said at the time that racism was not a pervasive problem within the district.

The lack of racial diversity among the school districts staff and leadership was another focal point for members of the community leaders focus group. Despite the massive increase in racial diversity, the district has virtually no racial diversity among teachers. Moreover, the school district has failed to train or hire staffers to teach ESL. As noted in one of the WHYY articles connected to this study, the school district added just one ESL-trained staff member in the past year, despite the increasing need.

The language barrier in the school district is just one of the issues affecting the Latinx community. Virtually everything in town and in the county supposedly geared to mass audiences is only available in English. This is despite the fact that Franklin County has more than 2,200 Spanish-first speakers with limited English proficiency. The lack of translation affects housing, as many residents are unable to read and understand lease agreements. It also limits residents access to services from the state and county, such as drivers licenses. If you want to learn about us, you need to speak English, said one community leader who works close with the Latinx community. That is the philosophy.

Latinx and African American residents issues were of no concern to local media, participants of the focus groups said. As previously mentioned, African American residents struggled to remember when members of the black community were featured in the local newspaper, the Public Opinion, except for criminal activity. For members of the Latinx community, the issue was twofold: They were not featured except for criminal activity, and the paper was of little use to residents of the community anyway, since no local media in the county has any offering in Spanish.

It would not be fair to say that problematic news coverage was only a concern to residents of color. More than any other issue, residents in all four groups were disturbed by the lack of coverage of local issues, notably within the Public Opinion.

Owned by Gannett, the Public Opinion has drastically cut its staff over the past decade. Vicki Taylor, a former staff member who now runs her own hyperlocal news site the Franklin County Free Press, noted that during her tenure, the paper had more than 20 staff members. Now, the newspaper has only three, and each reports to an editor out of York, Pennsylvania, the location of a larger Gannett subsidiary. With the reduction in staff, the Public Opinion is largely offering news that is not local, and failing to cover basic items traditional to news coverage, effectively becoming a ghost newspaper. The size of the newspaper has also shrunk dramatically. As a result, respondents suggested they have little use for the newspaper in its current form, at least as it pertains to collecting local news.

You go to the borough council meetings, and there is no one from the press to report, said a participant from the community leaders groups. Members of the borough council lament the fact theres no one there to record this information for the community. They used to print in here, and had a whole staff and had a whole array of photographers and reporters, said a member of the non-POC group. It shrunk and shrunk and shrunk. Now they have just a couple local things.

Trust was also a major issue across the focus groups. For varying reasons, people expressed a lack of trust for the content coming over of the newspaper. Several of the residents of the all-white focus group expressed concern that the Public Opinion carried a liberal bias. This is the main reason I dont mess with it anymore. The letters to the editor, you can tell that those are leftist views. This is a conservative county. Youd expect it to be majority conservative views and opinions of whats going on.

For some people in the African American and Latinx communities, issues of representation were major issues of concern. Members of the African American focus group lamented about how local news covered the third ward. The boroughs council district, which covers the southwestern quadrant of town, is often used as a euphemism for the boroughs black and brown communities, given that much of each population lives within this district. Unless the news is negative, participants said the residents of the third ward are not covered.

I dont think theyre reflected at all. I dont feel like even in this community theres space for black people, because I think were truly ignored. I mean we exist, and they know were here, but thats it. I mean, I dont think we get much opportunity to show ourselves, one participant said.

On the rare occasions community leaders of color were interviewed by local media, they said they were not pleased with their treatment by reporters. One African American community leader, for example, felt he was serially misrepresented by local media. Ive had great conversations with journalists. What they print is very different then the conversation, he said. It got to a point for me I would say, are you planning on printing what I say?

Once, a participant from the Latinx focus group was interviewed. While he was pleased with the storya profile on the lived experiences of Hispanic community members he was taken aback by the reporters reaction when he showed up for the interview. I worked in the fields. He thought I was going to show up (in work clothes). When he saw me, he told me I didnt look like a fieldworker. I also remember that, in reality, for me, it was a bit of a bad experience.

Repeated attempts to connect with the Public Opinion for an interview were not returned.

Beyond the Public Opinion, news options are limited, and many of the participants were not aware of all of the options. While a few members of the non-POC focus group were aware of Vicki Taylors Franklin County Free Press,esidents of color had no idea of the one-year-old operations existence. White participants, depending on political persuasion, also mentioned two other news sources. One was a local conservative talk station that does on occasion offer news coverage. The other was the Progress Pod, a left-leaning podcast that features local residents discussing various issues. While community leaders of color were familiar with the podcast, they did not consume information from the talk radio station. African American and Latinx focus group respondents were completely unaware of either option.

Given the lack of connection local residents have with local media, how do they share and receive information on important topics? Local residents often rely upon other means of communication to spread news. Digital interpersonal communication, via social media, emailed newsletters, and text messages, represent a significant way local residents share news and information. In-person communication plays another significant role in how people communicate. Residents talked of learning information at church, in grocery lines and at community meetings. While social media is big, residents and community leaders also noted that bulletin boards in the local library, in churches, and inside of gas station convenience stores were places where people could share and receive information. This is especially true within the Latinx community, given the lack of Spanish-language options.

So does this suggest that, on some level, Chambersburg has the kind of small-town communication network described by Brooks? Not according to the focus group discussions. While information is certainly shared informally, residents and community leaders, directly and indirectly, said that much of the information shared stays within silos. Certain areas, like the library, offer universal points of communication for English-speaking residents, but a lot of information shared within Chambersburg fails to go beyond groups of friends or others who have common backgrounds or interests. These divisions were significantly highlighted when residents discussed services or interventions that others were not aware of , notably as it pertained to language services and transportation. In both the community leader and white focus groups, participants argued over the impact of a specific transportation option, Rabbit Transit, for working-class and elderly residents. Some were not aware it existed, while others complained information about the service was not readily available. When it came to Spanish translation services, people who were a part of certain civic organizations rattled off a number of initiatives taking place in town, notably affiliated with a church community. There was a problem, however. Members representing the Latinx community said they had never heard of any of these services. Okay, well, I need to find out, said one leader within the Latinx community after learning of the services. The folks Ive talked to would like to attend these things, and dont know.

The communication is not good, another community leader said.

Given the English-dominant nature of communication in Chambersburg and Franklin County, those who want to reach Latinx residents have turned to Facebook and flyers in specific locations. Outreach efforts are further complicated by the regional diversity of the Latinx community. A large portion of the community originated in Guatemala and other regions in Central and South America. As a result, much of the communication within the Latinx community gets siloed along lines of nationality. (News in the Latinx) community doesnt travel fast, one participant said. Only among groups of friends.

Churches may also not be as intentional as they once were in sharing and exchanging information, notably across racial lines. As noted in the African American focus group, Chambersburgs churches once did more across denominational lines. We used to have a community choir, one participant in the African American focus group said. The white churches, the black churches, used to get together and sing. They dont do that anymore. . . People in the community used to get together for Martin Luther King Day. They dont do that anymore.

Despite the multitude of issues, residents across the focus groups felt that it was possible to improve how news and information needs are served in Chambersburg. First, In terms of coverage, all four focus groups said any intervention should focus on local news, and focus on news beyond crime stories and other negative pieces. Additionally, the participants recognized that the number of people covering Chambersburg needed to be increased. Across the board, local residents exhibited a great deal of media literacy regarding the economic issues affecting the news industry. They seemed fully aware of the economic reasons why there were fewer reporters in their community. As a result, the groups sought ways to augment the number of reporters within Chambersburg in a more cost-effective manner. Given the proximity of several colleges, one idea floated was that a local university could provide students to cover different issues within the community. Journalism training was also an idea pitched. If local residents could be trained to create stories about the community, they could likely fill gaps left by the reductions in news staff.

In addition, members of the African American and Latinx communities suggested that certain reporters needed to be trained to specifically deal with issues within their communities, and provide reporting that showed a much more expansive picture of their respective communities than has traditionally been offered. One African American focus group member argued that, given the legacy of poor reporting and invisibility of communities of color, reporters who cover these marginalized populations should see themselves as more than reporters. They should function as advocates for marginalized voices within the community.

Speak up. If you go to the Chamber of Commerce . . . and theyre talking about the Third Ward, because thats supposed to be a disgrace to the community, and you know something about the third ward because youre covering (it) as well at this particular meeting, you need to speak up and not let that negativity fester.

For the Latinx community, more representation wasnt enough. The community needed to offer more offering in Spanish to allow the Latinx community to more fully participate as citizens. This should include, participants said, some sort of news coverage focused on the Latinx community, and provide stories in both English and Spanish. Members of the focus group concluded it was necessary to have stories about the Latinx community in English and Spanish, if for no other reason than to provide positive stories about the Latinx community to the larger population. This has to be more directed toward the (non-Latinx community) , so that they get to know us and see that were not all that they say. That were people that have come because we need work and come in search of a better future, one Latinx participant said.

Based on our focus groups, we have reached the following conclusions:

Responding to the information needs our study revealed, we will be hosting a series of follow-up conversations with community members, in collaboration with WHYY

to discuss ways to improve coverage of communities of color in the area. Due to the current pandemic, these conversations will be shifted online, as we look for ways to bridge digital and language divides to ensure robust participation particularly among African American and Latinx residents.

Some of the larger findings revealed during our focus group discussions have taken on a new level of importance given the dangers posed by Covid-19. First and foremost, it is a matter of public health that more news and information be made available in Spanish and other languages. Should local residents lack the means to know what resources are available to them during this time due to a language barrier, or if they are forced to leave their homes as a result of a lack of translation options, they are putting themselves and others at risk of infection. The Public Opinion has announced that it is suspending its paywall to allow residents access to important information. This serves little purpose, however, for those who do not read English.

Moreover, it is also imperative to understand how all portions of the community are grappling with this pandemic. If the goal is to keep the community abreast of vital information, both the local news community, and local officials must recognize that the traditional manner in which they attempt to connect with local residents is not accessible or fully embraced by wide portions of the community. Understanding how local residents consume and share information, and what they are willing to trust, is indeed a public health issue. It is on both the news community and local community leaders to acknowledge the lack of reach they have, and find ways to effectively share information with all segments of the community.

We also hope this piece serves as a reminder for the news industry as a whole. Pittsburgh-based artist Alisha Wormsley garnered national attention in 2018 when she produced an art display that declared there are black people in the future. This article will hopefully remind journalists that there are black and brown people in rural and small town America, and their voices deserve attention, particularly during a pandemic, and in a year where their votes may also play a significant role in who will or will not serve as President of the United States.

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The road to making small-town news more inclusive - Columbia Journalism Review

As with many aspects of life at Duke, wealth disparities play a role in shaping students experiences in the arts and humanities.

For some students, the arts and humanities at Duke are not inclusive to low-income students and students of color. Faculty and students in these fields are working to overcome the problem, taking steps to build communities that are open to people from all backgrounds.

Junior Jamal Burns, a history major and co-president of Duke Low-Income, First-Generation Engagement, said the material taught in some courses could turn students away.

Students are continually dissuaded from taking these classes because they get a syllabus that shows only white authors, only authors who are wealthy or went to elite institutions, he said.

Senior Naomi Lilly, an African and African American studies and gender studies double major, said students of color may face a burden in these courses. She said she is often the only person of color in a class, and it is on her shoulders to explain the history that is not there, not talked about or glanced over, she said.

Although Duke poured $50 million into building the Rubenstein Arts Center, this does not equate to providing support for students, Lilly said. She said she has experienced difficulty in getting financial and academic support from the University to pursue her projects in the arts.

One of Dukes recent efforts to build opportunity in the arts, DEMAN weekend, is an arts alumni networking event to help introduce students into the creative industry. However, at her first DEMAN weekend, Lilly said she was disappointed by the panels.

Most people had this story that when you get to Hollywood, you just have to work in the mail room and sleep in someones garage, Lilly said. Realistically, thats not the experience for everyone, especially people of color, especially if you come from a lower socio-economic status.

Bridging the gap

Some students and faculty members are attempting to fill gaps in students experiences at Duke.

Scott Lindroth, vice provost of the arts, wrote in an email that Duke Arts, ranging from music to theater studies, is also trying to adapt to Dukes changing demographics.

My colleagues in the arts also acknowledge that some students, including first-generation, low-income, or minority students, may face additional challenges to participation that are unique to the artsand we have designed specific funding resources and programs to address this, he wrote.

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Funding opportunities such as the Creative Arts Grants and Benenson Awards exist to support student projects, while the Black Atlantic festival and the Documentary Diversity Project are geared toward diversifying the arts field. Lindroth stated that Duke Arts aims to provide networks for students of all backgrounds.

Within the English department, several efforts have been made to build community. Every third Thursday of the month, the English department invites prospective and current English students to join the faculty for an afternoon of desserts.

Inspired by a similar desire to build an equitable arts community, Della Tao, Trinity 19, and senior Joyce Er created a series of weekly figure-drawing workshops that otherwise would not be accessible to students. Er said such programs often cost $10 to $12 per session, up to $100 for 10 weeks.

A fifth of our participants had no prior visual arts experience, but were able to drop in, pick up a piece of charcoal and begin learning the ropes, Er said.

Lilly is building a networking site for creatives, hoping to provide more opportunities in industry for the voices that most need to be heard. The online platform, NAL-Nay Lilly, amplifies the voices of marginalized creatives within the entertainment and media industries, she said in an interview with Duke Arts.

Part of the reason she wanted to make this company is to help create a pipeline to an arts career, which she has never had.

These efforts have attempted to build an arts and humanities community on Dukes campus that are inclusive to all backgrounds.

Yet Lilly said she believes that Duke still has a long way to go.

I think Duke, in a lot of ways, supports the idea that when you come to Duke, arts is a hobbyits not a career, she said. I think really changing that mindset as far as the networking events, as far as being intentional about the companies that come, as far as being intentional about resume drop-offs interviews is critical.

This article is part of the wealth gap series. We are exploring how wealth impacts the student experience. Read about the project and explore the rest of the series.

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Wealth disparities extend to the arts and humanities, and so do efforts to address them - Duke Chronicle

A series of protests, primarily in state capitals, are demanding the end of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Among the protesters are people who express concern about their jobs or the economy as a whole.

But there are also far-right conspiracy theorists, white supremacists like Proud Boys and citizens militia members at these protests. The exact number of each group that attends these protests is unknown, since police have not traditionally monitored these groups, but signs and symbols of far right groups have been seen at many of these protests across the country.

These protests risk spreading the virus and have disrupted traffic, potentially delaying ambulances. But as researchers of street gangs and far-right groups violence and recruitment, we believe these protests may become a way right-wingers expand the spread of anti-Semitic rhetoric and militant racism.

Proud Boys, and many other far-right activists, dont typically focus their concern on whether stores and businesses are open. Theyre usually more concerned about pro-white, pro-male rhetoric. Theyre attending these rallies as part of their longstanding search for any opportunity to make extremist groups look mainstream and because they are always looking for potential recruits to further their cause.

While not all far-right groups agree on everything, many of them now subscribe to the idea that Western government is corrupt and its demise needs to be accelerated through a race war.

For far-right groups, almost any interaction is an opportunity to connect with people with social or economic insecurities or their children. Even if some of the protesters have genuine concerns, theyre in protest lines near people looking to offer them targets to blame for societys problems.

Once theyre standing side by side at a protest, members of far-right hate groups begin to share their ideas. That lures some people deeper into online groups and forums where they can be radicalized against immigrants, Jews or other stereotypical scapegoats.

Its true that only a few will go to that extreme but they represent potential sparks for future far-right violence.

President Donald Trump, a favorite of far-right activists, has tweeted encouragement to the protesters. Police responses have been uneven. Some protesters have been charged with violating emergency government orders against public gatherings.

Other events, however, have gone undisturbed by officials similar to how far-right free speech rallies in 2018 often were treated gently by police.

Police have tended to be hesitant to deal with far-right groups at these protests. As a result, the risk is growing of right-wing militants spreading the coronavirus, either unintentionally at rallies or in intentional efforts: Federal authorities have warned that some right-wingers are talking about specifically sending infected people to target communities of color.

One thing police could do which they often do when facing criminal groups is to track the level of coordination between different protests. Identifying far-right activists who attend multiple events or travel across state borders to attend a rally may indicate that they are using these events as part of a connected public relations campaign.

[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversations newsletter.]

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Why are white supremacists protesting to 'reopen' the US economy? - The Conversation US

After several frustrating attempts to make my digital device work correctly, I called the IT expert. Invariably, his first question is, Have you rebooted your device? Sure enough, when I do the first thing on the trouble-shooting chart reboot most of my struggles with tangled-up electrons running amuck on a silicon chip sort themselves out.

As federal and state guidelines are changing from quarantine and shelter-in-place to reengagement with businesses and communities, it is imperative to understand that the world has changed significantly. The church has changed, as well, with respect to how we worship, equip, and, above all, make disciples.

As government orders were peeled back like layers of an onion, so implementation strategies for returning to public gatherings, church events, and public worship will experience a rolling out of guidelines. Some states should anticipate different guidelines county by county.

It is critical for churches to begin preparing now for the return of on-campus activities. The MBC has prepared a conversational guide for preparing a church to reboot. You can find it online at mobaptist.org/covid-19, along with many other helpful resources.

However, we cannot waste what the Lord our God is doing spiritually during the pandemic. Some of the things that have occurred are exactly what we needed to help us personally reset our relationship and fellowship with the Lord, who knows our beginnings and our endings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed a pause button on the way many believers and their local churches normally operate. Its as if our Lord has used this time to say, Be still and listen. I want to do something new and magnificent.

Thanks to COVID-19, the church the people of God must take certain vital actions in a post-COVID-19 world. Take a look at the verbs in the list below:

1. Focus on the solitary mission of making gospel disciples; become less programmatic.

2. Exercise humility before God and with people; surrender pride and self-righteousness at the foot of the cross.

3. Invest in a Spirit-filled, prayerful lifestyle; remember what God can do in a moment.

4. Plunge into the Word of God for nourishment and instruction.

5. Be less strident and skeptical; choose kindness and understanding toward one another.

6. Embrace the new tools for communicating with people as a standard practice.

7. Instead of building mega-buildings, consider starting more autonomous local churches shepherded by larger churches.

8. Face the brevity of life with the glorious victory we have in Christ over sin and death.

9. Be responsible for future generations with choices that may impact religious liberty.

10. Stop attempting to fill everyones activity list; celebrate what the Lord wills to do through His people.

11. Without intimidation, and as a part of your daily conversation in person (6 feet apart) or online, share the gospel daily by speaking much of Him.

12. Be a conduit of generosity to your local church; now may be the time to train a new generation in storehouse tithing.

Above all, draw near to God and He will draw near to you . . . (James 4:8). A microbe on the other side of the planet may have kicked this pandemic off, but the Lord may use anything to get our attention.

We would waste this season if we fail to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord our God. Be intentional, come to Him, and make a fresh surrender to the Lord. There is no greater priority for a church during the Covid-19 pandemic than to seek the Lord.

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Lean on God, reboot the church campus - The Pathway

To manage the COVID-19 pandemic, be it from a personal, national or global perspective, we rely on a constant stream of information. A plethora of dashboards have appeared globally that convey information on the number of people tested, those who are positive, the number of deaths and those who have recovered. This information is constantly being updated and forms the basis on which individuals and governments make important decisions. Everything concerning the pandemic, however, appears to be open to interpretation.

Managing life in the era of COVID-19 is not trivial, from having to cope on a personal level with long periods of isolation during lockdown, to governments making critical decisions at a national level, and the World Health Organisation providing guidance at a global level. The jury is still out as to how many people might be infected. Lockdown certainly appears to flatten the curve, but will the area under the curve the total number of people infected remain the same over time? We will get a better picture of the true incidence of infection as widespread testing for both the virus and the host response (testing for anti-viral antibodies) become the norm.

Many other questions remain to be answered. Will we be immune to the virus once infected? Will this be seasonal or is COVID-19 here to stay? When will a vaccine be ready?

As we seek information to guide our own understanding and decisions, we are constantly encouraged to consult reliable sources and to stay away from social media. What is a reliable source? Can we believe our political leaders? Are governments coming clean? And could the scientific models we are being asked to believe in fact be misleading?

The recognition that the COVID-19 pandemic is accompanied by an equally alarming infodemic has added a level of complexity to the situation. What are the consequences of this avalanche of information?

Misinformation is one consequence one which may affect public trust in the medical profession and in scientific research. This in turn complicates an already difficult task, since it may lead to some people clutching at relatively accessible solutions instead of going for testing and medical treatment. Proposing and accepting untried and seemingly miraculous cures may hamper the medical management of patients with COVID-19, and may in fact be dangerous, even fatal.

Misinformation creates fear and confusion. It also causes stress, anxiety and depression.

The sheer magnitude of the infodemic is overwhelming, and potentially harmful, as it interferes with the management of the disease. It is also taking up time and energy from people who could be contributing in a more positive way.

Read more: Debunking 9 popular myths doing the rounds in Africa about the coronavirus

A healthy debate is necessary for the resolution of important matters pertaining to COVID-19. But it is equally important to understand the drivers behind the intentional creation and dissemination of misinformation.

Genuine differences in beliefs and understanding may result in the motivation to develop and test alternative hypotheses, which may appear as apparent misinformation.

Insecurity and fear are themselves powerful drivers, as is the need to exploit insecurity and fear in others to gain control and power. One might even include deep-seated psychological issues as possible drivers. And the idea that gaining a substantial following on social media may lead to material wealth is also plausible.

Misinformation may be aimed at undermining the credibility of people in positions of responsibility, often for political gain. (Mis)Information often exists in a parallel universe inhabited by people who propagate conspiracy theories that implicate the deep state in the design, manipulation and even the origin of COVID-19. This universe also derides the drive towards the development of a vaccine, implicating big pharma and corporate greed as the major drivers.

The power of the collective as is evident, for example, on social media is not always constructive, and may, in many instances, lead to harm.

Two particular examples stand out. The first has been confusion sown around the origin of the virus. Some have gone so far as to suggest that it had a synthetic origin that the virus was manufactured and released into the population, intentionally or unintentionally. This has been countered with evidence supporting a higher probability of its natural origin (wet markets, bats or pangolins).

Read more: Scientists are still searching for the source of COVID-19: why it matters

Likewise, the argument that 5G is responsible for COVID-19.

These debates will continue to create confusion as long as important matters concerning the origin of the virus and its spread remain unresolved.

Read more: Why 5G conspiracy theories prosper during the coronavirus pandemic

One of the defining characteristics of the COVID-19 pandemic is the remarkable speed at which medical and scientific research are being conducted to find a solution. But there is good science and bad science, and the collective voice calling for the maintenance of sound scientific principles and integrity in presenting research findings, is growing stronger every day.

Many hypotheses are being explored and until reliable data has been generated, it is irresponsible to speak of matters as a fait accompli. Not only do researchers have a responsibility to the people whose lives depend on finding solutions, but scientific evidence that is inaccurate may divert substantial time and resources.

At present, important matters are being disclosed and discussed without the quality-assuring scrutiny of peer review. Trying to clarify the validity of the claims and prevent the spread of misinformation utilises resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

To counter the negative effects of misinformation, governments, institutions and social media platforms have passed legislation and introduced policies and checking systems to weed out harmful information and sanction the perpetrators. But this isnt enough.

Our communities depend on us as doctors and scientists to help them find the answers that will save lives and livelihoods. Our responsibilities lie in finding accurate and plausible scientific answers. They also lie in communicating them clearly, and in ensuring that information is not misrepresented or misunderstood.

Continue reading here:

Sheer volume of misinformation risks diverting focus from fighting coronavirus - The Conversation Africa